Drilling Oil Galleries in Original Side-Oiler

[Jac Mac]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

Jac Mac? Are you thinking the original side oiler solid lifter blocks don't get enough oil all ready? With the later blocks that do allow hydraulic lifters you have to use a restrictor to keep from getting TO MUCH oil on the lifters.

From an engine rebuilder\suppliers view point I can see why they would recommend hydraulic lifters, every time. Why would a builder want to go through the extra hassle of breaking in a solid lifter cam? Easier to just sell hydraulic and be done with it. And what if the customer does not follow precisely the solid lifter breakin requirements? As a builder YOU still 'look bad' even if it wasn't your fault.

Excaliber, Yes & No, In its original flat tappet solid lifter configuration in the good old days the cam lobes/lifter faces relied only on spray/splash lubrication from oil thrown from the crank/cam brgs etc along with what dribbles down from the valley area, along with a healthy dose of zddp in the oil.
In todays world without as much if any zddp along with more aggressive cam profiles/lift rates & spring pressures life has got tough for the original system.
The" To Much" oil in the hydraulic version is not over oiling of the lifter face,but as the FE did not feed the valve train oil thru the pushrods at least 50% of the lifter gallery oil simply leaks into the valley area and then drained onto the crank etc creating windage, hence the need to restrict the lifter gallerys.
As an engine builder myself I agree with your second paragraph 100%, and if I can pass on one simple tip that has saved me a lot of grief in regard to camshaft installation it is this: When installing your new flat tappet cam( solid or hydraulic), fit the cam to the block with thrust plate & cam gear (oil the cam journals/brgs/lobes). Now insert the new lifters in their bores, mark the top of each lifter & bore with twink or marker pen , Have a helper rotate the cam with speed wrench or slow drill while you apply light pressure with a pushrod to each lifter thru approx 10 camshaft revolutions, each lifter should show definite rotation in its bore, If it does not find out WHY, It could be a burr in the bore or a dud machined block that will need that lifter bore sleeved.

Jac Mac