roller cam or flat tappet?

-
Gus Loza

Gus Loza

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2009
Messages
113
Reaction score
15
Location
San Francisco, CA
i have a 408 stroker shortblock that iv ehad for a while. but i dont know what cam i have in it. how can i tell if its a roller or flat tappet cam. it never had the lifters in place. asking because i ordered edelbrock heads with the double springs. says its for roller cams only. should i just order a new roller cam that best fits my setup? i dont know lift, duration for this cam. thanks
 
no where close to being of great knowledge but go roller from Oregon cams they will help figure out what you need I believe you'll need to know the spring pressure good luck
 
Gus Loza said:
i have a 408 stroker shortblock that iv ehad for a while. but i dont know what cam i have in it. how can i tell if its a roller or flat tappet cam. it never had the lifters in place. asking because i ordered edelbrock heads with the double springs. says its for roller cams only. should i just order a new roller cam that best fits my setup? i dont know lift, duration for this cam. thanks
Click to expand...
I would try and see if there are any numbers on the end to help ident the cam.
 
Gus Loza said:
i have a 408 stroker shortblock that iv ehad for a while. but i dont know what cam i have in it. how can i tell if its a roller or flat tappet cam. it never had the lifters in place. asking because i ordered edelbrock heads with the double springs. says its for roller cams only. should i just order a new roller cam that best fits my setup? i dont know lift, duration for this cam. thanks
Click to expand...
Gus, goggle pictures of roller cams and then Hyd./solid flat tappet cams. You will see the difference on how the lines of the cam look. Once you figure that out then it is time to take the intake off and the front end down to remove the cam and look for numbers stamped or engraved on one of the ends. Normally the front.
Like scampy said.

The cam should, but not always, have the manufacturer stamped/engraved on the front. You should be able to look up the numbers on the cam. This will tell you not only if it is a roller or SFT cam but also from the cam manufacturers site what the specs are. Then cross reference on over to the spring requirements. See if they are within a few pounds of the Edelbrock springs.

The cam you have, SFT or roller may have spring requirements equal to what the head cams with. At this point, roller cam or not, the spring requirements should be met.
 
This engine will probably be my last with flat tappets, budget dictated the choice this time, but if I have to do another for any project in the future I will go roller, plain and simple.
 
this is the only stamping i found

20200216_120707.jpg
 
nothing at all. it was all smooth on the front side. i kinda want to get a cam built for my gearing and 4 speed. the guy i bought the motor from years ago was gona have an auto
 
With a degree wheel and some measuring equipment you could map out the cam and determine lift and such. But it probably is only worth doing if you want to try and sell it. Get the cam you need for your setup. To my uneducated eye, that looks like a FT cam and more mild than wild. Just a guess.
 
gzig5 said:
With a degree wheel and some measuring equipment you could map out the cam and determine lift and such. But it probably is only worth doing if you want to try and sell it. Get the cam you need for your setup. To my uneducated eye, that looks like a FT cam and more mild than wild. Just a guess.
Click to expand...
thanks buddy. i will look into a new one this week. and get it ordered. along with rocker arms too
 
Flat tappet cam will be cheaper route. Crower has lifters called cam saver. Supposed to get more oil to lobes. Don't remember part # but just look up for mopar.
 
Howard's edm lifters are direct lube lifters...

Lifters 91718
 
rocker arms?
hyd cam under .525 you don't need expensive rocker arms
or get iron
if youget roller tips you need BEracings kit
is that cam new ?
do you have hyd or solid lifters/?
 
without the kit you get more acceleration near where you want to be slowing down to go over the nose and need stronger springs
you do get more lift- but at a price of lower rpm for valve float
most are better off with iron rockers
 
What is the intended use and goals for this motor? What year block? Need a bunch more info before you can really decide which way to go. Is the block tubed or bushed?
 
furrystump said:
What is the intended use and goals for this motor? What year block? Need a bunch more info before you can really decide which way to go. Is the block tubed or bushed?
Click to expand...

just building it for mainly street abuse and maybe track time here and there
 
furrystump said:
What is the intended use and goals for this motor? What year block? Need a bunch more info before you can really decide which way to go. Is the block tubed or bushed?
Click to expand...
dont know what you mean by tubed or bushed. not an expert on building motors . i bought the engine from someone years ago. it was rebuilt with kb pistons, eagle crank and rods. thats all i know about it. ig was a shortblock. gona be a manual brake ,manual steering car
 
Small blocks have a particular issue when converting to a roller lifter. There is a chamfer on the top and bottom of the lifter bores that can allow oil pressure to bleed out of the oil band on the lifter. It can happen at max lift or if the cam has a small base circle it can happen at zero lift. So you can have the lifter bores bushed during which you could correct any lifter angle issues. This is probably overkill for your intended use. You can tube the lifter galley to reduce oil flow. Honestly I would run a solid flat tappet. I run 11.80 with a solid flat tappet, put an intake and headers and I would be in roll bar territory. Also I don’t know for sure but they just put stouter springs on the eddy heads when they say they are “for roller cam” I would get a professional opinion on the cam and confirm the eddy springs are good for the cam. My eddy heads stock springs were questionable at the lift they said they could handle.
 
furrystump said:
Small blocks have a particular issue when converting to a roller lifter. There is a chamfer on the top and bottom of the lifter bores that can allow oil pressure to bleed out of the oil band on the lifter. It can happen at max lift or if the cam has a small base circle it can happen at zero lift. So you can have the lifter bores bushed during which you could correct any lifter angle issues. This is probably overkill for your intended use. You can tube the lifter galley to reduce oil flow. Honestly I would run a solid flat tappet. I run 11.80 with a solid flat tappet, put an intake and headers and I would be in roll bar territory. Also I don’t know for sure but they just put stouter springs on the eddy heads when they say they are “for roller cam” I would get a professional opinion on the cam and confirm the eddy springs are good for the cam. My eddy heads stock springs were questionable at the lift they said they could handle.
Click to expand...
However, too many people are paranoid by the cam failures. I still use hydraulic flat tappet cams but I too sometimes fear cams going flat. Just recently installed the loved and hated 292 mopar cam. Very close to start up and am a bit nervous. I filled engine with lucas break in oil and slathered cam with moly lube.
 
I've made lube saver style lifters, grinding a flat on the side
works
anyone make a edm hyd?
Those mopar grinds are mild enough not to be a problem as long as you do not over spring them and/or break in on the outers only and all the usuall stuff
fire up right away and not crank crank crank
keep the revs up
etc
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top