WHO has never had a cam or lifters go bad?
Some members suggested to have flat tappet lifters REfaced. I've wondered if the metallurgy is different in new lifters, would it make sense to take OLD OEM lifters and have them resurfaced.
I do have enough used lifters here to do 3 engines. ALL came out of engines that had no cam or lifter problems.
There was a video awhile back where a cam grinder (Could have been Oregon cams?) not only resurfaced lifters but also machined a flat area down the outside of the lifter body to induce oil flow to the lobes. This flat area allows small amounts of the oil rushing through the oil galleries to turn DOWN toward the cam lobes.
I'm still interested in changing cams to get a combination that works better for me.
I keep struggling with the decision of flat tappet or roller.
The roller option just feels like it costs too dang much for my comfort level. Breaking it down, a cam swap adds up to well over $2000 when you include everything.
What leads me back to a flat tappet is that I don't personally know many people that have had cam failures with their flat tappet hydraulics. For all the horror stories that I have heard, I can only recount ONE engine that all of my friends have had that lost a cam.
I personally know of at least four FBBO members that have great performing cars and they have flat tappet hydraulics and use proper oil.
I have a FT hydraulic in Jigsaw:
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...I have one in a 360 Dart, a 440 Power Wagon, a 72 Duster with a 360 that has a repro 340 cam....
All of them run strong but most are stock compression, iron head, soft valve spring medium performance engines.
The engine in the red car....
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...is a bit more fancy. 9.8 compression, 495 cubes, aluminum heads and 2" headers. I'd never run a stock cam in this engine but this wild Lunati peaks at a point where the heads don't flow and the Tremec won't shift. I'm looking to step it down to move the power range back down to where it will be useful.
Part of my ongoing struggle is with money.
No matter how much I have, I always wonder if spending more is a waste or if it is a wise move.
This Lunati cam was used in this build because I already had it and kept the lifters in the correct order from the last time I used it.
I had the MP '528 solid cam before this one and while it was a good performer, even it left me wanting more sometimes. The 528 was dropping off while this Lunati was still going strong.
This 5 speed will not shift if I'm revving much over 6000 rpms and the Lunati makes the most power from 3000 rpm to well above 6000.
I need something that makes power between 2000 and 6000 rpms.
