I started to rebuild my 1969 351w I have a mild hydrolic flat tappit cam. My budget has increased and I can now reasonably afford the retrofit roller lifters that ford and other various companys produce. My question is can I use the same flat tappet cam or would I need to change to a roller cam if I wanted the roller lifters?

Thanks!

 

Roller lifters need a roller cam. I suppose you could use a flat tappet cam but defeats the whole purpose of rollers. Rollers allow for a more aggressive ramp on the cam lobe (faster opening and closing). Why you just use a roller lifter on a non-roller cam is beyond me, there would be absolutly no benifit at all, just a waist of money. You also will need to modify the block to run the roller lifter in a non-roller block.

 

wouldn't using a flat tappet cam with roller lifters cause strange lifter wear?