Cam, thrust plate with a roller

[Pentroof]

I'm putting together a mild 390 for my daughter's truck and waiting on the cam that Brent ordered for me.  The bottom end is together and checked out fine (although crank thrust is a tad on the tight side), so I'm cleaning and preparing other stuff while I wait for the cam.

I didn't realize until yesterday that I may not have the proper cam thrust plate. This is the first roller I've ever built, so never thought of it before. I did some 'net searching and it seems there are a lot of opinions on this.

So, what is the experience of the kids that hang out here?  Do I need a special plate to keep bits of metal from showing up in my filter??

Thanks,
Jim

[jayb]

Jim, I have always used the factory plate with good results on all my roller cammed engines.

[gt350hr]

  +1 There isn't any thrust load on the cam so  "I" see no reason to use anything but the stock plate.

[JamesonRacing]

Have to agree as well.  Roller cams don't put an axial load on the camshaft, so a needle-bearing thrust plate is just one more item with little parts that can fail.

[cammerfe]

Some years ago, I did a 390 with revised oiling. In an attempt to make everything as drag-free as possible, I put a set of 385-series roller cam bearings in the block. The OD of the roller bearings is larger so it was necessary to enlarge the cam tunnel and re-groove the bulkheads. While I was at it, I put in a roller thrust plate. It was necessary to drill one extra hole in the front of the block because the 385 thrust plate isn't located exactly the same as the one for an FE and the 385 roller-plate was a Ford item. Checking didn't show one for an FE at that time. Every little bit helps.

KS

[Pentroof]

Thanks guys. I'll use a standard Ford plate.

[gt350hr]

  Non roller cams ( for Fords) are ground with "dual taper) on the lobes. That means half the lobes are tapered on one side and the other half are tapered the other way. This neutralizes the fore and aft thrust motion on the cam ( in theory). No one "I" know of has seen any measurable power gain from a needle bearing thrust plate alone.  Needle cam bearing are debatable.

[blykins]

I've seen the effects of this while rolling an engine over to make sure the lifters spin in the bores.  Some will spin one way, some will spin the other. 

As for cam plates, I don't think Jim was necessarily referring to a needle bearing thrust plate.  I think he was referring to a different material.  On SBF stuff, there are cast thrust plates and steel thrust plates available.  I always try and match up the material to the camshaft and timing set.  On FE's, the selection is limited, but there are steel thrust plates and bronze thrust plates out there.  I try to use them when I can with steel camshafts and steel timing sets. 

If there's enough oil floating around up there it shouldn't really matter, but it makes me feel better.