Bushed lifter bores/cam selection?

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metallidart

metallidart

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I'll make this one short. I have a 422 stroker shortblock that has alot of oilng mods done to it, like priority main, etc. The previous owner did it, so I don't want to deviate far from what he had. My question is, since he had the lifter bores bushed, do I HAVE to run a solid roller? There are no oiling holes in the bushings that I can see, should it have some? Do I need to add them? He said it saw a lot of street time, and there are no galling/scuffing, etc on the bushings. I have a solid roller with lifters right now, but I don't have much money, and the cam is kind of big in my opinion. Not too big for my engine, but just too big for my tastes. Do I have other options? Help me out guys!!
 
A solid flat tappet will work just fine too. Other than that it's going to be disassembly and drilling holes in the bushings at a machine shop probably. If you want lifter oiling with bushings it's best to drill them first then put them in.
 
I was wondering how that worked. I don't really want to tear the shortblock down, so I guess I'll leave it the way it is. So a solid cam would work too? Hmm...I may go that route for now. The way it is, is it ok for mostly street driving? Thanks for the info!!
 
I've never had a problem with a solid flat tappet and blocked oil to the lifters. Break your cam in right and use some ZDDP additive, you can buy it at Discount now, Risoline sells it, and you should be fine.

If you use a cam with dual valve springs use just the outer spring to break the cam in, then add the inner afterwards.
 
I normally have .030 holes in hte bushings.. But so long as there's enough oil splashing around the top end I'd say it's fine. If you have everything else, the rollers can be used on a smaller cam, and a solid roller cam is cheaper than a solid flat tappet cam, lifters, and springs....
 
Why not just replace the cam with a smaller solid roller cam and re use the lifters?
 
Thats true, I guess. I have the roller lifters, and I have a brand new crane roller that I thought about selling to get a smaller lunati voodoo roller. I guess since I have the rollers, I might as well just put the roller in. I have a set of cnc rectangle port indy heads that I was going to use, but its only going to the track maybe once or twice a year, I'll be using it mostly just to have fun with the family, so I didn't see the need for heads that are so outrageous, just for fun. So, I'm working on a deal with another member for some edelbrock heads.

I think what I'll do is look at some mechanical flat tappet cams, compared to the rollers. I may be able to sell my roller stuff, get a flat tappet, and have some extra money to actually get the engine running someday.

Or, do you guys think a roller will make enough power over the flat tappet to be worth the extra cash?
 
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