Hello,
I am building a 1970 4 bolt main sbc 400 for my 86 camaro. I have bought the roller lifters and the guides with the spider tray. i know I will have to clearence the block for the lifters, and drill it for the spider tray. I have a zz4 cam , and 1.6 roller rockers. Is there anything I should know b-4 I do this. I was actually thinking of going to a larger cam, I have a 3000 stall, I would like to use it.

Do yall think its worth the trouble converting it to roller? Thanks

 

It is a little late to worry about it now, being that you already bought all the parts. But in any event, roller lifters let you use a more aggressive cam grind without the lobes getting chewed up, and should be able to produce more power than a flat lifter cam having the same duration and lift. There is also less friction so that should also help. With 400 inches you can use a fairly wild cam and still have a streetable engine, check with the cam grinders & see what they suggest, make sure you get the proper springs, as flat lifter springs don't handle the quicker motion of the roller cam too well.

 

I have been looking and trying to talk to a cam person. Im trying to see how much of a lift I can have with a stock style piston, I didn't think about the springs, i have .600 or .700 lift springs (I'd have to look to see), What would you suggest. The zz4 cam is a .474/.510, and doesn't need a stall. I had a flat tappet cam in the same block with .488/.510 and i had to have a stall, and it had n awesome lope to it. I was told not to go over .525 lift with a stock style piston on a flat tappet cam.

 

It is not so much as the lift as the speed that the roller cam moves the valves, springs made for flat lifters are not designed for it and you wind up with valve float and seat bounce. The cam that you eventually use will have a chart recommending the proper spring pressure. The total lift will determine whether the valves are going to hit the piston or not, and should be the same with either roller or flat lifters, as long as the rockers have the same ratio. The other thing you have to look for is spring bind, where the lift of the cam causes the spring coils to touch each other and the spring now acts as a solid piece, and causing serious engine damage.
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...nfo/index.html

 

Do they use a spider tray in the older blocks?

 

As far as I know, and I may very well be wrong, on the older blocks you can use linked lifters and there is no need for trays. If you want touse thelifters made for roller blocks, then you need the trays to keep the lifters from spinning in the bore. Different engines have different requirements.

 

What yr of cam should I be looking for??

 

I am building a 400 engine for my camaro and I am going hydraulic roller in it as well. One article I read said you have to be careful with retofitting stock roller lifters and spyder to keep the lifters in place. Stock roller lifters can't be used with high lift cams, something like about .550" lift or so. Under highrpm's, the lifters can come up beyond the wishbone and turn causing a wiping out of the cam and lifter. Aftermarket reto hydraulic roller lifters are longer and use a tie bar to keep the lifter oriented on the lifter bore. The cam I am using will be at about .568"/.574" lift with a 1.6 full roller rockers and using Beehive springs rated to .600" lift on Patriot Super Street 215 aluminum heads. Yes, the use of retro hydraulic cam and lifters will add alot to the cost of building so I have been buying parts this whole year so that by next spring I will have everything to put this motor together.

 

Well, here is what i did. I bought factory style roller lifters (not retro fit)and clearanced the block for the lifter guides. i didn't realize that the lifter guides move up and down alittle till I took a look at another lt1.Then drilled the holes for the spider pan (3 holes).
Bought a cam for a 87 and upLT1. and a double roller, roller timing chain set. All this in a 1972 400 block. The lift on the can I had ground was .510/.520 with 1.5 rockers, .544/.554 with 1.6 roller rockers.I actually have $300 in everything. I got the lifters oil baffle pan, spider pan, push rod for 90.00 and the cam was 155.00, All NEW, except for the spider pan. if anyone needs a good cam for 155.00 I can give you the web address, Im very happy with mine.