Ok so birdtojag hooked me up with a 350 motor and a TPI setup for my camaro, now im getting ready to tear the thing apart, im not going all out here, i just wanna regasket it, maybe put some different heads on if i trip into a pile of cash..... unfortunately that isnt happening anytime soon lol

Ive got some cam questions, i did a search and im still retarded when it comes to flat tappet vs roller, i hear roller is better but whats so bad about flat tappet? i could always replace it later but i wanna see this motor done with some decent power. Anyone care to explain? I just want a MILDLY aggressive cam, something with some good power and a nice sound im open to suggestions

Also, roller rockers; ive heard theyre good but what kind would i use? Im a bit lost on the ratio things need some help there too

Thanks in advance, this will be my first personal build, ive done a few motors before but never this deep and i had the parts handed to me for installation lol

 

is it a roller block

 

apparently its out of a truck and its flat tappet

 

Flat tappet out of a truck will be a very mild cam. One potential problem with the flat tappet cam is that if you get a new cam for it with better lift and duration for your car, you will need to break it in; but the tpi has to be tuned for your set up before you start it up. To break in the flat tappet cam, you have to start the car and run it at 2500 rpm for quite a few minutes, 30 minutes come to mind but I haven't used a flat tappet cam since I last had a carburetor which is probably over 20 years. If the tpi is not set up for your combination, it may not run correctly and you may not be able to run it at the steady 2500 rpm to properly break in your flat tappet cam. One other caution, don't try to run a solid lifter flat tappet cam with tpi. Running solid lifters with tpi will cause the knock sensor to think you have an engine knock and pull timing, and when the knock doesn't go away it will keep pulling timing.

 

so what are my options here? id love to throw down for a roller setup but i dunno if i wanna wait taht long to throw down that much money

and whats the difference between mechanical and hydraulic cams?

 

buy a rv cam and some 1.6 roller tip steel rockers and some z28 springs

this stuff is very cheap and I guarantee you will be happy if the car is bieng made for street

 

birdtojag suggested to take an LT1 cam, swap the roller setup from my 305 over and use some roller rockers for a full roller setup sounds like the plan to me lol im just gonna freshen up the motor by doing that, regasketing the entire thing, and just cleaning it up, pretty much everything beyond machine work lol if i can avoid it but if not, eh never hurts to do it lol

 

An LT1 cam is a nice cam for these engines. The block you have should have the bosses for the web and dog bones to keep the lifters from spinning. Flat tappet cams are not bad, but roller cams offer less friction and don't need an additive to break them in. There is no break in for roller cams. There is a guy on here with an LT1 cam and valve train for sale. Hope he still has it for you. This will be perfect for you to use. Roller rockers are also good to reduce friction in the engine. Reduction of friction adds to potential horsepower. I am going to talk to Jessy at Street-to-Strip tomorrow and see what he can do for us on recommendations. Might be able to work something out for some work I need done and see his thoughts on yours. I should have the harness ready for you in about a week or 2.

 

sweet i keep planning to go down the street 2 strip but never make it in lol i posted in that lt1 thread and havent gotten a reply yet lets hope though