got my 99 318 magnum taken apart and was wondering if a flat tappet cam and lifter kit will work or if I have to stay with a roller

 

you can use a flat tappet cam and lifter in the 5.2L, May have to tune the PCM

 

Just curious - why would you want to use a flat tappet cam over a hydraulic roller cam?

 

Price probably.

 

So instead of spending money on the cam, you can spend the money on adapting the heads to accept some variety of adjustable rockers?

 

You may also need to modify the rocker arm oiling, as the magnum motor rocker arms get oil thru the push rod tubes, the older LA engine had a oil from the block into the head/rocker arm shaft. So I'm not sure if the flat tappet lifter will have the provision to allow oil to flow into the push rod tubes.