One thing that the owners of US V8 Flat tappet equipped motors have in their favour is that the lifter gallery gives you a ready supply of pressure oil ( albeit restricted in some instance's ). The older English Triumphs- MG's etc in most cases rely totally on splash or OHV drainback for lubrication.
That said all the measures mentioned in the article will pay dividends to you in your V8 build, I cannot remember if I mentioned it before ,but here is a quick run thru of the steps I take on cam fitment;
1.I have thre alloy bars approx 8" long turned to the dia of a ford lfter in one end/c*** on the other. By placing these in the two end lifter bores & any of the remaining bore's you can sight from end to end of the block + measure the space between any two bars( top& bottom ) to check for lifter bore alignment.
2. Fit your cam to block after a spray with WD40 on each lobe and install all the lifter's( cam gear and thrust plate should also be installed ).
3. Now mark each cam follower with a Felt tip pen and while applying light pressure via a pushrod to each cam follower rotate the cam thru half a dozen revolutions & check that each follower rotates in its bore-- If it does not find out why!!
4. Assuming success at this point- then cut the very small groove in the lifter bore's from the gallery height down to the cam end of the bore on the leading side ( Comp Cams Catalog has/had an excellent diagram & tool for the purpose--- but an old hacksaw blade & steady hand can do the same job ). A couple of quick pass's with a brake cyl hone will remove any burr's, check for free movement of cam follower & your done.
5. Now assemble the motor, with light valve springs and use a suitable oil- I use a straight 30 diesel oil for the first 30 minutes or so- I have had no problems with ring seal unlike some, but I always torque plate & cup the oil rails prior to fitting.
Jac Mac
