Need a cam without the groove...

[Steve V]

Hey guys who sells a flat tappet cam without the oil groove in the #1 journal?I am not ready to go roller yet,just sick of the cam bearings not lasting.

 

[mikestertwo]

Hey guys who sells a flat tappet cam without the oil groove in the #1 journal?I am not ready to go roller yet,just sick of the cam bearings not lasting.

I was wondering the same thing. It looks like all the aftermarket cams have the groove probably so they can be used in the pre-87 blocks.

 

[Steve V]

And I use the TA bearing and it is FUBAR with less than 10,000 on the build.

 

[JDEstill]

I'm not aware of any flat tappet cam without the groove. The only cam I know of that you can get without the groove is a Comp Cams hydraulic roller, assuming they still make them without the groove. I got one a few years ago when someone warned Comp that the grooveless cams would not work in the older blocks; I was worried that Comp would add the groove to every cam to make them compatible with all blocks. Whether they did that or not, I don't know. I just knew that I was going to get a grooveless cam while I still could!

For a flat tappet I think you are going to have to figure out some way to fill the groove. I've wondered if something like JB Weld would hold up there, or maybe a similar epoxy like the stuff people use to fill lifter valleys and such. In the groove it should only be under compressive stresses, which an epoxy ought to be able to withstand pretty well. If it was under any kind of tensile stress, trying to pull it apart, I would never try something like that. I've yet to see anyone figure out a really good way of filling the groove.

John

 

[Silver 6]

Give Lonnie a call. He knows a lot more than just transmissions. In one of our discussions he told me about spray welding the groove and having the front cam journal turned to smooth the surface.