Projects Ok, I need a good set of lifters for SBC

I have had very good results with Comp EDM lifters. They have a .012 oiling hole in the face that gets oil directly to the cam lobe surface. Break-in was almost instant. I have about 4500 miles on the 283 in my 39 with them and have not even had to adjust the lifters again on the 097 cam I used. But That’s for solids
https://www.compcams.com/performanc...-set-cadillac-chevrolet-olds-and-pontiac.html

for Hydraulic lifters I have had great results with melling and sealed power.

 

Remember some cam manufacture's require you to use "their" lifters when it comes to the warranty or at least have little sympathy when something goes wrong...……..……………...

 

I'm running the Comp Cam solids with the EDM hole in the facea nd a high volume oil pump and Amsoil "Premium Protection" 10W-40 synthetic oil said to be designed for flat tappets & stiff springs. Been in there several years, unsure of mileage.
If I was running those "girly" lifters, I think I'd try the Crowers with the slot down the side.
There's a thread on here about "oil for older engines" that has in it a link to a blog (very long) which says that needle bearing solid rollers are busting up needles, galling shafts, and spalling the roller OD in only a few thousand miles of street driving with the high lifts and stiff springs used today. Says for street driving with rollers, go hydraulic like the modern OEM.

 

How would you have any idea if the cam broke in instantly or otherwise ??

 

Cams and lifters have warranties ??

 

^^^^^^^^^^ I have been reimbursed cams & lifters (over a 50 year period), weather their was a warranty or they just wanted me to go away I really don't care which! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Howards Cams has their "Max Certified" line of flat tappet hydraulic cams, you pay a little extra but they have a 5 year No Fault warranty. You pay an extra $50 for the cam and lifter set, but they replace it no questions asked even if you screw up the install(coil bind, lack of retainer to guide clearance, lack of rocker slot clearance, etc) or break-in.

 

If you're like me it was probably the latter! LOL

 

Bought some “stock replacements”
And some racing anti pump up lifters. A little bit more money.

both came to me and were melling JB 817.
very nice , actually had a unique and different feel to them.

Break in went well, got another 15 mins to tune and double check then it fresh oil and filter then went straight to the starting line. Few hot laps no problem, ran the feature and finished 4th with a flat tire.

 

Better than a flat cam

I know, you left that open on purpose...

 

USA Johnson lifters: https://johnsonlifters.com/

 

I believe this is a different Johnson lifters than the old days. I think this guy bought the rights to the name. I called him a while back.

 

Given the little Chevy's reputation for flat tappet cam and lifter life, (awful), I would use hydraulic roller cam and lifters if I had to run a chevy. Seriously, consider the lifter face oiling type.

 

I know the 500/472 Cadillac guys really like the Johnson roller lifters. American made for sure........

 

Well, I gotta say I don't think I'd be running a COMP any time soon.

In a previous post in the thread I'd mentioned my cousin had his 390 eat a lifter on break in. COMP to their credit (or maybe because they know they make a mediocre product) replaced the cam and lifters.
He tore the motor down, new bearings/rings/pump etc and reinstalled his new cam and lifters this weekend. 15 minutes into break in, bitched #4 intake lifter.
Now, he's a competent mechanic and he had my dad (also mechanic) there to double check his work while he assembled it, install was done as directed.. Both times he was running break in oil and lubes recommended by our local builder.
*edit* looks like the culprit was a seized lifter. Pretty sad for brand new lifters.

Between my pal's 300 a few years ago and now my cousin's 390 I feel you're just taking a gamble with their products. Even if they cover the cam and lifter kit again, which I will be shocked if they do, it doesn't replace the time nor the parts he's already wasted and is going to have to waste again before his pickup sees pavement again.

 

Johnson/HyLift, or rather HyLift/Johnson is the one to stay away from, take-over of an old name but now junk products.

Johnson Lifters is top quality stuff.

 

A little nugget of info-
Take note of Melling reps answer to the question. Then there’s a second answer,,

 

How much is typical for a "good" lifter? If those pictured retail for six bucks, I'd be skeptical on price alone.

 

Was just talking to my friend Jim that owns Racer Brown about lifters the other day. Besides trying to get quality lifters, the problem is getting them at a reasonable price. He said his cost has gone up almost 30% since November 2020. Gene.

 

Compared to the meteoric price rises in other products , 30% is cheap !

 

This is just a sign of the times we're in. The dollar is worth nothing like it was 10 years ago. I just wish they would continue to make us Quality parts and charge what it take to do that. Stop making Junk Parts that turn our motors into Scrap Iron. I have made the move from Flat Tappet motors to full roller top ends. Yes it's about 4 times the cost and difficult to get done at times. So far it's been a good choice. Just glad I don't have several builds in front of me for my personal projects.

 

What happened to the plastics lifters they used to make?

 

Late to this post, but I'll add my comments. I've had more than one failure of lifters in both SBC and BBC and both were at high rpm's when drag racing my cars. Both caused by the same damn clips failing that hold the lifters together! One a set of Comp lifters, and the other I don't recall the brand?
I am old enough to remember when all good lifters used internal C clips to lock them together, and these newer lifters everyone sells with wire clips are crap because of the clips. So when I had the engine apart to replace the 3 blown apart lifters I took one to my local high end hardware store to search for internal C clips. I found them in the right diameter and thickness to fit, and swapped out all 16 clips using my arbor press to hold the lifter compressed.
The SBC engine has been together 8 years since the repair, and many trips down the dragstrip with no more lifter failures.

 

Have not experienced it myself, but have seen enough pics of broken wire clips in today's lifters (don't know brands.) I have a new set of lifters waiting to be used and they have wire clips. On looking at older used lifters (I keep things ) I've noted that not all lifters use the same thickness -and I kind of assume - or material wire. Maybe some are better than others? I know 'metal' is a fairly loose term in some parts of the world.

In any case I thought I would swap out the wire for some circlips off older lifters. I quickly discovered that the fit was too sloppy with the old circlips in the new lifters, so that plan died. Oh well. It's not a race engine.

 

One thing I would look at if changing from the wire clips is the shape of the groove. It’s possible that it is round to match the wire clips and putting a square cut snap ring would only be engaging on the corners. It sounds like @1971BB427 has had good luck with doing this but I would check the lifters you intend to use.


Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Standard retainer clip ..

 

I just asked this same question to Elgin, since I had purchased their hydraulic flat tappers and 292 cam and then got real nervous of catastrophic failure if the quality was china inferior! I sent an email to their tech dept. wanting more info about their lifters- here’s their reply!

“
Hi David,
Thank you for your inquiry. Elgin lifters are OEM, made by Eaton & Delphi. The flat tappets are from the same Eaton factory that makes them for OEM assembly lines. What ever inventory the OEM's don't use at the end of each week is made available to the aftermarket through Elgin. The HL-1817 are coming from the GM Engine Assembly Complex in Mexico. These have the lifter body cast and machined in North America. We sell them because they are the only lifters that we will cover with our warranty.
Thank you,
Scott Stier
Aftermarket Sales
Desk : 847-930-6325
Elgin : 800-323-6764
-----Original Message-----
From: Elgin Industries [mailto:noreply@elginind.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2022 10:26 AM
To: Sales
Subject: Submission from Website Contact Form
From: David Haney <fbpd227@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mail Submission from https://www.elginind.com/
Name: David Haney
Phone: 864-305-6189
Email: fbpd227@yahoo.com
Comments: I bought your Elgin HL-1817 lifters and your E-920-P cam for my sbc 350, and I am hearing MANY people complaining about cam lifter failures and killing the engine upon break in - NOTHING has been said about your brand, but the general statements made imply there are actually only about 3 lifter manufacturers making lifters for everyone….. who makes your lifters? Are they actually made in the USA, or just assembled, and made in Mexico? Are there reports of lifter failures being made about these? I would much prefere to know in advance of blowing up my engine! Your honesty is paramount, as I will still continue to buy your products! Are these issues due to poor quality metal (China metal), or are your lifters built from quality USA steel? Thank you in advance for any and ALL info you can provide!
(Also I am fully aware of proper break in procedures- varying rpm’s from 2000 to 2500, and at least 20 minutes to 30 minutes- never let it idle during break in, use break in specific oil high zddp oil and change the oil and filter, right after break in with another high zddp quality oil and filter) thanks!
--
This e-mail was sent from a contact form on Elgin Industries (https://www.elginind.com)”

made me feel much better after getting that reply!

ps, my lifters do not have a parting line, and look like a solid body with the recessed middle section like the pic of the Summit ones above. Even the numbers are similar, indicating the most likely other companies are also buying left over stock assembly parts to rebrand, and sell. ‘there’s a bunch of guessing going on these days, so when you get the info straight from the (reputable) company, you have to hope for the best going forward!

 

^^^^^Timely and good to hear. A set of Elgin HL1817 lifters should be arriving tomorrow for a 305 I'm building.

Lynn

 

Comp Cams sells tool steel lifters as does Trend performance and Howards.

I have a brand new set of Comp Cams 833-16 solid tappets I never used. Decided to get my Johnson's re-faced instead.

Johnson doesn't make flat tappets anymore and haven't for a few years, only rollers.

 

Need to be careful with wording like this because it can be vague if not ambiguous, depending on the message the sender is trying to deliver. Mexico, The United States and Canada are all North America.

Not saying anything is wrong with any of them, but sometimes generalisations like North America are used as hedgewords, or it could be sloppiness or even just ignorance.

Perhaps he is simply implying that they do not come from another continent far away.