I own a 1969 427  The cam in the engine is worn and this winter I am going to have to do something with the engine. I know there are a lot of options.  I have owned the car for a year and a half. I have been trying to educate myself on these older engines. The engine is stock.  I am looking for suggestions on how to proceed. Stay with stock flat tappet cam on maybe a roller cam?  Thanks, Bob

I'd go with a modern cam, roller lifters, and roller rockers.  You wouldn't have to worry about what oil to use and it wouldn't change the appearance of your engine.

Flat tappet cams/lifters made today are designed for the low ZZDP content of the oils available, so they will survive much better than the older, original designs. Roller cams are kewl, but require more work and parts to install(and $$$), such as something to keep the cam from "walking" forward, which is usally accomplished with a cam "button", but some require some machining of the block to add a plate to hold the cam in position.
Roller rockers are also kewl, but may not fit under a stock valve cover...especially if you have power brakes.

You can buy/order cams that are copies of the original, older cam profiles, but are made to work with today's oils, or you can bump it up a bit if you want to. Decisions, decisions.....

Personally, I would go back with a stock type cam, or maybe one with a little more aggressive grind..but that's just me...

Thanks for the replies .  I have options, just need to sit down and decide which direction to go in.  I need to talk with the cam manufactuers and maybe get some information from them too.

I thought about that for weeks when I did an engine upgrade in mine. I would take the time to talk to your local machine shop that you use and listen to what they recommend. There is a higher cost when going to a roller set up. Might be as much as a thousand dollars more. Depending on what all you decide to upgrade. I wish I would have gone roller cam because todays grinds with roller cams are much more efficient then flat tappet cams in my opinion. I decided to save the money. Not a bad decision but I think the Dodge I am doing now will be roller cam not flat tappet. As mentioned earlier either one will work fine, so you cant make the wrong choice. Just remember if you have headers and you break in a flat tappet cam you need to put manifolds on for the break in. Best of luck Rodney

Thanks for the info. Did not realize the cost difference was so much.  I will continue to gather more advice.     Bob

I am still trying to get some answers before I do anything major to the engine. Had one mechanic have the car for 3 weeks and never got to look at it. Different people tell me different things. The mechanic that replaced my valve stem seals told me the cam is worn. Another mechanic says it is probably just the carb.   The car idles good.  On the road is when you notice the missing and surging of the engine, especially at 2,000-2,500 rpms .  Holley double pumper was rebuilt last year. 

Hello and good afternoon   I have a question relating to the missing at 2000-2500 rpm.Is it a massive miss or subtle miss at those RPM's ?Do you have an OEM points distributor? When a cam takes a hike you general feel it at idle an not above 2000 rpm.It becomes more noticeable at idle. Also,if you still have a OEM points distributor,do you have a condenser that should be attached to the positive side of the coil. That condenser maintains 12 Volts to the coil,and as rpm increases the voltage to dist.decreases to 9.86 volts and would create a slight miss at those RPM's if the condensor is bad..This all is for naught if you don't have a points dist.                Have a great day and good luck.        Sal C

For whatever it's worth, I installed the following parts to my 1980  L48 engine.  I never had it dyno'd but a couple reputable mechanics estimated that she puts-out about 350 - 375 hp.

 

Duration @ .050: 210 intake; 220 exhaust

Lobe Lift: .3340 intake; .3420 exhaust

                                    Lobe Separation: 112-degrees

                                    Gross Valve Lift: .501 intake; .513 exhaust

                       

853-16                   (Comp Cam) Lifters

2100                (Comp Cam) Timing Set

611-16             (Comp Cam) Valve Locks

740-16             (Comp Cam) Retainers

986-16             (Comp Cam) Valve Springs

1412-16           (Comp Cam) Roller Rockers

201                  (Comp Cam) Wear Plate

202                  (Comp Cam) Cam Button

 

5089                (Edelbrock E-Street) Aluminum Cylinder Heads

                                    2.02-inch intake / 1.60-inch exhaust Valves

                                    64-cc Combustion Chambers

                                    RPM Range: Idle – 5,500

 

0-80770           (Holley Street Avenger) 770-cfm Carburetor

 

12-834             (Holley) 80 GPH Fuel Pump w/ 3/8-inch Fuel Line

 

52010              (Power+Plus) Cyclone+Plus Dual Plane Intake Manifold

 

51-1572           ECC Distributor Cap

 

51-5582           ECC Rotor

 

323236            (Patriot) Ceramic-Coated Tight-Tuck Exhaust Headers

                                    1 5/8-inch Primaries

                                    2 ½-inch Collectors

 

323018            (Corvette Central) 2 ½-inch Aluminum Dual Exhaust

 

323454            (MAGNAFLOW) 2 ½-inch Mufflers

Thanks for the information. I finally got the news about the cam. One of the lobes is worn down and not allowing the valve to open properly. I will have to consider which direction to go with the replacement.