I'm in the middle of swapping a solid lifter cam for hydraulic. Someone mentioned to me (and I also saw it in the FAQ on classicalpontiac.com) that solid lifter cams require oil passage flow restricters so that the main bearings get enough oil at high revs. If this was done to my motor, what will happen if I try to run with the hydraulic lifters? Will they fail to pump up? Will it be obvious? How do I undo the flow restricters if I need to?

The restictors, if they are there, are threaded into holes in your lifter bores. They should be set-screws with "small" holes drilled through them. They can be removed from the top side of the engine by first removing the intake manifold and valley pan.

You MUST remove them to run hydraulic lifters, otherwise, your lifters will not get enough pressure to keep them pumped.

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My lifters are out and I can see down the oil holes and don't see anything so I should be good there. The guy I talked to claimed that there is something you do at the back of the engine by removing an oil passage plug and inserting the restrictor. Does that sound like it makes sense?

That's not how I've seen it done. That would restict the oil flow to the timing chain as well, wich would not be a very good thing to do, either.

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