Call Jim at Racer Brown and save a headache.

I've had cams go flat. From a variety of sources. The biggest cause is operator error. For a time, it was junk lifters. I still inspect every single lifter, every time. If it doesn't have enough radius, it gets replaced. I also mic the OD. I've found some small lifters.

The other issue is worn lifter bores.

I've never, ever pulled the springs apart, never used a low ratio rocker.

Hughes doesn't grind his cams. Howard's does. And from a limited phone conversation, I wouldn't buy anything from Howard's. They don't agree with Hughes and his lobes, so they let [censored] slide. I've seen that with my own eyes. Hughes doesn't inspect every cam that goes out the door. He doesn't look at any of them. That's on Howard's. And if Howard's isn't into the deal, or can't stand Dave, then rather than send junk out, they should stop grinding his cams.

And don't think I'm defending Dave. He and I have had some epic phone battles. In person, we'd have probably thrown down. But it is what it is, and if he has something I need or want, I use it.

If anyone has ANY, ANY doubt about using an agressive lobe SFT cam, like the Comp MM series or some of the stuff Dave has, then don't use it. The margin of error with those lobes is almost zero, meaning if you don't do everything correct, you'll kill a lobe. If you aren't using a known ignition, a known carb, if you ain't 100% sure when you hit the button it will roll over and light, step down to a less agressive lobe.

I haven't had the chance to really study it out, but I know that some of the spring life issue come from flexing pushrods. As the lobe gets more agressive, you MUST get the pushrods stiffer. My next SFT deal will get 5/16-3/8 single taper pushrods at the minimum. I may go double taper. If I can fit them, I may go 3/8-7/16. I see way too much stuff with pushrods that are too flimsy for a decent 1980's lobe.