lifter weights

[oldford2]

On my next rebuild I will be using "solid" lifters and butt grinding the stems. Note the weights of the 3 lifters below.

Adjustable, solid for mushroom stems, and solid for later stems. Note how light the last one is compared to the adjustable one which is hollow. Some adjustables are not hollow and just have the spiral groove cast in so are probably heavier yet. I think I have enough used ones that will just require a light grind (.002?) on the top and bottom to clean up. I will check Joblot and Dick Spadora to see if theirs are USA.
So, I guess my question is how important is lifter weight in a stock engine? Thanks, John

[Pete]

Originally Posted by oldford2

On my next rebuild I will be using "solid" lifters and butt grinding the stems. Note the weights of the 3 lifters below.

Adjustable, solid for mushroom stems, and solid for later stems. Note how light the last one is compared to the adjustable one which is hollow. Some adjustables are not hollow and just have the spiral groove cast in so are probably heavier yet. I think I have enough used ones that will just require a light grind (.002?) on the top and bottom to clean up. I will check Joblot and Dick Spadora to see if theirs are USA.
So, I guess my question is how important is lifter weight in a stock engine? Thanks, John

In a stock engine, almost anything will work.
By the way, the solid adjustables weigh around 110 grams.
The lighter the lifters, the less load on the total valve train and that equates to longer life, however, cam and lifter wear was never a problem with these stock engines.
When you have your lifters refaced, be sure they are NOT done flat.

Here's a pic of lifters that have been lightened to 33 grams for racing.

[ford3]

the lighter the lifter the more rpm the engine is able to handle, less valve float

[oldford2]

Originally Posted by Pete

In a stock engine, almost anything will work.
By the way, the solid adjustables weigh around 110 grams.
The lighter the lifters, the less load on the total valve train and that equates to longer life, however, cam and lifter wear was never a problem with these stock engines.
When you have your lifters refaced, be sure they are NOT done flat.

Here's a pic of lifters that have been lightened to 33 grams for racing.

Pete, I have heard that but do you think new lifters (solid or adjustable) are ground with a slight (?) crown? With my new Mitchell (2200 rpm @ 60 mph), I am not too worried about valve float.

[Pete]

All Ford lifters were ground flat in the early days. I don't know exactly when they started
doing them with a taper but it was probably after the war.
The reason for the taper is to make the lifter rotate which makes it last longer.(even wear)
The cam is ground with a matching taper. All new lifters are taper ground as far as I know.
As a side note, the original Ford drawing spec called for a 96 inch radius on the lifter face.
I have checked many NOS lifters and they are NOT ground radiused (spherical). They are straight tapered. Also, Ford did not have any grinding equipment capable of spherical radius grinding.

[Ol' Ron]

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Back in the late 80's/early 90's the hollow adjustable were not avalable an we used solid adjustable 9N tractor lifters. Although these engines were street enginer they still turned over 4 grand with no trouble. All this in 50/55LBs of spring pressure. Lov them flatheads, no push rods or rocker arms.