Originally Posted by
racingrick
a friend of mine went to a 351 windsor non roller block. He needs a cam and lifters for it, but I have never messed with a 351 and I don't believe he has either, so I'm trying to help him out
visual inspection, how do I tell a flat tappet from a hydraulic roller from a solid from a solid roller cam?
does only the hydraulic roller need link bar lifters to use, if not, how do I decide it can use mechanical solid lifters?
appreciate all help in advance,
Rick
This is beyond me Rick. I'm a really good wrench,.. but not that great of a mechanic.
To the best of my knowledge what separates a roller from a flat tappet and solid from a hydraulic are the way the lobes are designed. I have seen a flat tappet hydraulic cam used in a roller motor and from what I saw the motor ran great. Whether a roller cam can work with flat tappet lifters I really dont know. I have no idea how to visually tell one from another. I honestly dont know. Some of the more experienced guys can probably give a better description then I can.
They do have conversion kits to put roller lifters in non roller blocks. I'm pretty sure they only work with the link bars as thats all that I have seen in the converted blocks. I've personally yet to actually build a 351 of my own.
The only time I would use solid lifters is if I'm building a motor that will see 7500+ RPMs and primarily in a track only car. My father inlaw and I built a solid lifter 327 (SBC) years ago. The motor saw 9000 RPM on the big end. It was not a very street friendly motor and very temperamental trying to run it through the staging lanes. The valve train needed constant attention, readjusting the lash almost every time out. For a street/strip car I think hydraulic lifters would be less of a PITA.
Hurst