I just ran five years on a .650 lift solid lifter cam in my small block. And I even run alcohol. Brad Penn (Penn Grade) oil and EDM lifters. I would put it in another engine tomorrow.
John, with all respect, in my opinion folks were not having these problems five years ago, at least folks who knew what they were doing.
Now you see folks that know what they are doing have problems all the time.
Until something changes I would never use a flat tappet cam again.
We heard this five years ago and five years before that. People use crap oil, won’t clean things right, and don’t pay attention to details.
Agree 100%
My current solid has been in two motors now, street strip(10.40 ish) for 7 years. Howard’s solid with EDM lifters. Other guys have used the same and similar grinds in my circle over the last few years without issue.
If the lifters have zero issue rotating, good lube on startup and good oil, my experience over a very long time is that issues are very rare. Not unheard of, but rare.
Looking at the pictures Chip posted in the OP, my guess is that contamination elsewhere in the motor locked up/ hindered the lifters, right after startup. That is ugly.
