Roller cam in 390????

[convincor]

Building a 390 flat top pistons, edelbrock heads.
Is it worth put a roller cam and lifters in????
If so, any recomendations...

[RICK LAKE]

Hot rod mag did a nice build up in an older mag. Used the small crane roller, make 450hp and 460 tork, Try the arkivises for the write up, if not there is one in another mag. I will get th month and year for you. Welcome to CC. Rick Lake

[427 S/O]

Hey Rick, have another drink on the house.........

[427 S/O]

Just funnin..........

[DuckRyder]

Here is the link.

http://www.hotrod.com/webonly_january/index.html

As to wheter or not it is "worth it" it kind of depends on your definition of worth it. The cam and lifters is expensive, maybe even "very expensive". But there is definately power to be had if the rest of the combo is up to it.

[Cracker]

I have a roller going into my side-oiler and should be able to give you an accurate power gain vs. the solid flat tappets which were in there. The only problem is that extensive work has been done to other parts of my motor to make the most of the assembly.

Like Duck said the other parts are need to be matched to the roller's optimal flow rates. Hey Duck - I was just thinking of you the other day - it's been awhile since you've posted. Give me a call sometime when you have a chance - I'm PM'ing you my phone number now. Take care!

[afret]

Not a Cobra owner but thought I would post my limited roller cam experience.
One of the best things about roller cams is that you don't have to worry about having a lobe go flat during break-in like a flat tappet. You get a lot more area under the curve than for like duration flat tappet cams and with a smoother idle. (We've graphed quite a few different cam lobes and there is no comparison.) Might be just my imagination but it seems like a lot of people are having problems with lobes going flat recently. Maybe the lack of zinc in the oil? My brother lost 15 lobes during break-in of a Comp solid cam last year. What a pain-metal everywhere. Had to pull the motor so we switched to a spare 427 and custom solid street roller in his Fairlane. That car was a mid 11 second car with the flat tappet cam but it's got quite a bit more power now. I've switched cams a lot years ago and never had any problems before.
Roller cams cost a bit more but I think they are well worth it. I'm running the Crower street roller listed in their catalog (16462) in a 428 Mustang. I'm even using a bronze gear and not having any wear problems yet though I will switch to a Crane steel gear if it starts to wear. Only have a few hundred miles on the cam so far. The Crower street roller requires springs slightly stronger than for a stout solid lifter cam so I think street longevity won't be a problem. Crower recommends only 166 lbs seat pressure but I shimmed mine to 180 lbs. I was previously running a Crower hydraulic with slightly more duration (16256). Haven't had a chance to take it to the track after the cam change but it sure pulls harder. I have a slightly wilder custom street roller from Bullet Cams which I plan to try after running the Crower for awhile.
I know there are worries about roller lifters falling apart but from what I have looked into, as long as you don't go crazy with the spring rates or wildness of the cam there shouldn't be any problem with street use of a solid roller. I would think most people who run these type engines don't put 50k miles a year and check valve lash, etc on a regular basis anyway. There are solid roller lifters by Crower and Crane that give pressurized oil to the needle bearings if you have the lifter oil passages in your block which should help.
I guess I could have used a hydraulic roller but I understand that you have to be really careful with the spring rates to get it to work. I know some guys have figured out the right combo but I think I will stick to the solids.
Can't imagine going back to a flat tappet cam.

[convincor]

Thanks for the link Duck.
My brother runs a roller in his 460, with Edelbrock heads.
We really noticed a difference in idle quality from a hydr. flat tappet. And it's a bigger cam. FlatLander Racing did the design for him and it really works good. I think I will go that route.
Thanks

[Michael C Henry]

I'm dreading my start up and break in. I have a Comp Cam with shell lifters. I took it apart two years ago because it had two lobes flat and lifters mushroomed.I was told to stay away from a roller on anything streeted,or plan on replacing lifters every 15,000.Not enough oil.I hear everybody doing it. If this goes flat again ?What can you use to get the Zinc level needed?I,m using Shell Rotella for start up.

[afret]

An additive available at your local GM dealers called EOS (I think that's what it's called) seems to be recommended a lot for cam break-in and also Crane makes an oil additive too for initial start up. You can get the Crane version from Summit, Jegs, etc.