can you kID a hydr. roller cam by eyeballing one?

[jerry S]

can you identify a hydr. roller cam by eyeballing one?

ARe there any identifying features to a hydraulic roller? FPS shipped me a custom grind to go with my head porting but the "cam card" (hand written specs on a sheet of paper) has the designation "Hyd" on it. I was thinking I should see "Hyd R" or something like that. This has planted the smallest seed of doubt in my mind. Anyone have any tips or tricks?

 

[Helmantel]

You mean you're wondering if it's a hydraulic roller or just a regular hydraulic (flat tappet) cam? Flat tappet cams have lobes that are more "pointy", while rollers have a more rounded lobes. You could always ask FPS.

 

[jerry S]

You mean you're wondering if it's a hydraulic roller or just a regular hydraulic (flat tappet) cam? Flat tappet cams have lobes that are more "pointy", while rollers have a more rounded lobes. You could always ask FPS.

THat is just what I am wondering. I asked for a standard base circle hyd. roller. I just want to be sure that I got what I wanted before I install it.

 

[302 coupe]

post a pic of it. If the lobes are machined and have sort of a natural brushed metal finish, it's a roller. If the lobes have a dull blackish finish, it's a flat tappet.

 

[D.Hearne]

Ditto, a flat tappet cam will have a Parkerized finish (just like old military weapons) and the lobe peaks are sharper.

 

[jerry S]

I dropped the parts off at my builder. He looked at the carb (my Holly 4150 650 vac. secondary carb that went to JET Performance for a Stage 3) and liked what he saw. He then asked to see the cam card. We pulled the cam out and he laughed when he saw the cam card, remarking "You are going to get yourself in even more trouble than before with this cam if you aren't careful." He then verified that it was in fact a roller so problem solved.

 

[Rusty67]

Glad to hear its all starting to come together for you Jerry. Good luck with the rest of the repair.