This what you can expect from a mild 350 build, done the right way.

4.100 Mahle pistons, 9.4:1
Scat Rods
N crank
#7 iron heads with 2.00/1.62 valves, no work except crossovers filled/dividers welded.
Erson hyd roller, 220/228@.050/112lsa with BAM solid roller lifters
HS 50026a roller rockers
Stock bb pan, HV pump
RPM intake untouched
QF HR Series 750 vacuum secondary
Taylor HEI Dist

 

Nice!

 

Final after valve lash adjustment and carb tweak

 

Nicer!

 

Great job Mark, very nice for mild.

 

No complaints from me. Looks like a great build. Can't wait to see what a similar build would do with the small block Edelbrock heads.

 

Thank you! Forgot to mention, runs on 89 octane.

 

Nice, alot more than I thought. I am very surprised by the HP numbers. I SHOULD be picking up my 350 with those exact pistons, Molnar rods, 330 crank tomorrow, finally! As you know I have that 218/218 roller cam from you and 1.72 Scorpion roller rockers that I would use with the iron heads. My heads have 2.07/1.56 valves with the bowls opened with a cutter, positive seals, no fill. How much power would I lose over this build, same 9.4 to 1 with close to 0 deck? I may revist the roller cam springs for my iron heads. I will send you an email.

 

Those Harland Sharp rockers with a 5/16" bolt hold up to roller cam, spring pressure?

 

WOW, very impressive!

 

Thanks gentlemen.
Yes because they’re tied together. HS says 340# or so, I have about 360. You don’t need as much spring pressure when running solid roller lifters on a hyd roller cam. The whole valvetrain is automatically more stable.

 

Excellent numbers! What was the lift on that cam?

 

.500ish

 

Are they set 0 lash cold?

 

0 is hard to do so it’s about .002-.003.

 

Is it the unreliability of hydraulic roller lifters or less spring pressure required that you went with the solid roller lifter route on this mild 350?

 

Thats a good question, I have been reading some threads on hydraulic roller lifters, in particular the old set of the Comp 857-16 roller lifters has me worried since I'm really close to the machinist having this long build finished up, seems to me that the evolution ones are the recommended ones or these Bam lifters?

 

VERY nice ! Good Job , especially like this "Erson hyd roller, 220/228@.050/112lsa with BAM solid roller lifters" tight lashed.

 

Some troll already posted my earlier comment on Olds Max Perf on FB to stir the pot.

So let me explain. I took this exact same rocker setup off of an iron headed 455 that had a true solid roller cam in it, with 175# on the seat and well over 450# open. The guy drove that engine for 10,000 miles before 2 lifters finally lost their roller bearings So, seeing this, I called HS and told them what I had in front of me. Although those pressures are not recommended, they weren't too surprised that this rocker setup held up.
Fast forward to the small block listed here. The cam is an older Erson HYD roller grind, not overly aggressive at all. Add to that I didn't need to go crazy on the spring pressures, both installed and open. That's why it works and should be fine for a very long time.

BAM only makes solid roller lifters, no hydrauics. And yes I've had issues with hyd lifters in general. If you're ok with a little lifter tap, but want to increase power and not worry about them ever again, I recommend going this route.
Note; the Comp "Evo" Lifters were supposed to have a solid insert available to change them from hyd to solid, with the same cup depth. However those inserts are still a ways out so I'm doing most everything in just a regular solid, but one that has a pressure fed wheel. That's important.

P.S. I'm getting real tired of some of the a..holes that take things out of context, or don't ask the right questions before they stir the pot. At some point I'll just have to quit posting I guess.

 

Thanks for the tips Mark, I don't post on Facebook anymore, as a matter of fact I parked my account about a month ago, so I hope you don't think I'm posting anything you say there. My build has been a few years in the making and I bought all my major parts through you, a few years ago when I got the lifters its possible the issues of hydraulic roller lifters were not a known issue, I'm over 10K into the build and of course I'm worried, these are all firsts for me and I must admit I don't no ****. I just had a friend loose his cam due to a bad lifter and now his whole motor needs to be cleaned. I thought I was buying all the best parts available because I don't want to go through that. I don't want a noisy valvetrain, and I want reliability, I would sacrifice ponies for that all day long. Anyway sorry for posting this in your build thread, and you did a great job on it btw.

 

No apology necessary, you’re fine.
You'll have a slight bit of noise with solid rollers, but no worse than some of todays hydraulics.
I’m not sure why they can’t get it right, but it is what it is. Solids will always make more power anyway.

 

Yeah, wondering if the small fortune I spent on the Comp Evolution lifters was worth it. At least if they fail internally, hopefully the solid inserts will be available. Sending you another PM.

 

Update; I kept tightening the lash and it kept making more power, final is 402/428. I’ll post the final Dyno sheet a bit later.

 

Wow Mark you pretty much got another 25 ponies out of lash adjustments comparing your first post to the last, super job bud, Love seeing it go over 400hp for a mild build.

 

Good afternoon gentlemen,
I have been following this thread and I’m a bit confused. I know I’ll be showing my ignorance, but cutlassefi mentioned earlier that he welded the dividers in the cylinder heads.
My question is, what exactly is that?

 

Basically a bead of weld is put down between the two center exhaust port so they are truly separated.
See pictures below of welded and stock ports.

 

Wow ok!! I see exactly what you mean. Thanks.

 

Awesome info in this thread, thanks for posting cutlassefi. I'm a complete newbie but willing to learn!