Kicking around the idea of a Roller Cam Swap...

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JoesEdge

JoesEdge

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Hey all! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I was recently kicking around the idea of swapping out my flat tapper hydraulic cam for a hydraulic roller cam.

Currently, I have the the Comp Cams XE268H cam in my LA 360 with 9.6:1 compression, Magnum EQ heads with 1.6:1 Comp Cams roller rockers. Also running Edelbrock Air Gap Intake. After running it for years, I think I'm over the loud sowing machine sound of the XE cams. It does run great though.

I was hoping that with a Roller Cam it would
  1. quiet down the valve train (getting older and wanting quieter)
  2. improve overall drivability
  3. maybe pick up some power
  4. with a 112 lobe separation pick up some more vacuum since I'm planning on going EFI
  5. no longer require special oil with Zinc, etc.
I was interested in the following cam, but ultimately I would leave the recommendation to my engine builder since he put everything together.

Voodoo Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Cam - Chrysler 273-360 270/279

Seems to be comparable to the Comp Camps XE268H cam.

I know it's not a inexpensive swap due to the cam and lifters, but would swapping to roller cam achieve the above (especially making it quieter)?

By the way, I'm getting the Duster re-painted so I'm pulling the engine out anyway. I'm also planning on swapping to a Magnum serpentine belt system since I'm going EFI. I figured that while it's out, I can send it away to get swapped.

Thanks!
 
JoesEdge said:
Hey all! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I was recently kicking around the idea of swapping out my flat tapper hydraulic cam for a hydraulic roller cam.

Currently, I have the the Comp Cams XE268H cam in my LA 360 with 9.6:1 compression, Magnum EQ heads with 1.6:1 Comp Cams roller rockers. Also running Edelbrock Air Gap Intake. After running it for years, I think I'm over the loud sowing machine sound of the XE cams. It does run great though.

I was hoping that with a Roller Cam it would
  1. quiet down the valve train (getting older and wanting quieter)
  2. improve overall drivability
  3. maybe pick up some power
  4. with a 112 lobe separation pick up some more vacuum since I'm planning on going EFI
  5. no longer require special oil with Zinc, etc.
I was interested in the following cam, but ultimately I would leave the recommendation to my engine builder since he put everything together.

Voodoo Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Cam - Chrysler 273-360 270/279

Seems to be comparable to the Comp Camps XE268H cam.

I know it's not a inexpensive swap due to the cam and lifters, but would swapping to roller cam achieve the above (especially making it quieter)?

By the way, I'm getting the Duster re-painted so I'm pulling the engine out anyway. I'm also planning on swapping to a Magnum serpentine belt system since I'm going EFI. I figured that while it's out, I can send it away to get swapped.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
They that rhoads lifters take away the noisy valve train. Last time I looked into a hydraulic roller cam conversion it was over a grand for the cam and lifters. That's the main drawback of a mopar, no matter what you do to them they cost 2-3 times more than a ford or Chevy, but them mopars are still my favorite
 
A Magnum roller setup is fairly cheap. It's the route I'd go if I really wanted a roller, but one of the issues with aftermarket roller cams is getting a compatible distributor drive gear.
The Magnum stuff, and mildly upgraded cams for them, don't require any fancy distributor gears.
 
Buy a flat tappet cam ground on a .904 cam core. Yours is a Chevy grind.

The .904 lifters give 95% of the performance of a roller at a better price. Hughes, Howards and Mike Jones all offer .904 cores. Others, too but you have to be specific.
 
The only retrofit hydraulic roller lifters worth using are Morel's. They ain't cheap. I'm using a hydraulic roller in my 273 build, and looked at one of Lunati's cams also. I called to check availability and the guy at Lunati was like :rofl:! My machinist pulled a string at Bullet, and got them to grind me one to the Lunati specs, because they had blanks in stock. It's still gonna be 6 weeks! THEN, we find that the lifter bores in my motor were factory oversized. I took my block to a race engine shop in VA today, and got the lifter bores sleeved. I got a good deal on the work, but it still wasn't cheap...plus the 600 mile round trip. Will I use another hydraulic roller? Yep, for all the reasons you mentioned......but DAMN, the wallet hurts! :BangHead: :realcrazy:
 
If you want more vacuum, you should not use the Voodoo cam, it has more overlap than the XE 268. 112 LSA is also NOT the way to go, unless you want LESS power.
What you need is a cam on 106-108 LSA, single pattern, but with less duration. More power with more vacuum will be a compromise, & the Isky 270 Mega would be the best bet.
 
I'd go solid or not at all. Otherwise, it's simply not worth the trouble.
 
My hyd roller is just as noisy as a solid roller, LA block, but I like the valve train sound with quiet mufflers, not the other way around.
 
Good luck finding any Hyd Rollers....everything on backorder for months!
 
We need to bring it home, get the hell out of China.
Now for this, did I just hear that the Bidens negotiated a deal for China to get 75% of all the Cobalt coming out of Africa? Guess who's making the batteries for those damn electric cars? We love Hunter Biden. NOT.
 
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JoesEdge said:
Yeah, I called IMM Engines the other day and talked to Fred and he confirmed that it's tough finding hydraulic roller cams.
Click to expand...
Guess it depends on your budget and schedule. I dont have a budget and want it in the car by Spring. My Comp Cam was on backorder - possible ship date 3/1/2022 - that was to long for me.
I ordered a custom grind from Jones Cams It was about the same $$ and should have it by the first of the year.
 
Run what you have for now and start ordering parts for the magnum, maybe in 2 yrs you'll have enough parts to build an engine.
 
I was going to suggest Howard's cams in Oshkosh, WI. It costs very little to custom grind a cam, for me, $20.00. That was 2 yrs ago .
 
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