I think I may have narrowed down the kit I want, but I don't know if I need a retrofit cam kit? I really would like to run a hydraulic roller tappet and roller rocker setup, but how can I tell if the block I choose will need one of the "retrofit" cam packages? Are there certain castings on blocks I can look for to where I won't need to to a retrofit?


Jason, can I get your cam with that spec in a roller kit? I noticed it said mechanical roller and not hydraulic, are they different? If I could run your exact cam spec in a hydraulic roller setup I think I would be absolutely GOLDEN PONYBOY

 

I think you have to call and have them custom grind for hydraulic rollers. Yeah mines a solid roller not hydraulic so it means that the valve lash needs to be checked occasionally but they are lighter and can rev higher without valve float like can happen with hydraulics. but that's only a concern above like 6500-7k RPM but the solid rollers do really wake up the big blocks and make lots of power. Hydraulics adjust the valve lash automatically so you don't need to take the valve covers off and lash them but I've heard it's not really that hard to do.

 

So is there a huge benefit to a hydraulic roller, or would mechanical be better? I think i've notice higher lift in the mechanical roller cams, is there a reason for this? If a solid roller (which is the same as mechanical, right?) cam is a better way to go or not

 

well it depends on if you want to adjust the lash occasionally, they both can generate some good power.

Use mechanical roller:
If you don't mind adjust lash
want to spin above 7000 RPMs
want the sweet sound
If you want a little more HP than hydr with same specs

Hydraulic roller:
Don't wanna adjust lash
don't spin over 6500-7k RPMs
want less valvetrain noise

I don't know if the lifts are higher on the solid roller which is the same as mechanical roller but roller cams do have higher lifts than flat tapped. I want solid roller cuz it really wakes up the BBC and they sound amazing and I don't mind adjusting lash.

 

How often do you or would you need to adjust the lash? If I knew what I was doing I'm sure it wouldn't really bother me to adjust it every now and then. But if I can get a custom grinded cam with specs more like yours, jason, in a hydraulic I think I might prefer that. Less maintenance =) haha. And I still don't get what a RETROFIT cam kit is? Do you have any knowledge about it? I've been searching all day and for the life of me I can't find out what I need to know.

 

well i think it depends on how much you run it hard but some people only a few times a year and some once a month. yeah nothing wrong with hydaulic. I think retrofit cams are for if the block i set up for a flat tapped cam and you wanna run a roller, assuming you don't make any changes to your block, then you can get a retrofit roller cam but if the block is already set up for a roller then you would just get a roller cam and not a retrofit roller cam

 

That is such a simple answer and exactly what I wanted to know haha. And I guess I don't need to find a kit, I can probably just get a custom grind cam and buy the lifters separately. I think I wanna run a comp cam, should I go through summit to get a custom grind or can I go straight through comp? I'll probably keep the whole valvetrain comp just so I know it works well together (cam lifters rockers). And I assume whoever I buy the cam from can help me selecting the appropriate springs. I think all of the 454's I'm looking at are flat tappet, I'm not sure when or if they started running hydraulic so I'll probably be needing a retrofit

 

I don't want to rain on the parade, but turning over 6,000 rpm in a BBC will require more than a roller cam, and any cam with specs that tell you it makes max HP at over 6,000 rpm is not a cam you want to use if you want a street engine with good manners. Most of these cams with peak HP above 6,000 will also not have much below 3,000 rpm, so it's not something you can cruise around town in without loading up your engine and fouling plugs.
I'd stick with something like this cam:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1302/
It will give you a good power band and with the torque of a big block it will still have good low end power without fouling plugs. The main reason for going to a roller cam is to handle the extreme lift that most of those cams have, which with hydraulic or solid flat tappet lifters would cause premature lifter wear. Save yourself some time, money, and grief and go flat tappet, not a custom gring roller. You don't need a roller setup to get 500 hp, it can easily be reached for a much more tolerable price.

 

lol yeah i know it requires rear gears, converter, heads that can breathe at higher rpms, good exhaust.., i was just saying that in engines that go above 6000 rpms, the roller cams are usually better but the solid rollers do rev up faster because of there lighter components.

but like Vall said, you don't need a roller to get 500hp but it's the route i'm going

 

Wow Vall, that kit is so freaking cheap. It is seriously about 700 bucks cheaper than a hydraulic roller. I'm still torn though simply because I think that a hydraulic roller valvetrain would be really nice. Is this silly of me? If a hydraulic flat tappet would be just fine for me, then saving 700 dollars is impossible to say no to. Would it be smart to still swap out the rockers?