Roller Cam Blocks?

[BadBowtie]

Is there certain years that are roller cam blocks? Mortec.com has a couple casting numbers but i was wonder what years i could find 305 and 350 roller cam motors. Can a blcok be retrofitted to using roller cams? Also can Vortec heads be put on any small block or is it on certain motors.

[Knanthrup]

I believe it\'s \'88-up that they started, but not all of them were roller ready. Retro-roller fitting is easy with aftermarket cam companies. Check out Comp cams for example, they have a whole line of retro-fit roller cams that fit any older blocks

[BadBowtie]

i have a roller cam that was in a 305 i had so id like to find a roller block for it. i dont want to buy a new cam when i have one here!

[BrandOmatic]

pretty sure vortec\'s are a 350 head.. i assume you\'re asking if they\'d work on your 305.. i guess i\'m not sure. I think they would bolt up, but beyond that..? Maybe too much flow for a 305 to work with. Not all too sure on that one.

[Knanthrup]

Are you sure you want to build the engine around the cam? Being a stock cam off a 305, it\'s not going to be very aggressive, especially if you put it in a 350. What are you trying to get out of the engine, performance, economy, towing, stock daily driver?

[ZZ4Blazer]

87+ 1 peice rms motors should all be roller cam ready. Not all of them have roller cams, but they all should be roller aceptable.



No machining required or need for the more expensive retro fit roller cam stuff.



You can run a hy roller cam in the older blocks, but you need to run a retro fit cam, and roller lifters. They\'re a little more than regular roller cam, but not much.



IMO, I love my roller block, and love the power the smaller Im makign with the smaller cam, and the extra rpms I can turn with it.

[stroker1]

On 2005-04-03 06:01, ZZ4Blazer wrote:

87+ 1 peice rms motors should all be roller cam ready. Not all of them have roller cams, but they all should be roller aceptable.



No machining required or need for the more expensive retro fit roller cam stuff.



You can run a hy roller cam in the older blocks, but you need to run a retro fit cam, and roller lifters. They\'re a little more than regular roller cam, but not much.



IMO, I love my roller block, and love the power the smaller Im makign with the smaller cam, and the extra rpms I can turn with it.

All this sounds correct to me. Sounds like good advise. But Bowtie, what you said about a 305 cam, that would kind of kill the cam if you put it in a 350. Cubic inches tend to make a cam seem smaller. The vortec heads from a 350 would work well on a 305 if you can keep the compression up around 9.5:1 or even 10.0:1. That may be hard to do because of the piston selection available for 305\'s. And you would probably want to go with a little more cam to help move the extra air/fuel mixture that would be available. But don\'t go to big w/the cam on the 305. Like I just said, a smaller engine behaves differently than a large engine with the same cam.

[tracker]

with the right amount of grinding and intiense thinking a early block will accept the late model roller setup. i am in the process of doing so on my newest 400 block to install all factory roller parts. it is so easy that you will just about shoot yourself when you see how easy it really is.

no need for the expensive aftermarket parts anymore guys. just 2 bits for a die grinder and a cam button.

[BadBowtie]

well the cam i have was in a 305 but its designed for torque not HP.

im wanting to use it in a 350 to put into a 4x4 blazer.

Im looking to build an engine that makes lots of low and mid power, top RPM of about 5500.

[JayDee]

with the right amount of grinding and intiense thinking a early block will accept the late model roller setup. i am in the process of doing so on my newest 400 block to install all factory roller parts. it is so easy that you will just about shoot yourself when you see how easy it really is.

no need for the expensive aftermarket parts anymore guys. just 2 bits for a die grinder and a cam button.



Wish it was that simple. The problem is that the earlier blocks were not made with accurate enough equipment to bore the lifter bores ABSOLUTELY perpendicular to the cam. Factory roller lifters have a perfectly flat surface on the roller itself. If it is even slightly mis-aligned, you will get uneven wear on the cam and lifters.

After market roller lifters for converting earlier blocks have a convex roller which can tolerate some mis-alignment since they were designed for blocks that weren\'t perfect. Remember, GM has used these same boring machines since 1954. When the 1955 265 V8\'s came out.

In 1987 they switched to newer CNC machines for both the Chevy and Olds motors.

I\'m sure someone has gotten away with using new lifters in old blocks. I\'ve seen the \"kits\" on ebay. That doesn\'t mean it will always work.

It\'s your money and time, so take a chance if you want. IMHO, I\'d spend the extra on the conversion lifters for an \"OLD\" block. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif