Adjustable Lifters
 

Last year prior to installing my lifters I noticed cracking around the bottom edge of four of them, Speedway were kind enough to refund me the set ( after 2 years ) but could offer no alternative , neither could anyone else , seems like all lifters had decamped off the planet for awhile . I ended up getting 4 units from a tractor supply company ( I had the counter jockey run his vernier over them ) as fitted to N series Ford tractors. As my knowledge regarding Ford tractors could be written on the back of a postage stamp , the question is what years , and iff they were original Ford fittment or an aftermarket thing?

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call Johnson lifter i think they made the orig ones.

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1939-1951, all The N series tractors , 9N, 2N, 8N ran those as factory fitted.

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If you are running any adj lifter with the end screwed out that far, that is trouble and will never hold an adjustment.

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nah, pictured is straight out of the box, never been fitted

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The reason I asked about the years and if original equipment is that in Rodger Huntington`s early 50`s book he states that Ford never offered adjustable lifters for the flathead V8 but it appears that they were available in the tractors of the era and as far as I can see were interchangeable. (. I hope someone doesn`t poke a stick in my spokes on this one. )

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There's nothing in the N series Ford tractor parts book showing
adjustable lifters.

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My 2 cent, get a old set on a swapmeet and send them on a regrind.
I would stay away from the new stuff.
Std Henrys was 45 grams aswell.

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I read something recently that the Ford tractor lifters are the same fitment for the V8. I looked them up on a tractor website and they were listed but were currently out of stock.

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I bought some adjustables years ago for a 2N but they were solid and heavy. Go to the link and check out some of the sites they show them in stock. Some look solid and some look hollow so I would call and make sure what they are.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=AONN-...+lifter&ia=web

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When I bought my Iskenderian MAX1 cam and kit (cam, lifters, and springs) from Speedway many years ago, it came with the solid body lifters. I think that's what they use these days.

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Yes , it seems mostly solid these days.

Re. Post 9. Swap meets, they might exist in the State Capital but that's 1000 miles south

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what would set of original Johnsons be worth.
Lawrie

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If they are needed for a regrind cam and do not have the thick headed screw, nothing. If being used with a stock cam, they seem to go for upwards of $100. The thick head ones are almost impossible to find any more. We are talking used ones here.

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What about a longer bolt in the case of a reground cam? It would not have the necked down area in the center that is compressed to create the interference fit, but with a thin head bolt screwed out that far perhaps there is room for a jamb nut. I've always wished there was room for a nut, but I have always used stock cams. You may have to roll the cam or crank to get at the nut, but not that much of a problem.

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Would lash caps be okay in a situation where they are otherwise threaded out too much?

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They loose their ability to stay put once they get backed out too far. A lash cap would not help the problem with loose threads. Some people peen the threads to maintain the adjustment, but from research they are best compressed endways in a vice as that refreshes the interference between the two sets of threads down in the lifter's body. Still, with them cranked high we lose the benefits of the top threads.
Edit: Actually a lash cap would keep the screw thread better engaged into the lifter's body where the interference fit works best, so I recind my earlier comment. Sometimes you gotta be driving down the road thinking these things through!

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This thread kinda meandered away from the original theme which
basically asked if anyone had any opinions of mixing and matching lifters. ( using 12 Speedway solid adjustables and 4 of N series Ford tractor solid adjustables ) photo shows the two side by side

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Looks like they are the same except the head of adjustment bolt. I think on a street engine that will not see high rpm, they would work fine. I have a 1939 engine that I used the solid type lifters and it is a great running engine.
Of course if you could find a set of the hollow lifters that would be a better choice.

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Just my opinions. I would use the tractor lifters. I have had some and also the ones from Isky. They appeared identical. I did not use any of them. I had a set of original Johnson’s resurfaced. Some of the screws were a little loose. I found by switching lifters that I could make a good set. They worked fine. I never had to readjust them.
The sheet metal adjusting tools are worthless. I made a tool from some 1/8 music wire from a hobby shop. I cut an length about 6” long and bent into a V. I bent the ends down about 1/4”. It would fit into opposite lifter holes and fit under under the retainer. Worked great.

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I too would use all tractor lifters. If four of the others had that cracking, what caused it? What keeps the others from following suit once the engine is running? Even just one of those hardened chips will wreak havoc in that lifter bore and or cam lobe.

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When using stock-length valves and running a high-lift performance cam the base-circle of the profile has to get a lot smaller, this causes one to have to extend the adjuster too far out. As noted, this can cause issues with the adjuster not having enough "interference fit" to hold adjustment.

This is one reason I run longer valves (SBC style) - such that some of that additional "space" is taken up by the additional valve length. Lash caps can also be used . . .

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When I rebuilt my engines, I had some great mentors to offer advice. One good idea is to drill a hole in the lifter bores. Drill the hole low in the valley area on each lifter bore. I think about 3/32" would be good. This allows for you to lock the lifter with a small Allen wrench while you adjust the screw for your lash.
I also took a quality 7/16" wrench and narrowed the width to the height of the screw. This made adjusting the valves really easy.

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I heard a story about the drilled lifter bores. The guy used a punch and forgot it in the hole. It did not go well when he rotated the engine to go to the next lifter.
The music wire suggestion works fine and no need to drill holes or maybe damage something
It also work with the solid style lifters.

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I have worried about the same thing so this time I bought a 3/16" drill bit at 12" long for the best angle and I use an allen wrench about 1/8"+ for my holder. While I'm on here I want to say that earlier I posted that lash caps would not help but after two posts to the contrary I finally get why they would help because they keep more of the lower threads in the interference range. This makes perfect sense, and I learned something.

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I will start an other thread shortly on how I went about adjusting my lifters using dial indicators ( at assembly stage )

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FYI, on the adjustable lifters. Snap On does make a long thin open-end wrench in 7/16" on one end & 1/2" on the other that makes it easier to get to the head on the adjuster bolt. Part # LTA1416.

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I paid the crazy amount ($450.00) for new, NOS box of original Johnson's adjustable lifters for an engine I'm building. I have used Johnson lifters I could have had refinished but then this set of new originals showed up. I hadn't spent any money in a while, so I thought what the heck.

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Those "thin" wrenches are what we used to call "tappet wrenches" . . . as they seemed to be designed for this very purpose!

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My set of Craftsman tappet wrenches from 1972 have 3/16" thick heads. (.187") Perfect for the job.

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Dale, I had forgotten the term "tappet wrench", but after you said that it popped into my head. The back side is stamped " Warning low torque only".

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My dad had a set of those, and he also called them "tappet wrenches". When we were kids, we would occasionally use them like regular wrenches. Woe be to you if he caught you using them for other than their intended purpose!:eek:

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No wrenches like that around when I was young. But I do kinda keep my own hidden.

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All I can say the last set of 16 I bought from local Ford tractor they came in 'Genuine Ford Parts" boxes good enough for me he also gave me the tool its one piece Not the two piece worthless type stamped Ford on it...