My roller cam just came in today and I'm curious about what lifters I should use. I've heard the 440 used the same lifters as the solid tappet engines; so maybe they'll work? But this cam is for hydraulic. Also, what else do I need to do to convert the solid lifter engine to hydraulic lifters?
Cam specs are:
450 lift intake/exhaust
224 duration@.050 intake/exhaust
114° LSA
Those were the specs Comp recommend for a mild single turbo daily and the company that had the cam and ground it was LSM Engineering.

You ordered a hydraulic roller cam and got one? I really hate to break it to you at this late date, but I believe you're stuck without lifters as there is no oil gallery for the lifters in the block. The OE hydraulic 225 lifters are fed from the pushrod because of this. I don't think you'll find a hydraulic roller that is top-fed rather than side-fed, but call LSM back and see what they say. What's worse is you can easily achieve lift and duration like that with a reground flat tappet cam and a flat tappet can even get the valve off the seat faster than the roller. Hydraulic roller cams were made for fuel economy, not performance. Early hydraulic roller lifters were terrible about bleeding down and costing valve lift and duration. What happens is the side force distorts the lifter body creating a leakage path.

Those who have run roller cams used small block or big block solid-roller-lifters with custom link bars.

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Joshua

LSM Camshafts
http://www.lsmeng.com/index.html

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Hyper_pak

Joshua, the goal is economy not performance with this particular build. I'm building a slant as though it had been made in a more modern decade. It will also have multiport injection and a coil pack ignition system. There's also a guy currently designing an upgraded aluminum cylinder head. Hopefully he'll have them available by the time I get to that juncture.

Hi Rollerslant,

Sounds like an interesting project. When you feel like it, you might give us an idea of the car and other drivetrain components you are going to use. Ambitious and exciting...

Best wishes,
Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Well, there's holistic economy (what it costs to do the whole job) and then there's spending a lot to achieve very little. I'm afraid you're already well down the road to the latter. What did it cost to make this cam for which you can't get lifters? What are you going to do if/when you're stuck with a production cylinder head?

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Joshua

Joshua,
If I can't find hydraulic lifters or a reliable way to convert it over I can still use solid lifters you just have to set your lash correctly. I would prefer to use hydraulic as they don't require as much maintenance. If he doesn't finish designing the head in time (or decides not to produce them) I'll just have to settle for a port and polished stock head or save up and design my own.

Lou,
As for the transmission I was thinking an A500 with an adapted 904 bell housing and as for the car I'm debating on a late 70's volare or aspen because they had options for power windows, cruise control, AC, front disk brakes ect. I figure getting a car that already has all of that equipped would likely be cheaper than adapting it to something that doesn't.

So true! Take that statement, and your stated goals, to it's logical conclusion and just buy a Lexus IS300/GS300, Mercedes E320/C280 or a whole host of BMWs that meet the goals of a high-tech I6 with modern chassis and amenities. You'll get a far better car than any F-body you can build.

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Joshua

That sounds incredibly boring. What's the point if it's easy? This is hot rodding, it's about taking an idea you have and making it happen so that's what I'm doing. It's not about the money it's about the adventure.

I've never understood people who want to work on cars....who are willing to rebuild an entire engine....who are willing to convert it to EFI....who are willing to add a 9 speed transmission...who are willing to convert to 16" Brembo power disc brakes and Ferrari rack and pinion steering....but aren't willing to adjust the valves twice in 50,000 miles.

Drive an M3 and tell me it's incredibly boring.

We're handicapped by this ancient engine architecture. Asking that engine to haul around a loaded F-body is handicapping it further. Hot Rodders did exactly the opposite of what you're proposing (old engine, later chassis). They used older, lighter cars and upped the horsepower often with the latest V8 available. I'm thinking right now of a Model A built in 1952 with a 232 ci Studebaker V8.

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Joshua

D

My other idea was either a dart or a valiant.

Here you go. These will work just fine.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-91774/make/dodge

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Rob

It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me.

Awesome thank you!