Yes BD, and JMD. I guess I slept while these came out. Used to be you needed the Crane(?) conversion kit.
$318 for the Howard Cams lifter set seems to be most affordable. Anybody use those ones?

 

I am running a solid roller cam in my 408 but its the same idea..Converted it to a roller using comp cams linked lifters...Perhaps not an issue in a mild build but the reduced base circle cams can flex in a high performance app with strong spring pressures...I also like the fact that I have much more camshaft options this way...

 

thanks for all the input, looks like i'm leaning towards the Comp Cams Magnum 260 HR.

 

The only differance between a roller and no-roller block is the height of the lifter bores. The roller lifters are esswentially the same thing as a non-roller, but with a wheel on the bottom. WHich makes them longer. To get proper oiling, Ford made the lifter bores taller.

To make the conversion, you have two options:

1. Use stock ford lifters, spider and dog bones. That's where the reduced base circle cam comes in. The smaller base allows the lifters to sit lower in the bores, and get oiled properly.
As said above, you need to drill and tap two small holes in the lifter valley. That's easy. The other issue is getting the dog bones to sit flat on the top of the bores. Most blocks will need to be clearanced a little bit for the dog bones. Again, an easy operation that can be done with a hand grinder.
But, some blocks have as cast or irregular areas at the top of the lifter bores. These will have to be carefully machined flat.

2. The second option is to use any roller cam, and link bar lifters.

Option is usually cheaper, if you don't need machining of the lifter bore tops. But option 2 is easier.

Don't forget to measure for proper push rod length.

 

So for option 2, does the rod length basically decrease based on the difference in height of the std vs. roller lifters?
Option 1 seems better for a new or rebuild with the engine on a stand whereas option 2 may be better for an in-car swap.

 

Pushrod length always has to be checked on a per application basis.

 

Yeah, but you gotta be in the ballpark to begin with.
I thought it was a simple question.

 

With link bar lifters the push rod length is usually decreased. The lifters are considerably taller than stock.

With a reduced base circle cam and stock lifters (option 1), the push rod length is pretty close to stock.

 

That's what I was thinking, the pushrod length decreases as much as the lifter height increases, as a starting point.

 

I went with a Trick Flow Stage One roller cam with Howard's link bar lifters. Couldn't be happier!