Hey, we haven't had a good oil war in a while...

[Tom Katzenberger]

I'm going to be rebuilding a 455 this winter and am contemplating either regriding the cam and flushing the lifters or going with a roller cam and lifters.

Todd, are you happy with the roller option?

Take care,
Tom K.

 

[tmsnyder]

I'm going to be rebuilding a 455 this winter and am contemplating either regriding the cam and flushing the lifters or going with a roller cam and lifters.

Todd, are you happy with the roller option?

Take care,
Tom K.

So far so good but it's a cascade effect, literally doubles the cost of the rebuild. Everything changes:

Morel lifters with angled top, flipped around (facing outward) for 455, to clear intake. 403 can probably use other brands with flat top.
Composite distributor gear from BOP Engineering
Custom length Smith Brothers push rods, since I was going to use roller rockers I opted for oil restricted pushrods.
Pushrod guides
Studs for rockers
Scorpion roller rockers
Valve springs that can handle both the necessary lift and open and closed pressure for the faster ramping roller cam. That was fun to find b/c the Comp Cams recommended spring is not compatible with the rotators that our engines need. I suppose they could be used with lots of shims and no rotator but I wanted the rotator. Luckily there's a flat tappet cam from Howard that uses springs that are working fine for my application. High lift and good pressures.
Extra thick rubber gasket with internal steel, adds height so that the rockers clear valve covers. Still needed to massage the valve cover internal baffles to clear.
Probably some other stuff I forgot, ..... it adds up!

 

[Tom Katzenberger]

Wow! I forgot about needing a distributor gear that's compatible with the cam gear. I'm crossing my fingers that the donor engine I have is low mileage , and they can regrind the cam and lifters. I was talking to my buddies about the roller kits in the 455 Olds. I was thinking it was a 2 to $3000 upgrade in the rebuild. And the only thing I would be doing is trying to avoid a softer cam and lifters. I will see with direction I need to go when I crack open the engine.

I wonder if they can harden an existing camp or I have a custom cam built in hardened. It may still be a little cheaper than making the roller motor.

Wish me luck.

Take care and have a great evening.

 

[tmsnyder]

Wow! I forgot about needing a distributor gear that's compatible with the cam gear. I'm crossing my fingers that the donor engine I have is low mileage , and they can regrind the cam and lifters. I was talking to my buddies about the roller kits in the 455 Olds. I was thinking it was a 2 to $3000 upgrade in the rebuild. And the only thing I would be doing is trying to avoid a softer cam and lifters. I will see with direction I need to go when I crack open the engine.

I wonder if they can harden an existing camp or I have a custom cam built in hardened. It may still be a little cheaper than making the roller motor.

Wish me luck.

Take care and have a great evening.

Keep them in order and if cam and lifters look good, why not just re-use them?

 

[Tom Katzenberger]

Yes, just machine the wear out of the lifters and cam if there's enough meat on both. That's what I am hoping.

 

[LarryW]

I have reused lifters and cam by simply matching the lifter to the lobe. When you take it apart, chart the lifters on a piece of cardboard so that when you put the engine back together, the lifter goes back to the lobe that it came from on disassembly. Wear patterns from lifter to cam now match so further wear is not accelerated because of a mismatch in wear patterns. Same principal applies to placing valves back in the same guide, pistons in the same hole, rods on the same crank throw, etc. All assuming you are doing a minor rebuild without major machining.
IMO, the biggest thing lowering the chances of excessive wear on a rebuild is NOT using break-in oils, and using a brand/viscosity right from the start that has proven its ability to resist metal to metal contact and resist wear. JWIT

 

[Tom Katzenberger]

Todd and larry , that makes perfect sense and very logical. Why machine the cam and lifters? When they will wear again anyway. It does appear that the wiser choice would be rematch everything , so that they fall back in to their already self made and prescribed wear pattern. If I'm a machine them, they will lose material in the machining process.And then again , lose more material in the break end process. It all hinges on the existing condition of the cam and lifters. Very good points , and I think I will use that logic on the rebuild. I really don't want to convert to a roller motor or buy new components which are more inferior in quality.

You guys have a great weekend and take care.
Tom K.