Steel flat tappet cams?

[Richard150MPH]

Not directly Chevelle but probably relevant to any modern engine build.
Chilled cast iron cam cores are drying up for many engines, particularly older or less common designs.
Replacement seems to be Steel blanks, sometimes hard coated.
How have those worked out?

 

[Shovelrick]

Billet Steel would be the only steel core cam I'd buy, I'd call Mike Jones aka Camking and ask what he uses, or Isky, Bullet, Crower. We use to pull cams & lifters out of used engines and put them in our engines on a regular basis or every few months (or days if the cam performed really crappy) and Never had any problems other than blowing gaskets that were old and I reused, I don't think any lifter saw the same lobe it came from either, but metal was made better in the 60-70's but I do remember in the mid 80's my Gmother on moms side having a cam or lifter go bad in an early Lincoln TC and one of my uncles replaced it, my thinking is most if not all SADI cores are only being used for roller cams now? Rockwell hardened steel might last longer but I remember a TC member losing a Howards HFT cam & lifters on break in with their correct springs

 

[KwikSS]

Billet Steel would be the only steel core cam I'd buy, I'd call Mike Jones aka Camking and ask what he uses, or Isky, Bullet, Crower. We use to pull cams & lifters out of used engines and put them in our engines on a regular basis or every few months (or days if the cam performed really crappy) and Never had any problems other than blowing gaskets that were old and I reused, I don't think any lifter saw the same lobe it came from either, but metal was made better in the 60-70's but I do remember in the mid 80's my Gmother on moms side having a cam or lifter go bad in an early Lincoln TC and one of my uncles replaced it, my thinking is most if not all SADI cores are only being used for roller cams now? Rockwell hardened steel might last longer but I remember a TC member losing a Howards HFT cam & lifters on break in with their correct springs

Thank a green weenie for the lack of quality metal in the country today, let alone manufacturing much of anything.

 

[Nashville Cat]

With a flat-tappet cam, steel cores can't be used because the lobes have to be cast-iron ?
So steel is only available with a roller cam (I think).

 

[Shovelrick]

With a flat-tappet cam, steel cores can't be used because the lobes have to be cast-iron ?
So steel is only available with a roller cam (I think).

Billet Steel, I have a SADI core roller cam but Billet is a better core

 

[Shovelrick]

This is LS cores but might give some insight