OEM STYLE ROLLERS IN PRE 87 BLOCK

[Z-TARD]

Has anyone had any success retro-fitting post'87 style hydraulic roller lifters into a pre'87 block? It looks as thought it should be a fairly simple swap. Should only have to drill and tap 3 holes in the lifter valley to take the retainer plate for the keepers. Is there a difference between cams produced for oem style rollers and aftermarket style rollers? The difference in price (Summitt) between aftermarket and oem style hydraulic roller lifters is about $100, I bought the keepers and retainer plate from a junkyard for $7. The math seems to work out in my favor so far...Any information or advice would be appreciated.

[grumpyvette]

its been done many times with mixed results, most of the time it fails to work correctly,heres a few reasons why

(1)lifter bores in the OEM roller blocks are slightly taller and give far more support

(2)the OEM lifters are taller and require the taller lifter bores

(3)the OEM roller blocks have a boss cast in and tapped for screws the non-roller block has far less metal to anckor the spider

buy the correct retro fit roller lifters, they are lighter,they are shorter to fit your lifter bores, they are in most cases linked together in pairs and can handle the higher rpms better,and the extra $100 in cost is far cheaper than a machine shop will charge to weld in bosses for the spider and drill and tap your block and possiable sleeve the lifter bore to add the needed height

[Guest Anonymous]

I'd go look on Crane's website (and comp cams I think), they make a linked pair of roller lifers for early blocks that I think are near bolt on without much if any mods.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Guest Anonymous]

Some time you have to grind clearance in the lifter area for the cross bars and you have to watch for wear in the roller bearings . Watch your spring pressures and it's best to use a goog one piece valve .

 

Goo Luck TM