The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop what cam, hydralic or solid lifter

my 235 is at the machine shop now, I would like to get several choices on a good cam to run, truck will be kept mostly stock, 1 barrel carter "yf" carb, stock exhaust manifold, 3 speed on the column, with stock 4.11 gears.

would you advise a solid lifter cam, or a hydralic?

the 235 is a '59 model passenger motor that had a hydralic cam, what would have to be changed to run a solid lifter cam? are the push rods & rockers different?

I would go with the solid lifter cam. The 235 really doesn't have the oil pressure to keep the hydraulics happy. You will need new pushrods and of course lifters. Everything else will work unless you go with a more radical cam. Then you will need stronger valve springs. Give Patricks a call. He will be glad to share his opinions on this topic with you. He has some strong arguments for going solid.

You can also use a 261 cam, which of course is a solid lifter cam. It is almost identical to the mild cam Patrick's sells, but a lot cheaper (I got a new, not reground, one for arount $110). You can also use stock lifters, pushrods and valve springs with it. Makes my 235 run quite nicely.

Well I'm going to be different and for what is to me a very good reason; your talking about a totally stock engine otherwise, correct? So why not use the hydraulic cam and lifters and save yourself all that noise, adjustment and expense. The solid lifters will not gain you a single thing. The only reason in using them would be to take advantage of some performance goodies which you are not using as I understand it. And don't let anyone tell you that a six banger oil pump doesn't have enough pressure. Mine runs 40 lbs +.

Well excuse me! I have heard this a 1000 times from various mechanics and old inliners. I guess if you have a brand new pump or a high volume pump it might help. My oil pressure is 30# and goes down to 10-15 at idle. Guess I need a new pump or go to straight 30 oil.

One major drawback to the hydraulic lifters-cost. IIRC they were at least 3 times the cost of solids. I've also heard that the design of the hydraulics didn't allow for efficient "burping" of air, and would therefore sometimes get air bubbles. The bottom line is to make an informed decision and do whatever makes you happy.

The hydraulic lifters are not plumbed to an oil gallery, so don't have access to full oil pressure anyway, they just need a continuous supply of oil. The early hydraulic lifters just weren't that great, but got the job done.

Baldy

I'd go with the hydraulic set up;less maintenance,quieter,and to a certain degree,oil pressure isn't really a factor.as long as you have enough oil pressure at idle to keep the lifters from collapsing (10 lbs should be plenty) and enough volume to keep everything wet,the hydraulics should be fine. If your lifters start to collapse at idle,it's time to pull the engine down for bearings and a new oil pump anyway.