L79 hyd. roller cam upgrade

[67since67]

Looking forward to the next project.

Any recommendations on a hydraulic roller to replicate the 151 L79 Camshaft? Most important is the idle quality (sound) and to replicate drivability of the GM 151 cam.

Normally I would opt for a "blue print" flat tappet, but recently I've had two friends that each had TWO (2!!) successive FT cams go flat on the break-in in their respective BB engines.

Dave got lucky with a freebie used cam and lifters that were perfect for his app. and runs great. Chuck is going roller.

I am open to any recommended cam grinder.

TYIA! - Bill W

[x33rs]

I've been using flat tappets with success but 2 things I do.

I have been nitriding the camshafts, and I run lifters with direct face pressurized oiling. Meaning the face of the lifters are drilled and squirt oil directly on the cam lobes.

This does add to the cost, lifters are usually around $300 and an additional $150 on top of the cam price to have it nitrided.

Still cheaper than a retro roller upgrade if you really don't want that. Nothing against rollers here though as I use them in a couple other engines.

On our 69Z I had a custom solid flat tappet grind done to mimic the original cam with a couple minor changes in lobe design, nitrided it, and run Comp EDM solid flat tappet lifters to oil the lobes. So far we've logged over 50k miles on that engine, I check the lash at oil changes, and after over 5 years the lash hasn't budged. Very happy with it.

When it comes to hydraulic flat tappet lifters, I like to use either Rhoads with their pressure lube option, or the Crower with the pressure lube option. Those have treated me well.

As far as cam grinders, or more specifically a smart guy that knows his cam lobes, I prefer to use Paul at Koerner Racing Engines in Tucson. Paul and Jeff were close friends to Harold Brookshire and they have access to many of his lobe designs that were given to them when he passed. He generally uses Lunati to grind them, which is owned by Comp. They have had some success at the EMC competition and build most of the Nascar SW tour engines out here. Consequently I use them for my machine work as well.

Bullet is another great place to go and has a lot of Harolds older designs from his Ultradyne days.

[Vortecpro]

Originally Posted by 67since67

Looking forward to the next project.

Any recommendations on a hydraulic roller to replicate the 151 L79 Camshaft? Most important is the idle quality (sound) and to replicate drivability of the GM 151 cam.

Normally I would opt for a "blue print" flat tappet, but recently I've had two friends that each had TWO (2!!) successive FT cams go flat on the break-in in their respective BB engines.

Dave got lucky with a freebie used cam and lifters that were perfect for his app. and runs great. Chuck is going roller.

I am open to any recommended cam grinder.

TYIA! - Bill W

My daily driver intentionally has a solid flat tappet lifter cam, I drive it almost every day with zero problems, now this does not happen by accident, it happens by design, and the correct parts. Please understand I'am not trying to change your mind, because I know having a cam go flat in your engine is a devastating experience. Interestingly enough my engine is a copy of a L79 except the cam, I'd be happy to share with you what I did if your interested.

[x33rs]

Originally Posted by Vortecpro

My daily driver intentionally has a solid flat tappet lifter cam, I drive it almost every day with zero problems, now this does not happen by accident, it happens by design, and the correct parts.

Yep, my wife has been daily driving our 69Z for going on 6 years this spring and the solid flat tappet is doing fine.