Quote:
Originally Posted by Angledrive
If you know someone with a Rockwell tester have them checked for hardness. I bought some off Ebay a few years ago and had them checked and they were OK.
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While a certain hardness is one of the requirements of long life in a lifter, it isn't all. Metal compatability is another parameter that is essential.
Before the availability of Chinese lifters there were almost no adjustable lifter or lobe failures in flathead Ford engines. The type of iron used in lifters is extremely important. It can be like rubbing your skin with a piece of silk or a piece of sandpaper. The micro finish on different material lifters can vary widely even when finished by the same machine.
Ford found this out in 1957 when they produced the EDB cam in the 312 Thunderbird engine. After testing and before production release, they came out with a factory bulletin saying they expected in excess of 1% of the cams to fail before 200 miles. (which they did)
It was metal incompatibility with the lifters and was cheaper to let it go rather than retool at that late date.
Looks like there are 3 alternatives now.
1 - Use Hi-Lift solid lifters that are made in the USA.
2 - Find a set of antique hollow ones that are salvageable.
3 - Use the stock hollow steel ones.
Your required performance level will determine which.