lifters

Hi Guys; I bought a set of used johnson lifters for my stock 239 49 flathead. I was told that I will have to reserface the lifters is this true and if so can I do this myself , Thanks for any info. Slim.

 

Most early valve grinding machines have the attachments to surface lifters. Not a big deal,, you can usually grind about .060 off without having to re-harden the surface. Check with a few machine shops,, older shops preferably.

 

Remember lifter faces are ground at an angle to make them rotate on lobe.

 

Way back when. I used to glue a sheet of 360 wet/dry sandpaper on the inside of a slightly curved piece of gl*** ( old windshield or Ford rear window) and with wd-40 hand face old lifters. Just keep rotating them till the pattern is even.. Worked every time.. Of course we had better oil to work with.

 

Lifters are ground at a 96" radius on a flathead on a machine that grinds lifters not a valve refacing machine you can't do it yourself.You will have to phone a couple of machine shops to find one that still has the equipment it is still out there.

T

 

nope lifters are flat not ground at an angle the lifter hole in the block is off centered that is what causes it to turn. if you grind them at an angle it is only going to turn once and stop running on it like a ramp. yes souix made a lifter grinding atachment for grinding lifters on there valve grinders i have one.

 

i know it might be a silly question, but
is it possible to reuse lifters with low mileage at a camshaft-exchange?
Should they be ground or polished or renewed in any case?

 

I don't know what flathead lifters cost but on SBCs and like type engines they are cheap. I can't imagine paying a machine shop setup charge and labor to resurface a used lifter when new ones are under $5.

 

I'm with getting new ones; Egge, Speedway, and others have them. As aaggie said,..they have to be cheaper, than machine shop labor.

4TTRUK

 

Lifter faces are not flat. They are ground at a large radius exactly as tig stated. I send my lifters to Dema Elgin and it's about a dollar apiece to have them refaced.

 

Another outfit that resurfaces lifters is Delta Camshaft in Tacoma, Washington. Sent my Johnsons there quite a few years ago on recommendation of my engine rebuilder. You should be able to Google them for an address and phone number.