Solid roller cams

[wart1de]

My engine guy wants to use a solid roller in my SB however i've heard some people say that they wear out valve springs. I'm looking for some opinions on this as i'd rather not be pulling heads and replacing springs every year.

The engine will be between 550-600hp and will be mostly street driven.

[73EStroker]

Thats a lotta HP for a SB. You are going to need one helluva bumb stick to get that m uch power. then you end up with a "hard to drive around town" car. My 451 goes like hell but is unbearable to drive in town at 30mph. On the hiway she just runs. If I did it again it would be a 512 with a smooth hyd roller cam.

[femtnmax]

Have seen several comments recently that solid roller cams don't hold up well on the street...maybe the idling at stop lights, etc.   Have also heard the best thing for street roller lifters is direct oiling to the rollers.  Then there is the oil pump drive gear replacement on some "regular" basis that you need to keep in mind.  Some of the cam suppliers are offering roller cams that are compatible with the OEM oil pump drives.  Let us know how it works out.

[brads70]

Thats a lotta HP for a SB. You are going to need one helluva bumb stick to get that m uch power. then you end up with a "hard to drive around town" car. My 451 goes like hell but is unbearable to drive in town at 30mph. On the hiway she just runs. If I did it again it would be a 512 with a smooth hyd roller cam.

I agree that's a whole lotta power out of a small block and still be streetable!
I'm considering a 451 next, why do you say it's unbearable to drive around town" ? Cam?, converter stall speed to high?, compression ratio to high? Just learning....?

[Strawdawg]

"Strategic park"

Is that as far away from police stations and policemen as possible? 

[72cudamaan]

"Strategic park"

Is that as far away from police stations and policemen as possible? 

 No, I would guess that "strategic parking" is parking like in the pic. Right between the ferd and the vette. Fire up the motor and watch their glass shatter.   

[Road_Runner]

I agree that's a whole lotta power out of a small block and still be streetable!
I'm considering a 451 next, why do you say it's unbearable to drive around town" ? Cam?, converter stall speed to high?, compression ratio to high? Just learning....?

I had the same questions myself.  I'd thought about the larger cubes needing less compression, less cam, etc. to make the same or even more horse power but why is the 451 unbearable driving around town at 30 mph?  My Roadrunners engine was as built as much as was practical in the mid 70's and its power is a bit like an on/off switch, shakes at stop lights (not a bad thing!), and had a tendency to run warm (not hot) sitting in traffic for a while.  I know when I was running a 4.10 out back it wasn't any fun on the highway, but I ran with guys running 4.56's and even one Superbee that ran 4.88's on the street, but that wasn't the engine exactly.  I'm curious about the trade-offs of a big cubic inch stroker, like are they slow to build rpm?, or does that even matter with 500 c.i.?, etc.  So maybe 73EStroker will elaborate?

Later, Jim

[wart1de]

Thats a lotta HP for a SB. You are going to need one helluva bumb stick to get that m uch power. then you end up with a "hard to drive around town" car. My 451 goes like hell but is unbearable to drive in town at 30mph. On the hiway she just runs. If I did it again it would be a 512 with a smooth hyd roller cam.

It's purely a weekend car. The goal is for it to run a high 10 down the quarter. I'm not trying to build something on a budget but I am trying to build something that will be as reliable and the require least maintenance whilst meeting that goal.

I've got a new Mopar block which is off getting CNC machined to allow roller lifters to fit so while that is away i'm debating whether to go hyd or solid. I'm leaning towards hyd.

[73EStroker]

Brad - my 451 has a Lunati 586 lift and 255 durtion @050 solid lifter cam. It is rough and I have a 4 speed. Not a good round town car but jeez - on the hiway it runs like hell. Still lopey at 60mph light throttle. 3.73 gears and Passon OD box. Pulls over 7000 willingly though. But nonetheless we only floor it momentarily so my comments are about driveability. Granted my combo is insanely fast but where do we run the most? - on the road - who is there with us? - johnny law. I have to break the legal just to get the car running smooth in 4th gear.  I should live in Europe but oh those fuel costs! Life is always a compromise.

[brads70]

Brad - my 451 has a Lunati 586 lift and 255 durtion @050 solid lifter cam. It is rough and I have a 4 speed. Not a good round town car but jeez - on the hiway it runs like hell. Still lopey at 60mph light throttle. 3.73 gears and Passon OD box. Pulls over 7000 willingly though. But nonetheless we only floor it momentarily so my comments are about driveability. Granted my combo is insanely fast but where do we run the most? - on the road - who is there with us? - johnny law. I have to break the legal just to get the car running smooth in 4th gear.  I should live in Europe but oh those fuel costs! Life is always a compromise.

 Sounds like a fun ride!

[73EStroker]

Sounds like a fun ride!

Thats why I am really interested in your handling package ventures!

[Oldschool]

some peoples tolerance level must be low  Ive seen posts with the ".509" cam as "too much for the street" lolz .... it's really like any other "street" comments. It's really just a tolerance level to each owner 

I break all rules I guess! I run a spool - electric waterpump - roller cam -electric fan - single plane intake- 1200+cfm 1 barrel Dominator style carb - aluminum needle bearing roller rockers! When I roll into a car show I wanna be the nastiest thing there! I enjoy shaking peoples teeth loose and settin off car alarms! I "strategic" park also 

Amen brother...

Your set-up sounds a lot like mine and I love it.  Nasty sounding, ground pounding, strong revving, torque monster. Sure it might be too much for some, but it is a weekend toy and not meant as a daily driver. Occasional blast down the quarter mile just to get the soot out of it, then back to the streets. I wouldn't change a thing........           

[Cooter]

Big 'ol honkin' solid Roller cams are hard on valvetrain parts. There's a reason one "Has the Nastiest thing there"...They have plenty of two things most of us don't have, money and time to tear down all that "Race" sh*t and replace parts more often....Making that kinda power with a small block on the street, normally aspirated, will need a "Race" type solid roller cam...And a BIG one at that......The small block V8 was a nice engine and did what it should do when originally concieved, but to try and make BB power out of one and have it live, be fairly maint. free, easy on parts, etc. is just crazy...

IMO, the "Nastiest thing there" costs alot less than what I see listed as "Nastiest" here, and still runs high 10's-low 11's, and IS fully streetable...

My motor might not be the "Nastiest thing there", but I can bet it's been together for over 15 years and never even had the valve covers off a third time for a valve adjustment...Runs on pump gas, street tires (10.5", none of that steam roller early 80's sh*t that looks like it should reverse the earth's rotation when nailed.)...Sure, it runs a Dominator carb, NOS, and DOT tires, but it stays together...