"think thats a huge part of the whole experience, a "bad to the bone" nasty idle that sounds good"
Exactly buddy.
When I hear a cobra with very mild sound, I ask why ? lol
(but, what ever turns your crank)
I mean, the feel and sound of any,..... performance engine, it what it's all about. I may be selling my 428 FE to a guy that has a mild 302, because he likes the performance and,..... the looks of the block being sanded smooth, painted my body color and the SOUND ! When I fire up my motor, I get a huge smile on my face, and other people also. At car shows, I let anyone with a clean butt, to sit in my cobra, and sometimes, let them start it. When this happens, people come running to the car. lol
That's what I love about the cobra and,..... a great sounding engine.
Sometimes the motor loads up and fouls the spark plugs a bit, but I clean them up on the highway when leaving the show.
Nope, the new engine, a all aluminum side oiler will have a solid roller cam.
Partly because I want to achieve higher rpm than my flat tappet. I expect the red line to be 6,000 or higher. I need to work out the rest of the engine before making a decision with the specs..
You can have a very lumpy motor with a hydraulic cam, and you don't have to have real high lift. The duration & lobe separation can make up for that. With my side oiler, I can go to say,... 11:1 compression without detonation, because of the aluminum heads but, there's no need to and it will be on pump gas. 10:5 is fine with me.
I'll add this also. Some people are concerned about the needle bearings of a roller cam falling apart and causing problems but, the hydraulics,... also have needle bearings, unlike a solid flat tappet.