I am still a little foggy on hydraulic cams. I have read posts here in the past that said you can convert the motor (351m/400) to hyd. When I get to building up my motor I am primarly wanting to build it for effeciency and longevity, and to take advantage of modern advances. Although I havent put a specific build together, the XE cam sounds the most appealing to me, like the XE256-XE262. I was wondering what cams are even available in hydraulic, or if comp cams will custom grind that to match the XE specs(expensive???).

And in this conversion process, what has to be done to the rest of the motor, I assume there are some other things that have to be adapted? I have never swapped a cam yet so this is a learning process right now.

If it makes any difference, here is what I have:
-good running 351M motor
-400 long block with broken cam
-spare 400 crank
-Aussie 302C heads
-edelbrock intake

And I am planning on:
-TMI's hyper pistons for Aussie head and 9.5:1
-double roller or gear drive
-3 angle v job, stainless(?) valves, chamber polish
-good set of rings like total seal gapless
-scorpion roller rockers
-FI kit like holley commander, or possibly DIY FI if i'm up to the challenge

I am not trying to go all out, but I want a motor than will last for years worry free but still be able to turn 37's or 38's with no problem, and still keep up with the new trucks out there (though I dont plan on racing or anything). I was thinking in the low to mid 300's for hp and maybe up around the 400 mark for torque. Gas milleage will be important too, thats one reason I am looking at more conservative numbers than most, and willing to go even more conservative if it means better effeciency. Thanks for any suggestions...

 

If you are going with TMI's piston, why not ask Tim about the short block he has ready to go? All set up for the aussie heads.

TMI. are great people to talk to for info! Really great to help them out with buying your parts.

Not sure what you mean by converting to hydraulic cam, unless you mean roller. 335 engines are hydraulic from the factory.

Total gapless rings, check on this also, For a rest of my life engine, I dont think this is a good choice. These are more for racing and not long time street use. My opinion

Again, I would talk to Tim on his short block first! Sounds like it's just what you need!

 

I am sure that Comp Cams will grind a custom hydraulic roller to whatever specs you want. You should be able to get an XE256 or XE262 spec HR with even more lift than the flat tappet cam. Unless your heds are ported, you won't gain much from more lift than the XE cams. You will gain some due to the faster ramp rates of the HR cam.

There are a couple of advantages to an HR cam. One is no cam beak-in problems, another is long term reliability.

The down side of an HR cam is the valve spring pressure is much higher, and the valve train is more expensive. You might have to mill the rocker pedastals and use guide plates, or use the Crane Cam guide plate setup with hardened pushrods.

I am using a Comp Cams, HR conversion kit and 5.0L replacement roller lifters. This seup is cheaper than roller lifters with tie bars links.