Roller or hydraulic lifter 360?

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paulclark

paulclark

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I have the opportunity for a street car to use either a late roller cam 360 (not a magnum) or an earlier 360 with hydraulic lifters and cam. Is there an advantage to one or the other? I’ve heard it said that the factory roller motor was not much of an improvement. True? Are there other considerations?
 
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Roller motor without question.. It won't eat a flat tappet camshaft and turn the whole engine into scrap...
 
The stock roller cam engines perform well when you add a 4 bbl carburetor to them, giving them the fuel they need.

They run great overall, and you will never float the valves with roller valve train and factory springs. Great idle, and good sounding exhaust tone.

Secondaries on the 4 bbl are a nice added touch.

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i'd go for the roller over the flat tappet motor if the two were in similar condition.

keep in mind that you'd need to sort out fuel pump-- if it doesn't have a long snout cam, and if you want any sort of a decent cam probably send out yours for a regrind and then get new pushrods.
 
junkyardhero said:
i'd go for the roller over the flat tappet motor if the two were in similar condition.

keep in mind that you'd need to sort out fuel pump-- if it doesn't have a long snout cam, and if you want any sort of a decent cam probably send out yours for a regrind and then get new pushrods.
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Or use an electric pump
 
Go with the roller motor. It can use either lifter type. They are usually worn way less than a comparable flat tappet engine. I believe the later blocks were made of bettter stuff.

Cley
 
Agree with others on roller motor.
Most fuel injected engines under 100k still have cylinder cross hatching. Inspect and go unless you want to upgrade pistons.
Clean and inspect roller lifters and re-use. HFT lifter quality is a crap shoot.
Oregon cam regrind. Many grinds to choose from. Measure for pushrods. I was able to reuse mine.
Inspect heads. Add Hughes 1110 springs if magnum style. Factory rockers ok.
Use Hughes mechanical fuel pump eccentric if using LA front cover.
Air gap knock-off intake have LA and Magnum bolt patterns.
The key here is to closely inspect everything. Everything else depends on your final power expectations (pistons/balance, intake, FI or carb).
 
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You've heard it said. By WHOM, exactly? Cut that person outta your life. They're wrong. Go with the roller motor.
 
George Jets said:
The stock roller cam engines perform well when you add a 4 bbl carburetor to them, giving them the fuel they need.

They run great overall, and you will never float the valves with roller valve train and factory springs. Great idle, and good sounding exhaust tone.

Secondaries on the 4 bbl are a nice added touch.

View attachment 1716345320


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Good lookin motor Casey!
 
lemondana said:
If you can find a performance cam for them.No one seems to have anything in stock.
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You can send the factory core to Oregon to get reground. More often than not, the factory 360 core is on a 110 or 109, so Ken can usually tighten it up to a 108 or 107. Maximum lobe lift that can be ground on a stock core is usually around .335, so about .500 with stock rockers and upgraded valve springs. The roller 360 also has 308 heads, high volume oil pump, double roller timing set, and a windage tray.
 
I would not be afraid to run the HFT motor; but if the roller is in similar condition at a comparable price, use it.
I have yet to see any roller LA that does not have a long nose cam. If it was a TBI motor (as opposed to the late Lean Burn with an electronic feedback carb- which BTW was only on roller 318s pre '88), you will need to install a fuel pump eccentric with the proper washer/spacer (the eccentric delete washer on the TBI motors is deeper to make up for the missing eccentric, it will not tighten correctly if used with an eccentric). The timing cover will either have a fuel pump block off plate, or the hole for the pump will not be finish machined (easy to remedy with hand tools).
Cylinder wear needs to be checked closely, as you would with a carbureted motor. Remember, these were not a multipoint EFI like the later Magnums; they are a throttle body injection which still makes it a wet flow system, prone to the same cylinder washing as a carb motor only to a bit lesser extent.
Also check the heads closely- roller LA 360s used the 308 heads which, while decent heads, are somewhat susceptible to cracking; although not as common as with Magnum heads. I have only had to deal with one cracked 308 so far.
And on the subject of heads, don't expect to be able to throw just any LA head on a roller block. Non-roller heads have a smaller pushrod hole that needs to be opened up to clear the pushrod angle that occurs with the added height of the roller lifter.
Just a few points to consider.
 
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Great advice, thanks much for all the responses.
What is this tube on the back side of the motor, the EGR system? It connects to the heads and then heads down to the exhaust manifold area. I assume I’d need to block off the heads where it attaches?
1D44A479-20D8-42B4-B4A5-9ABC1FC161EC.jpeg

Thanks, these new fangled motors are new to me.
 
paulclark said:
Great advice, thanks much for all the responses.
What is this tube on the back side of the motor, the EGR system? It connects to the heads and then heads down to the exhaust manifold area. I assume I’d need to block off the heads where it attaches?
View attachment 1716345541
Thanks, these new fangled motors are new to me.
Click to expand...
Air injection lines that connect the air pump to the exhaust manifolds. The exhaust manifolds have internal passages that lead to the air injection ports in the heads just below the exhaust ports. These ports in the heads need to be blocked off (easy- 1/4" tap and allen screws) if you're going to run headers or early pre-emissions exhaust manifolds. The tubes and air pump are going to end up in the scrap pile most likely, anyways.
 
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