i went to the shop building my 331 stroker and listened to some of the 331"s they had in 2 cars whos engines were built by them (lucky to be able to hear and compare) and i decided to go with a solid lift custom grind from Claysmith cams. spec are--duration at .050-258degree--intake and exhaust valve lift-.560--108 lobe center. i am starting to get a little pumped about getting it running

 

You went in the right direction. A lot of people say that you have to adjust the solid lifters all the time and it's hard on the valvetrain. Not true. It is only if you don't get the valves adjusted right and leave them out of adjustment. Once you get them set you won't have to mess with them. Make sure you have poly locks and if you really want to be on the safe side get some stud girdles.

 

If it's flat tappet be absolutely sure you follow break in procedure and use a good oil.

And solid valvetrains can be problematic in some situations. Certain lobe profiles on solid rollers can be problematic when cruising at lower rpms, and it's not uncommon in those cases for people to pound their valvetrain to death just cruising around town.

There's a reason virtually all factory cars, even OHC today, use hydraulic valvetrains. Reliability. As long as the ramp profile is correct and you use good valvetrain parts it should be ok, but don't expect it to be as trouble free as a hydraulic setup.

 

First off, that is a pretty good amount of duration and lift. Be ready to run the idle up and do not plan on running a brake booster because your vacuum is going to stink, but it should run the power band up.

Valley, I agree and disagree. When I installed my engine and again when I had to redo the top end, it took about 3-4 valve adjustments before everything mated up and the lash quit increasing, and this was with polylocks and rocker stud girdle. Without the hydraulic function of the lifter keeping slack out, you have to adjust the valves every time there is wear in the parts that creates slack. This will probably be a bunch right at first and then it will settle down.

I do not know anything about your valves, but with that much lift and with a solid cam, I would consider running lash caps to save your valve tips. They require a little break-in and valve adjusting before they settle down (more than without), but they can/will save you the heartache of pulling heads to machine or replace valves that were mushroomed by a solid cam.

 

i am running the aluminum Edlebrock rpm performer heads.