I'm looking for flat tappet cam manufacture recommendations

I was hoping to run a hydraulic roller cam, but who knows when they will be available? I'm reluctantly conceding to the fact that I have to run a flat tappet cam if I want to drive my car in the foreseeable future. So ... does anyone have a recommendation for a cam manufacture? I'm wondering if cams from certain manufactures are less likely to fail during break in (or beating on it) than cams from other manufactures.

Also, I'm considering running a solid cam, but I suspect, in general, they would be more likely to fail than hydraulic cams due to their more aggressive cam lobes and no cushion in the lifters. Is this a correct assumption?

Thanks,

Jim

 

Have you contacted TA Performance recently? I thought I saw a post that they have been getting new roller cam cores.

 

Yep. I’ve been on the waiting list for heads and cam for over a year. 6 months ago I called and I was told I was 4th on the list for heads and in the middle of the pack of 57 people for a roller cam. Yesterday I called and was told I was 8th on the list for heads (I’m not sure how that happened, nor were they) and they couldn’t find the cam list to let me know how many people were in front of me. I asked if they were getting cores for the heads and cams and they said no. Obviously, the conversation was a little frustrating.

Perhaps I should be a little more patient and call back in a few weeks.

 

Post a "cam wanted" here on the board - you may get lucky!

 

In today's market it's a safer bet to go solid.....and actually the opposite in terms of chance of failure....the solid has lash it gets a break if you will....hydro is on constant contact.....Go solid....or run solid lifters on a hydro cam

I have a Poston 110 that needs a home and TA solid.....Bullet is a great grinder....Mike Jones is the "CamKing" and does buick cams
Howard's has some good looking grinds also

Scott Brown if your so lucky to get him to do one for you

But to answer your question not really..it's improper break in 90% of the time...or a lifter not spinning that gets guys in a mess..not the cam

 

Hugger - I'll send you a message.

 

I had luck with my bullet.

 

x2 on the solid lifter cam, especially since these days I hear it can be a real pain to get good quality hydraulic lifters.

Devon

 

I like my solid cam runs stronger than ever, took out the inner spring for break in and drove some miles on the break in oil, used Joe Gibbs break in oil and the regular Joe Gibbs oil with zinc afterwards. so far all is good been running since July 4, makes less noise than the other two hydraulic cams I had in here, go figure.

 

My experience as well with a BBC the hydro sounded like it had 30tho lash..the solid just has a nice even light tap

 

I've always run mine on the tight side. The solid lifters plus TA roller rockers plus headers end up sounding something like a well tuned sewing machine at idle under the hood; for what you can hear over the exhaust note, anyway.

Devon

 

The only downside to a solid in a buick is the damn $1500 or however much they are rockers....I myself don't care for adjustable pushrods

 

It does come down to personal preference for sure. I first ran TA's solid 5/16" adjustable pushrods while oiling the rockers through the head w/'67 big port heads with the popular TA 308S solid cam. Broke a stock rocker tip and switched to Gessler ported TA Stage 1 SE aluminum heads and roller rockers, and since the only other pushrods I had on hand were TA's hollow 3/8" adjustables, that's what is in the engine now even with TA's roller rockers. I use red Loctite on the pushrod ends & jam nuts, and have never had a pushrod loosen on me (knock on wood) even with the fairly radical TA 294-04F solid cam, which spec-wise is kissing cousins with TA 308S I ran before.

Devon

 

Hyd roller cam with solid roller lifters set at zero lash. Done.

 

Adjustable pushrods should be used for mockup,to determine the correct pushrod length and geometry. Then order the correct pushrods.

 

If your running a hyd roller, then you just get the TA 1412-2 lifters from TA. Those are the ones made by Johnson Lifters, and to date, I have used about 20 sets with zero issues. Many sets were used to replace the Morel lifters, which are not worth the pretty case they come in.

Last week I built a flat tappet motor here, and we found some NOS Johnson Hylift performance Hi Perf lifters gathering dust at my wholesale house. Paid $9 bucks each for them, but they are perfectly quiet... we will see this week how they perform on the dyno, but I am expecting no issues. So it's just a matter of finding the right lifter to have success with a hyd cam these days.

 

Anything manufactured before 2020 has a better chance of surviving.

 

I been looking for old stock stuff on Ebay....way to go VS this crap we have available to us now

 

Since this has become a winter project, I guess my best option is to hold off a few months and see if roller cams become available. If nothings looking up by springtime I may look for a solid flat tappet cam (new or used). Thanks for all the responses.

 

I'll add my 2 cents here.

I work on cars as a full time hobby and build about 2 engines a year. I've tried many aftermarket flat tappet camshafts, one of which i won't name, but seems to be used in all the hot rod shows. I've had several failures with this manufacturer and others where the lifter and lobe contact area gets chewed up during break in. I have also had an issue where a flat tappet hydraulic lifter simply came apart during break in. Btw, I break in all of my engines on a run stand as it makes repairs of leaks and other issues very easy.

Too keep a long story short, use a roller when ever possible. If I rebuild an old school 235 six cylinder solid lifter chevy, I have the cam reground and lifters refaced. However, when it comes to hydraulic flat tappet cams in a performance build, I only use Isky. I've talked to them over the phone and at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. I have even talked several times to the person that owns the company, I believe it is the son or relative of the original business owner Ed.

When I need a cam, I specifically get it and the lifters from them. I could discuss how their cams have a 5 deg taper. I could also discuss their USA supplied lifters. However, it would be more interesting and educational for you to speak to them yourself.

One more trick I have learned is the following. Mock up the engine so you can crank it with a starter. Intake off, valve train fully assembled. Crank the engine with the starter and observe the lifters as the engine rotates. If all of the lifter rotate in their bores, you will most likely have a successful break in. If any of them do not rotate, there is a good chance that it will go flat during the break in. Some times you can swap the lifters in different bores and they start to spin again. Other times you need to polish up the lifter bore. If none of this work, pull the cam and try a different one. Metal particals flowing through a freshly rebuilt engine is not good.

Anyway, i hope this helps. Eric