Roller Block Cams?

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Bronze Barracuda

Bronze Barracuda

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So, is there a difference between a Roller Block Cam (1990-360 block) and a "Retro-Fit Cam".
I have a 1990 roller block that I intend on using with a new cam designed for the stock roller lifters, but all I seem to be able to find are Retro-fit cams, and hoo boy are they pricey$$$$.
Will a retro fit roller cam work with the factory lifters in the roller blocks? I'm thinking all rollers are the same but then again maybe the retro fit lifters are a different height/length than the factory roller lifters.
 
I honestly don't know, I'm not a small block guy. But, if you have a roller that fits your block, you could get it re-ground. Lots here seem to like and trust Oregon cam grinding for their regrind.
And they are actually in Vancouver.
 
33IMP said:
I honestly don't know, I'm not a small block guy. But, if you have a roller that fits your block, you could get it re-ground. Lots here seem to like and trust Oregon cam grinding for their regrind.
And they are actually in Vancouver.
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Ill look into that, I'm in Vancouver Canada area, but still pretty close. I've had this block kicking around for 20 years its at the machine shop right now getting prepped, I don't think I have the original cam anymore, but I'll take a look.
Thanks for the info.
 
Yes the retrofit roller cam will work in the factory roller block with factory lifters, etc. We did that exact combo in my buddy's Challenger and a Bullet cam ground to be similar to a Comp XR274HR.
 
The snout of the cams will be different (where the cam gear and fuel pump eccentric would go). The length of the retrofit cam will allow for the use of a fuel pump eccentric where as the EFI cam snout will be shorter and no provisions to have a fuel pump drive, without an adaptor.
 
Rob_Mopar said:
Yes the retrofit roller cam will work in the factory roller block with factory lifters, etc. We did that exact combo in my buddy's Challenger and a Bullet cam ground to be similar to a Comp XR274HR.
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I'm beginning to think a custom cam grind may be the way to go, previous reply merioned a custom grind as well at least in regards to roller blocks as there is not a lot out there as far as options go anyways. I was looking at getting a Lunati but ALL their Mopar cams are on BO. and summit has a lot that are "unavailable". I'll definitely be looking at a custom grind. I always thought custom grinds were for super high HP motors etc..
 
Bronze Barracuda said:
I'm beginning to think a custom cam grind may be the way to go, previous reply merioned a custom grind as well at least in regards to roller blocks as there is not a lot out there as far as options go anyways. I was looking at getting a Lunati but ALL their Mopar cams are on BO. and summit has a lot that are "unavailable". I'll definitely be looking at a custom grind. I always thought custom grinds were for super high HP motors etc..
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We were putting his engine together during the early part of the pandemic shortages. Bullet had cores so we used them. We used them for other applications and told them the Comp stick we were originally planning on. It was a bit more expensive since they only had the billet steel cores at the time.

I don't know if any Lunati cams will be available again for our engines, or if they went the way of Crane after all going under the same roof. Shame since there were a few grinds there I liked.
 
Max1196 said:
The snout of the cams will be different (where the cam gear and fuel pump eccentric would go). The length of the retrofit cam will allow for the use of a fuel pump eccentric where as the EFI cam snout will be shorter and no provisions to have a fuel pump drive, without an adaptor.
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Well that will work out for my favor at least. The block came out of a 1981 D300.
A little history on this block. Obviously not the original motor in the 81 d300. The motor $hit the bed a few months after I bought it. So I pulled it like I mentioned 20 years ago and had the block and heads magnufluxed. Turns out the heads were cracked terribly. Someone had put a set of magnum heads onto it without using oil through pushrods. Not sure if that's what caused the heads destruction, But regardless I kept the block and crank for all these years. It was running on propane too, so it'll be going back to a carb with some 1974 360 heads. The long snout works for me at least.
 
Bronze Barracuda said:
Well that will work out for my favor at least. The block came out of a 1981 D300.
A little history on this block. Obviously not the original motor in the 81 d300. The motor $hit the bed a few months after I bought it. So I pulled it like I mentioned 20 years ago and had the block and heads magnufluxed. Turns out the heads were cracked terribly. Someone had put a set of magnum heads onto it without using oil through pushrods. Not sure if that's what caused the heads destruction, But regardless I kept the block and crank for all these years. It was in propane too, so it'll be going back to a carb with some 1974 360 heads. The long about works for me at least.
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Hold on, the '81 isn't a roller block. A '91 is. They didn't phase in the roller cams until '86 on the 318, and '88 on a 360. Dropping the roller cam lifter dog bones and spider hardware in a non-roller block doesn't work. The block we used in my buddy's Challenger was an early '90's 360 factory roller block.
 
33IMP said:
I honestly don't know, I'm not a small block guy. But, if you have a roller that fits your block, you could get it re-ground. Lots here seem to like and trust Oregon cam grinding for their regrind.
And they are actually in Vancouver.
Click to expand...
Guess I could go to my local pick and pull and get a cam for grinding. By the sounds of it, it may be a good idea to have a few cams kicking around. For future can grinds and projects.
 
Max1196 said:
The snout of the cams will be different (where the cam gear and fuel pump eccentric would go). The length of the retrofit cam will allow for the use of a fuel pump eccentric where as the EFI cam snout will be shorter and no provisions to have a fuel pump drive, without an adaptor.
Click to expand...
No, the LA roller blocks used long snout cams and were capable of driving a fuel pump. They came in both feed-back carbureted and TBI versions, but used the same style mechanical fuel pump capable camshafts. It was the MPI Magnum engines that started using the short nose cams.
OP, the retrofit cams will work just fine in the roller LA blocks.
 
Rob_Mopar said:
Hold on, the '81 isn't a roller block. A '91 is. They didn't phase in the roller cams until '86 on the 318, and '88 on a 360. Dropping the roller cam lifter dog bones and spider hardware in a non-roller block doesn't work. The block we used in my buddy's Challenger was an early '90's 360 factory roller block.
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Yeah no worries it is definitely either a 1990 or 91 block that I pulled out of a 1981 D300!
I have the roller lifters and spider hold down that came with it. When I first discovered the cracked heads were magnum heads I initially thought I had a complete magnum motor. A few years later I discovered it was a LA Roller with magnum heads.
 
My understanding is most retro fit roller cams are usually sold with lifters because they are designed to be used in an engine that didn’t originally come with a roller cam. And those lifters have an oil band located such that it won’t become exposed by the shorter lifter bore on non roller cammed engines. And as mentioned above have the long snout for the cam eccentric. Call the cam company and ask if they’ll sell just the cam.
 
Bronze Barracuda said:
So, is there a difference between a Roller Block Cam (1990-360 block) and a "Retro-Fit Cam".
I have a 1990 roller block that I intend on using with a new cam designed for the stock roller lifters, but all I seem to be able to find are Retro-fit cams, and hoo boy are they pricey$$$$.
Will a retro fit roller cam work with the factory lifters in the roller blocks? I'm thinking all rollers are the same but then again maybe the retro fit lifters are a different height/length than the factory roller lifters.
Click to expand...
Any hydraulic roller camshaft that is drilled for LA oiling can be used in your factory roller block with factory roller lifters, within reason and with a few precautions.

The mechanical fuel pump eccentric mounting was already mentioned. If you are running a mechanical fuel pump and LA style timing cover you can use either long snout or short snout. Short snout will require an adapter from Hughes Engines to mount the eccentric.

If using any LA head with standard LA oiling you just need to make sure the camshaft is drilled for LA oiling. They will usually specify LA oiling or Magnum oiling but if they don't the retrofit is usually drilled since most LA engines were not hydraulic roller.

Magnum camshafts are all hydraulic roller and can be used in your LA roller block but they are often times not drilled for LA oiling, so then you have to set everything up for pushrod oiling and use different rocker arms and pushrods. The Magnum camshafts are usually ground for the Magnum factory rocker arm ratio of 1.6, so that also needs to be factored in.

Basically, don't worry about if a camshaft says it is retrofit or not. As long as it is hydraulic roller, has LA oiling holes, and you know if you need an adapter on the front or not.
 
Bobzilla,That's the stuff, much more better than what I tried blithering out.
 
Bobzilla said:
Any hydraulic roller camshaft that is drilled for LA oiling can be used in your factory roller block with factory roller lifters, within reason and with a few precautions.

The mechanical fuel pump eccentric mounting was already mentioned. If you are running a mechanical fuel pump and LA style timing cover you can use either long snout or short snout. Short snout will require an adapter from Hughes Engines to mount the eccentric.

If using any LA head with standard LA oiling you just need to make sure the camshaft is drilled for LA oiling. They will usually specify LA oiling or Magnum oiling but if they don't the retrofit is usually drilled since most LA engines were not hydraulic roller.

Magnum camshafts are all hydraulic roller and can be used in your LA roller block but they are often times not drilled for LA oiling, so then you have to set everything up for pushrod oiling and use different rocker arms and pushrods. The Magnum camshafts are usually ground for the Magnum factory rocker arm ratio of 1.6, so that also needs to be factored in.

Basically, don't worry about if a camshaft says it is retrofit or not. As long as it is hydraulic roller, has LA oiling holes, and you know if you need an adapter on the front or not.
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Yup. One thing I would add is to beware of billet roller cams that require bronze or melonized intermediate shaft gears. They're usually race-only pieces though, so not usually an issue for street style cams- but still something to be aware of.
 
Using a roller block and older la heads ,pay close attention to the pushrods as they go through the pushrod holes in the head.
 
I used a Comp roller cam in a 91 360 block with Melling replacement roller lifters. Engine is still running strong.
 
BrianT said:
I used a Comp roller cam in a 91 360 block with Melling replacement roller lifters. Engine is still running strong.
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I think these roller blocks may become sought after blocks. With what's going on with camshaft quality in the past few years.
Curious if the crate motors are based on the LA blocks or LA roller blocks or the magnum blocks.
But the la rollers are an inexpensive way to have roller lifters!
 
The engine I bought was a crate engine and was running a flat tappet cam when I bought it. I added the spiders and the lifters. Yes, they are becoming rarer and rarer.
 
33IMP said:
I honestly don't know, I'm not a small block guy. But, if you have a roller that fits your block, you could get it re-ground. Lots here seem to like and trust Oregon cam grinding for their regrind.
And they are actually in Vancouver.
Click to expand...
Great customer srvc and zero BS !!!
He just made me a custom solid roller and from first call to delivery was only a month.
 
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