Alrighty, talked with dad and this is what everything is set at: Cam: $285 Grind: $189 Lifters: $325 We have the lifters in stock now. Valve spring wise, if you have good springs with pressures of 125-140 pounds on the seat and 310-325 open pressure you should be good.
I compared this to some Chev and Olds packages, and they ran around $650, so it's not a bad price, imho.
This is great i just dropped a 350 off at the machine shop . I got the engine from Larry70GS it has 10-1 forged pistons and a mild cam i was going to have them go through it and reessemble. This would be a great time to do a roller set up any suggestions for a cam grind i want the car to have nice street manners.
ta212 cam..or slightly more torque go with ta284-88h postons gs114 grind is what i'll be using though
Does anyone know if a special gear is needed for the distributor when useing a roller cam? PS i have an HEI
I was reading in a Summer 2008 Engines masters a really good article called "Roller Power" where they say: "Standard steel gears will not jive with a roller cam, since the cam is ground from billet cores. Steel on steel is not compatible from a bearing standpoint, so the drive must be replaced with once featuring a bronze drive gear" I believe the bronze gear is available from TA. There is a lot of other really great info in this article so I urge everyone to read it. I am not going with a roller cam at this point due to our intended RPM range being under 6000 rpm as well as the fact that we plan to experiment more with cam profiles before spending the cash on a custom roller. If anyone is wanting to rev over 6000 rpm then the roller cam setup would be great in my books but only if you have the ported heads, and singleplane intake to take advantage of the rpm.
Gerry, These roller cams Mike is bringing to market can use a regular distributor gear. They are street roller cams, you can use a mechanical fuel pump also.
I've been tempted to order a roller RV_12 for Pandora's 350 rebuild but I'm not sure that eliminating a little friction would be worth the price. My experience with small block Chevys is that a roller cam is usually ground with more lift than a flat tappet cam with a similar duration, the idea being to get a little more power without sacrificing drivability. If one is going to apply a flat tappet grind to a roller cam, it would seem that one is reducing friction. I can see where that appeals to the hot doggies who want to run over 6000rpm, but what about an mpg weenie who's looking for low end torque and won't be running above 5000rpm? Is the reduction in friction significant enough to be noticed?
No, but the peace of mind that comes from not worrying about your cam going flat is a big incentive, especially for a street car that is driven a lot. I have to believe that these rollers will have a more aggressive ramp than a typical flat tappet hydraulic. Like you said- getting the valves slammed open quicker lets you gain torque and maintain driveability; it's a winning situation for a street car.
I disagree.:bla: Your peace of mind is good and all, but it means nothing to us. For how many DECADES have people been running flat tappet cams? When a GOOD cam is installed properly, broken in properly, and the right oil and additive is used, it works fine. Every time. If you want to shovel in your hard-earned cash to TA for roller cam on a near stock application, go ahead, but it's foolish. However, you won't hear TA say that.:Brow: Only when you start throwing in china parts and such, then you run the risk of having problems.
Best for what? Please explain your reasons for this statement. I'm not saying you're right or wrong, just wondering what you based such a comment on.
Cason, Here's a concept your should get your head around.. If your ever going to get alum heads for a 350, they are going to be a direct result of folks "shoveling" their money to TA for 350 speed parts. Bet on it.. TA's big block customers are the proof. We now have virtually everything for a BBB, because we supported TA over the years. Your animosity toward this vendor is well documented, but the reality is that for a 350 guy who wants parts, your actions and attitude will retard the development and production of the parts you want so badly. If you don't want to take my advice, then then your alternative is to graduate from college, make a million dollars, and have your own Alum heads made. We will be waiting for that.. hey, we still live in something that resembles America, it could happen. Let's hold our breath... you go first.. p :laugh: ------------------- As to the subject of why you spend the money to go to a roller profile.. that's simple. You can run a much more radical roller cam, and maintain the same driveability of a much smaller flat tappet camshaft. This is a critical development in the evolution of the Buick 350, which is a cylinder head limited engine. You need longer valve events to make power. But those longer valve events have a negative affect on driveablity.. until you go to a roller profile. But until recently, there were no roller profiles available.. until TA Performance developed them. Reduction of friction, and parts reliablity is a secondary benefit. JW
I shall have mine finalized tommorrow with an altered poston gs114 grind, thanks to Mark B for the specs
How many people here have had a cam failure during break-in? For how many decades did oil have the necessary pressure additives for a flat tappet cam? I look at many different message boards related to muscle and antique cars, and it is a big issue, and it's really well documented. Of course you know that. It's foolish and impossible until it happens to you. I guess I can see your point that a near-stock application isn't going to run high spring pressures, etc. I guess I'm just ready to move on to modern technology. Why not have your cake and eat it too? o No: :birthday: Like JW said; a modern cam profile will make the most of the headflow we can acheive with factory heads.
