I am currently looking to rebuild my motor but I have some questions with what cam to put in. I am converting my 350 to a 383 stroker with 10.7-1 compression. I been told that I should to convert a retro-fit roller cam for more power and reliability. I started shopping and I saw the roller cam conversion is very expensive. My question is how much more power with the roller cam make over the hydraulic flat tappet, and is it worth it? The cams I am looking at are the Voodoo retro roller with Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 243/251 & Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .560/.565 (RPM range 2800-6400). And the voodoo hydraulic flat tappet with Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 241/249 & Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .525/.546 (RPM range 2500-6600) How much more power will the roller make over the flat tappet? Is it worth all the extra money to convert?

 

Anywhere from 20 to 50 hp depending on heads, intake exhaust etc, etc.

Is it worth it? Well, I bet you will think so after you round a few lobes on the flat tappet.

 

Not a real long time after purchasing my '72 the 454 aquired a dead miss and not a real long time after the miss started all off my engine bearings got cleaned out and killed all of my oil pressure. I had to rebuild the entire engine and installed a new Comp flat tappet camshaft. After about 200 miles of driving guess what? Away went another lobe. I didn't suffer any bearing damage so I left the engine in the car and installed a Lunati hydraulic roller with Morel lifters. The total cost for the roller installation was probably in the $1,300 range (camshaft, lifters, billet steel timing chain, pushrods, roller rockers, cam button, gaskets etc.) and I don't begrudge one cent of it.

From this point forward I'm considering the installation of a roller camshaft as just part of the cost of building an engine. The operating characteristics of a roller are just nothing like a flat tappet and I don't have to worry about which oil I use.

The specs for my roller are like 0.575 lift and 225 degrees of duration(or something close to this) and I'm also still using my stock converter. I guess you could say I really like it.

 

Go with the roller. I was thinking this same thing when I built my 385 motor a few years ago. I went with a solid flat tappet. It works good but I have to run a lot of duration for the power I want. I have since bought a solid roller and all the fixings for somewhere in the 1K range. Less duration but it should make better power in the useable power range. I should have gone to a roller right away. I'll be installing it this winter.

 

I put a newly built up LT1 gen1 with flat tappets in my car this summer and loved it!! Right up until it died due to a wiped cam with under 2k miles on it. Very frustrating.

 

Comp cams K-Kit hydraulic flat tappet is around $450. A Retro roller K-Kit is around $1000. For a $550 difference you get 20 to 50 HP, usually across the entire operating range of the cam. Then you have to add in the cost of high ZDDP oil for the life of the engine. The cam lift, duration and ramp rate you are looking at in a flat tappet is pretty radical. These and the solid flat tappets are the types of cams that are more likely to have issues with wiped lobes. I bet your build costs are in the neighborhood of $5000 to $7000 depending on quality of parts. Do you want to spend that much money and time and even take the chance that you will be the unlucky one to loose a lobe? If you do lose a lobe and are lucky you won't trash your bearings. If that happens you will spend another $1000 for the k-kit at that point, plus this nightmare. (add gaskets, timing cover with button, pushrods, Labor to remove hood, distributor, intake, valve covers, everything off front of motor, radiator, shroud, cam & lifters, reintall cam and lifters, Setup valvetrain, adjust valves, reinstall intake and distributor, front of engine, reinstall radiator and shroud, reinstall valve covers and hood, retime, retune) If you hire this done you are easily at 1/2 the cost of a new build $2500 minimum, If you trash the bearings you redo what your doing now and add in cost $1000 for a new K-kit plus R&R engine. Figure $5000 to $8000. Does this make the decision easier?

 

Yes it is expensive, but I am about to do it on a budget. I can afford to do the expensive, $300 Cam, $500 lifter route, but that wouldn't be much help to the guys here on the forum on a budget. Besides, my wife only lets me spend so much a month on hobby cars. Yes, I am whipped. I found a used LT4 Hot Cam for less than $100. I need a post '88 roller cam timing chain set, a cam button, and a set of hydraulic roller conversion lifters. Summit has all of the above. The beauty of the GMP LT4 Hot Cam is that you don't have to buy a special distributor cam gear. The Hot Cam also has a fuel pump lobe, though I won't be using it. The LT4 is slightly milder duration wise than my current Summit 1105 flat tappet cam, but with 1.65 ratio rockers, my lift will be way up. I think the cam will work good for my 350 L-82 with AFR 195 heads, headers, and 2 1/2" exhaust, and 900 cfm Holley throttle body fuel injection.
But while I'm in there, I'm going to install my Edelbrock RPM Air Gap, switch back to a small block oil pump, do a serpentine belt conversion, and install an electric water pump. Stay tuned.
Bee Jay

 

800 miles on a flat tappet.... then well.... the whole cam went FLAT.....roller tappet on latest engine...

Roller tappet =more $$$$$ Flat tappet =even more$$$$$$ (later) not having to rebuild your engine after 800 miles.... priceless...

 

Roller cams are worth the cost!

 

That flat tappet cam is huge for a 383. Go roller and you'll never look back.

 

no more wiped lobes or searching for specific oil,

from what i understand you can use the newest SM rated and be fine,

and if you decide to change cams later you can reuse the lifters i believe

 

Not really. I am running a 252/260 @ .050 in my 383 motor. It is quite streetable. Not very good with the FI unit I am running now so that is why I am converting to a solid roller with 242/248 @ .050.

 

Thank you for all your inputs...I will def be spending the extra money and get the roller cam. I will let everyone know how it turns out. My buddy and I will be pulling apart the motor this winter.

 

Been there, done that, have the wiped cam to prove it!

Go roller, you won't regret it.

 

We must have different tastes when it comes to streetability.

 

Hey guys, BeeJay stated that he is planning on useing the LT4 cam. Also said he was going to use an post '88 timing gear set. (I have sent him an pm) but I would like to know why?do you have to use an certain gear set? Or can you use any sbc timing gear set. BeeJay if you already answered this then I'm sorry. I might have jumped the gun

 

I have to agree with the hyd roller as the way to go. I have the retro roller in my 383 and love it. I also just built a 355 with a ZZ4 hyd roller in a non roller block using oem parts and special length pushrods. The block needs to be fitted for the dog bones and the spider using 4.1L,2.2 L hyd rollers.

 

mejetdrvr: If memory serves the snout on the LT1/4 cams is different from a Gen 1 cam. The Gen 1 sprocket won't fit.

 

It may be on the edge of good street manners.

 

The factory roller cams and sprocket have a different bolt pattern than the flat tappet cam. I don't know why.
Bee Jay