Saw an intresting idea online. To help with flat tappet break-in on a bbc this builder tapped into the oil gallery in the lifter valley and ran a small copper tube over the cam drain back openings. It has small pin holes over each cam lobe. Seems rather simple.

How about pros and cons. Would this drain to much oil back onto the crank creating too much windage? Would the added lubrication cut down on cam/lifter friction? Would a high volume oil pump and proper bearing clearances keep oil pressure

This builder also drilled behind the top cam sprocket to lube the contact with the block.

Any of the engine builders seen this or tried this?

Keith Eickert makes a oiler that bolts in the intake valley. I believe it taps into one of the oil passages but am not sure.

Pic. 1

KE offers a billet aluminum deal that bolts down in the valley and can be tapped into the front galley or the rear on the newer blocks. I ran them last year and they really seemed to help the solid roller bearing failure. They are not that expensive...like $75 to $100 ea. You get nice fittings and braided line also! You would need a decent oil pump to support as well.

Kinda as a side topic but related, what exactly is it that causes flat tappet cams to fail if not broken in properly (2000+ rpm)?? Is it insufficient oil? I always thought it was the relative speed of the parts enabeling them to polish each other correctly as a pair. Anybody really know?

If they ARE broken in correctly, then they are allowed to "marry" the lifters to the lobes. This means they "wear into" each other gradually while STILL ALLOWING the lifter to rotate in its bore (due to the crown on the cam lobe). If the lobe/lifter aren't allowed to have their proper "honeymoon" then the lifter can micro-flatspot and refuse to keep rotating. Once the rotation stops, the trouble starts.

Am I explaining this ok??