47-59 V8 Camshaft Durability

[jwhotrod]

there was a great deal of failure with flat tappet cams in the middle 90's when the EPA made the oil manufacturers remove the ZDDP from the oil (high friction modifiers) because it was killing catalytic converters. hence all the car mfgrs went to roller cams in production cars. that said if you use a racing oil like Penn Grade or Driven which still has the ZDDP in it you can use a flat tappet cam. There is also a great deal of concern with which distributor gear to use with a roller cam. bronze gears are too soft for street use, and steel gears are too hard. Melanized gears seem to be the correct choice in most applications but check with your engine builder or cam manufacture for sure.