Yeah ive done a lot of reading now and i realize a roller setup has a lot more to it than just some lifters and a cam. But if i were to take and buy the same cam and lifters IF EVERYTHING ELSE LOOKS GOOD and i went to go break it in, what do i do differently to ensure it doesn't have the same fate? I also realized that although my cam kit came with single springs with dampers i should NOT have used them as they were too high of spring pressure. Im not sure what lbs they are but what spring would you recommend for cam break in with stock style heads?
The number 1 killer of these cams is not having your **** together on the first fire up.
You can’t sit there on the key cranking it over. It should hit and run like it’s been running for thousands of miles.
The hard/soft lifter idea is bullshit. I’ve never seen a single bit of evidence for that. No one has posted a Rockwell test on the lifters. And for that matter, cast iron cam cores are made of low grade cast iron. There‘s nothing trick about the lifters or the cam.
Get your **** together. Make sure the lifters aren’t tight or prostitute loose in the bores. Make sure you have a known carb and known ignition that are verified before you even attempt to start the engine.
Fill the fuel bowls with fuel BEFORE you start the engine. Every carb ever has at least one vent to atmosphere. Use a small bottle and fill the bowls up before you hit the key.
You should NEVER start an engine EVER with less than 40 degrees of timing on it. EVER. Retarded timing makes heat. Heat kills ****. Killed **** is bad. If you are not sure how to set the timing for initial start up then get someone to help you.
If you think you can do it, this is how it’s done.
You need a damper that is degreed or you need a timing tape. You can make a mark on the damper by doing the math. That is: Diameter*Pi/360 and then calculate what 40 degrees is. Roughly 40 degrees is 2.5307 BTDC mark on the damper.
Once you know where 40 degrees is, rotate the engine until you are at 40 degrees BTDC. Put the distributor in and line the rotor up with number 1 on the cap (or housing) and make damn sure you turn all the advance in to it. With all the advance in, the rotor should point exactly at number 1 on the cap.
Bolt the distributor down and then if everything else is good, start the engine. Get the RPM up to 2500 and vary engine speed on a fairly regular basis. You want the lifters to rotate and get plenty of lube. That lube comes off the connecting rods. Run at least 20 minutes like that.
Other things to do is take the inner spring out if you have one. It’s the same procedure except that once you’ve run the engine for 20 minutes without the inner springs, install the inners and run it another 20 minutes using the same procedure above.
There is no reason to be afraid of flat tappet cams with the exception of hydraulic lifters. I do not use hydraulic lifters in anything. They are notoriously unreliable and most are just as noisy as solid lifters anyone. My exception to that is for guys who aren’t competent to lash valves. There are guys that don’t know how and guys that can never learn it.
Other than that, everything gets solid lifters.
