FE solid roller?

[Dwight]

anyone running solid roller in their FE?

I will drive this motor a lot and don't want a lot of maintenance. I plan on doing the Hot Rod Power tour and London Cobra show. So I'll drive 3,000 miles in eight or nine days on the Hot Rod tour. A little over 1,000 on the LCS.

Not looking for hp just more durability and low maintenance.

Please chime in and let me know what you think

[hauss]

I would say you should be just fine however I like hydraulic roller lifters [low maintenance],but that's just me.

[1795]

I had a solid roller in my 428 CJ and was putting in approximately 4,000 miles per year. I would check the valve lash at the beginning of the season and it was fine through the end.

[blykins]

Good pressurized lifters from Morel, Crower, Isky, etc. would make it last a bit.

However, if you're not looking for max horsepower, a hydraulic roller in an FE will spin to 7500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_JY47anClA

[55312]

I have a solid lifter roller cam and it's no trouble. Adjust the lash once a season and it's good to go. I usually put 3000 miles per summer on it. It's a center oiler so I can't put a hydraulic cam in it.

Tim

[eschaider]

Tim,

Depending on how frequently you maintain valve lash and how zippy your cam ramps are, solid rollers can have average to poor life cycles. Moderate cam opening ramps. good lash maintenance, and responsible engine operating practices should provide you with reasonably good lifter life.

All that said mechanical rollers are not as reliable as hydraulic rollers. If you are not using the mechanical roller to allow the use of fast opening ramp cams, it begs the question why are you using them at all, instead of their more reliable hydraulic cousins. The obvious answer might be your block does not provide oiling for hydraulics. If that is not the case you would be better off with hydraulic rollers.

Driving the car to promote mechanical roller life is fundamentally the same as the way you would drive the car with hydraulic rollers — so why are we making life more difficult that it already is by choosing the less reliable mechanical rollers instead of the more reliable hydraulic rollers?


Ed

[55312]

Look at the last sentence of my post.

[patrickt]

Dwight, a properly broken in solid flat tappet cam, not a roller, will still be buzzing right along long after you have passed from this earth and it will have provided you with years of fun before you do. The sound really can't be beat.

[Dwight]

I have a 427 center oiler block.

Today I have two choices.

First; run solid roller.

Second; let my buddy a machinist and engine builder modify the block to accept hyd rollers.
I'm not a 100% sold on the mods. I would like to see a picture of one that has been done. Sounds like a lot of plumbing under the intake.

Hyd rollers with the mods would cost more. But I'm willing to spend the money because this motor is going into my 66 Fairlane which I plan on keeping. When I can't drive then my oldest grandson will drive me.

That is why I'm asking about the solid roller and if I can drive 6,000 miles a year without replacing a lot of parts. And the valve train noise may be an issue.

So keep the suggest coming

[blykins]

I’d run a solid flat tappet.

You can also have the block drilled so that it would have the necessary oil galleries to run a hydraulic lifter. Pretty extensive work though.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by blykins

I’d run a solid flat tappet.

How 'bout a nice 60 year old performance grind like mine?

[Gaz64]

Solid flat tappet camshaft for me. Roller cams are more maintenance, and more chance of failure. Hydraulics are even worse.

I have replaced many hydraulic cams, (flat and roller) for parts failure.

Many more than the handful of flat solid cam failures, that I can still count.

[Dwight]

blykins
You can also have the block drilled so that it would have the necessary oil galleries to run a hydraulic lifter. Pretty extensive work though.

Do you know a shop that can drill the oil galleries?

[hauss]

Read the first responder.

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by 55312

Look at the last sentence of my post.

Some do have provisions for oil but at the same time some don't. While not a luck of the draw sort of event it is not too far removed.


Ed

[blykins]

Originally Posted by Dwight

Do you know a shop that can drill the oil galleries?

I believe Blair Patrick can.

A nitrided solid flat tappet with tool steel lifters would break in really easy though and would last forever.

[Jerry Clayton]

KISS solid flat tappets-------

[hauss]

Originally Posted by blykins

I believe Blair Patrick can.

A nitrided solid flat tappet with tool steel lifters would break in really easy though and would last forever.

Nothing last forever

[blykins]

Well, I guess if you have to be anal about a sentence, that's one that's ok to be anal about....

However, in comparison to a solid roller, a flat tappet will seem to last forever.

Hydraulic rollers will too. Hundreds of thousands of miles.

Lash and spring pressure will kill a solid roller lifter.

[Jerry Clayton]

Some of you know my past history of top fuel dragster and funny cars-------early on some roller lifters came apart(late 60s, early 70s) and little pieces were all over the motor-went to solid flat tappet cams and never looked back ( until I was doing some ProStock/ and Indy car stuff) The new hyd rollers are super these days for street stuff! But nothing beats that .025-.027 gap sound on the Ford FE engines---------