[lust4speed]

I do a lot of engine builds for our car club members. Some of the builds are to replace flat cams, but most are to step up performance. Most of these engines are just a few years old and pretty low mileage. Some were put together by the owner and some by professional shops. The punch line here is that in the last two years I haven't pulled out a flat tappet cam that I would have put back in - all were showing signs of failure. Some might have lasted another 10,000 miles, but there were a few where I don't know why they were not making noise yet. Everyone swears that they stuck to recommended break-in procedures, and were running a ZDDP additive.

You've spent good money on the stroker kit and the build sounds great, and I would suggest spending the money for the roller cam and not have to worry about when (not if) the flat tappet was going to fail.

I would follow Dave at SD Performance's suggestion and go with the Stump Puller for a mild iron head. He generally recommends the Old Faithful for better breathing aluminum heads, but the Stump Puller for iron heads. Another reason that the stump puller will work out good is the close ratio trans and 3.73 rear isn't a lot of gear in first and the Stump Puller roller cam is going to help drivability.

Here's a photo of some of the failed flat tappet cams waiting to go to scrap - no rollers in the group.