Several years ago I came across a Ford FE 428 engine in need of a complete rebuild and thought that would be a fun build for my 76 F250. The build had its challenges due to the wiping a lobe on the cam.

So, I went with a roller!

From day 1 the engine had a cold lifter tick and would go away at around 140F CT. Years later the tick turned into a squeak. It was time to pull the lifters and cam. Sure enough, one of the roller hydro lifters had flat spots and was dragging across the cam, ruining that too!

This time I moved to a Howards roller cam and lifter set. With lifter preload now at .065, any cold ticks go away quickly and usually around 75-80F CT.

I also advanced the cam by 4 degrees.

End result, the truck has good low end power and runs great.