Well After taking my car out last weekend, I wiped a lobe on the Lunati Cam installed (not sure why, possibly not broken in properly, oil level was fine, used Kendall High zinc race oil). Not very pleased with it since it is a relatively fresh engine build (done before I bought the car) I know of 3 others locally that have had bad luck with Flat Tappet Cams recently. I've heard that the build quality has went down and mixed with modern oil issues (even high zinc) they still have failure issues.

Since I will be doing a cam change, I have been considering upgrading to a Hyd Roller Retrofit. I have searched the other threads on here and not really had much luck finding anything out. (Some say its the best investment, others are horror stories this way and that. like all things on the internet, it must all be true!) The Cam that's in it is spec'd below. I would like to keep the specs similar. It's just a fun driver so I'm not after any serious power or performance, mainly just a good idle and long term reliability. The motor has factory heads and less than 6,000 miles on the build (have no idea on the internals. it is a stock 69 block so I would assume a 4 bolt main with a .30 Bore. Edlebrock performer RPM Intake, holley 4150 carb) Here is what I have below from the cam card.


Lunati Part# 00010 Grind #BM-II
.480/.480 Lift
292/292 Advertised Duration
230/230 @ 50 Degree Lift
109 Lobe Separation

I would like to buy a retrofit with Cam, Lifters, Chain, Push Rods and go ahead and put roller rockers on it at the same time. The Comp Cams Thumper Kit looks appealing but I have read some negative feedback on its design. Its a 4 spd car.

Any help or pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated. I'm far from being an expert so please excuse me if I come off sounding like an idiot here.

Thanks,
Brew

 

That's a good cam if your have the compression. @9.5 to 1 should be good and they are right, going roller is a good investment but it costs!
Many try to find the early 90s blocks that have roller cams or are tapped for the roller cam spider hold down. These block have the block off plate for a mechanical fuel pump and all the tapped holes for the roller set up. It will cost about $250 -$400 to set up a 90s block
To retro fit your block will be $400 just for the roller lifter retro kit. They work great but it costs. You'll need a different distributor gear (bronze), timing cover with cam button, I think the fuel pump pushrod needs to be changed and on some block it might need a little grinding to fit the lifter in. Nothing hard but your are looking at a grand, give or take. The nice thing about roller is you can buy used. Used cams, lifters, everything
They do develop a wear pattern but it's no that sensitive. The weakest link is your distributor gear. If you fail to replace it, your cam gear will be wiped out and the metal will be throughout your engine.

 

Roller is the way to go. I put in a Howards retro roller last Spring 2014-.525/.525, Duration 219/225, LSA 110-and it has been perfect. I spoke to both my engine builder who did the bottom end of my OEM L-82 and Howards and both stated that you no longer have to be concerned about the iron OEM gear on the distributor and the fuel pushrod with the newer roller cams since they are made with an iron gear compatible with the distributor gear and you can use an OEM fuel pump rod. You might want to read this article as well:

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/...03-roller-cam/

The toughest part of the roller cam install is the use of cam button to prevent the cam from walking forward and measuring the pushrod length for the new pushrods. Otherwise, it is pretty straight forward as long as you have the roller lifters that comes with the roller cam kit….

 

im running this one. initial $$ is high but worth it.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hr...5-12/overview/

 

That Howards roller cam looks good..

I went with more lift .525, less duration for maximum mid range power 219/225, and a tighter LSA 0f 110 for great mid range punch-operating range of 1,500-5,600 RPM for the roller cam which was perfect for me since the motor basically operates between 2,500-5,000 RPM, most of the time, with occasional blast to 6,000 RPM. With the AFR 180 64 CC eliminator aluminum heads, the old L-82, now a 355, is a stormer….Should be in the range of 425-450 Gross HP with the 10.2:1 compression…runs with zero issues on 89 octane...

 

mine runs great on the bottom end, 355, 10.1 compression w/ dart iron eagle 180's 64cc chambers. L82 factory alum. intake. quadrajet, fairly smooth idle and good vacuum. LSA112. MSD streetfire dist., mine runs fine also on 92 oct.
to the OP> go retro-roller....

my car is an L82, but didnt have the oem engine, a GM replacement from '82. but it was a 4bolt main with steel crank, i added LT1 rods and flat top KB pistons, and built it up from there.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lun-90001/overview/

 

As jb78L-82 said above, you don't need to change your distributor gear and fuel pump drive rod if you go with a mild hydraulic roller, which is typically based on an iron core. I have that setup in my car and it is working fine. The cam button and pushrod length issues are the challenging parts of the swap.

 

Really good article.

A cam button can be a bit of a pain but there are timing covers that include the cam button and make setup a snap.

 

so the shopping list would be...
roller cam
retro lifters (with higher bar)
custom pushrods (neat vid to measure here - instructional-videos-and-tech )
Timing cover with cam button
pull original non roller bearings

is a spider still needed?
are upgraded valve springs required?

 

Cam bearings are the same

No spider needed. That's what the link bars do

Springs should be changed to match the cam requirements

 

Here was my hyd retro shopping list, I realize that not everyone's will be the same:

1. Hyd Roller from Comp with an upgrade to a billet core. Comp will build this cam with a pressed on iron gear. (I didn't believe it either until I saw it!)
2. Short stroke Comp roller lifters.
3. Pushrods.
4. Bronze tip fuel pump pushrod.
5. Billet timing set with roller thrust bearing.
6. Cam button and lockplate.
7. Edelbrock aluminum water pump with the adjuster to rest against the factory timing cover to support the cam button.
8. Valve springs, locators, retainers and locks.

If you want to get really fancy, the Jesel belt drive is a better setup when compared to the roller timing set, cam button, lockplate etc. Hard to justify the $800 Jesel price tag, but if you purchase a cast timing cover to go with the other stuff, you arent that far off of the price. Cam end-play and timing is infintely adjustable and a breeze with the Jesel.

For things along the valve train hardware lines (keepers, retainers, locators etc.), the Manley catalog is very informative.

 

been using this cover on the past couple roller motors ive done. well worth the ~120$ but they are very tight fitting to short water pumps
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/clo-9-221/overview/

 

if the cam went flat.... mettle shavings will be all over.... good chance your whole engine is whipped... sorry... been there done that...

 

Hopefully it is not as catastrophic. Only one or two lobes have failed and it did have a new filter on it. I have not begun to disassemble it but I do plan on dropping the oil pan and clean it out. If I find some other major issues, its time for a ZZ Crate

 

Brew,
A retro fit roller would give you a nice boost in average power. The cam needs to be selected based on what you want out of the engine and the combination of parts you have.

 

I took out 1 lobe... enough to wipe out a brand new 383 with 600 miles on it... the shavings are like sand paper in the piston sleeves and crank bearings...

 

Pauls advice is solid. You need to pull the pan off the engine and pull a few bearings and check it out. Don't spend good money and then have it fail.

 

Beware that the thick aluminum aftermarket timimg covers wil linterfere with your short water pump. If you shim, you run into pulley alignment issues. Nothing insurmountable, just more work.

I used the stock timing cover with bolt brace at the water pump. Measuring for the cam thrust button is the biggest challenge. Also, some cam locks, and cam bolts wont work with the cam button/stock timing cover. make sure the parts you get are compatible.

 

Help me with one question that occurred to me in reading this post. I know flat tappet cams are ground with a very slight taper to keep the cam pushed rearward. Roller cams do not have this taper, so some retaining method is necessary.

When did GM start using the front cam retainer plate to hold the cam in place? Was it with the intro of the stock roller cam? This would make the cam button un-necessary, so a later block would be a good option. Is my thinking OK, or fuzzy? But, I suspect posters to this forum would be using older/original blocks.

Ralph

 

You are absolutely correct. The later blocks have the factory retention system. 1989 and later I believe