8BA........I Put Those Junky Lifters in It

[leon bee]

I got an issue here nobody can help me with, but I would like to hear any opinions you guys might offer.

My first flathead. I'm already hooked after a few months. So, those months ago my machine shop guy, who I value highly, went ahead and got me a rebuild kit. I'd been reading here about currently available adjustable lifter and grabbed some of the, (I think) good ones. They were so pretty I bought another set.

Machine shop guy ordered that rebuild kit without lifters, but it came with lifters anyway. I've since figured out it came from Mac's. Everything looked good: Sealed Power, Hastings,, etc. A new Isky stock type cam. But the lifters looked really cheap.

Here I got two new sets of pretty lifters, and the old Johnson adjustables which I guess could be renewed. What'd I do? Put the new cheesy ones in! It comes from being a hoarder, wanting to save the good stuff.

Sorry so wordy, but here comes my dilemma: I was THIS close to starting the engine the other evening before I had to pull off and do other things. It fires pouring a little gas down the carb but I didn't really run it. But I WANT to. And I keep thinking about those cheap lifters sitting on that new lube slathered cam. What should a good man do? Thanks if you read all this!

[Ken/Alabama]

Well, if you have on hand a new set that came from a reputable vendor I probably would use them vs the ones that came from Mac. I put a set in a engine for a friend from Macs and had no issues to arise but that's been 10 years ago. Have heard some not so good comments about their lifters being soft. If you start having issues due to a bad set of lifters that gonna mean starting all over. $$

[petehoovie]

You'll never hear anything good said about Mac's on this forum. The negativity towards Mac's seems to have evolved into a fetish here....

[Royal Ryser]

Here is a good word about Mac's. I have never had a problem with them, either quality of parts or service. Sure, some parts are not perfect, but nobody's parts are perfect.

[51 MERC-CT]

There are two different types of Johnson style lifters, Solid and hollow, which ones are you talking about?

[petehoovie]

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Originally Posted by Royal Ryser

Here is a good word about Mac's. I have never had a problem with them, either quality of parts or service. Sure, some parts are not perfect, but nobody's parts are perfect.

Like you, I have never had a problem with Mac's in the 25+ years I've been dealing with them....

[Ggmac]

I thought I had a problem with MACS , but it was me ! They are fast , and good . Especially Amanda , great to talk to about any car parts you need .

[tubman]

Like we said when racing snowmobiles "Run your best parts."

[rotorwrench]

Mac's currently offers both the hollow types and the solid types. The hollow types have had problems with too loose a fit on the adjuster allowing some to back off in service. As far as being too soft, I haven't heard anything on this forum about that. You might ask your rebuilder how the adjusters felt when he put it together. If any were not tight enough, you could have a problem down the road.

I don't think I would worry too much other than the adjusters. If your easy on it and it has a relatively stock cam lobe lift with standard valve springs then run it.

[Ol' Ron]

The problem with lifters, seems to be the choice of valves for the cam in question. I have found that when using a cam with a small base circle you have to run a longer valve stem, like the SBC Ex valve, this fit's right into a flathead AS for the solid lifters, I've used then on many street engines with no trouble. Another problem you can have with a street cam is too much spring pressure. I use #50/55 on all my engines, including the L-100, and they'll turn 5k. You have to think of the application of the engine as you build it. Every mod has a reason.

[leon bee]

I was not meaning to run down Mac's, it's just that I've seen other mention of their adjustable lifters being substandard. These ones I got from them are the hollow kind, they don't say made in China but they got that look about them. (I got nothing against the Chinese either).

In this case, the rebuilder is me. My machine shop guy probably thinks I put in the good ones I had showed him.

I like that "Run your best parts" credo, from now on that's gonna be me. I already have 2 more good 8BA blocks I've dragged home for my next projects. So this is my "learning" engine. Thanks a lot, guys!

[JSeery]

If it is just an adjuster backing off a little, the worse case is you will have to readjust them down the road. Where you run into serious issues is when the face that contacts the cam is not hardened properly. That has been a problem with some lifters in the past, but I have no idea if it is a problem with the current lifters.

[51 MERC-CT]

This is a letter published by the manufacturer in response to a claim by a purchaser of counterfeit lifters.

[rotorwrench]

Since Johnson was the original manufacturer of the hollow adjustable types, all of the other aftermarket hollow tappet followers were called Johnson by the folks that used them then and now. They were mostly all made from chilled cast iron but as the High Lift information states, they were not necessarily all made to the same specifications. I've seen old follower boxes on flea-pay with several different manufacturer's names on them. I've not seen any yet that had a name actually on the part so it's hard to say who made any old used or NOS parts a person might find out there. Johnson adjustables were mostly the solid type as they were and still are used in V8 and tractor 4-cylinder engines.


If Johnson states that they had problems with them then it stands to reason that all of the manufacturer's may have had their fair share of problems.


As far as Mac's reputation is concerned, that is still up in the air to some extent. After the Eckler's buy out, it will likely go the way of their reputation which is definitely spotty. Just do a google search to find the problems folks have had with them.

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

If Johnson states that they had problems with them then it stands to reason that all of the manufacturer's may have had their fair share of problems

Curious, when and where did Johnson state that they had problems with their lifters?

[JSeery]

That letter is very interesting. It is stated that they made the hollow lifters for only 39, 40 & 41, yet these lifters were being sold all through the 50s and 60s. It is also interesting that they emphasize that they were made for Ford and not for sell to the general public. Very strange letter to me, but it is a legal type of response.

[rotorwrench]

Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

Curious, when and where did Johnson state that they had problems with their lifters?

In the first paragraph of that letter. They mentioned cracking so they quit making them in 1942.


All the Johnson followers that I have purchased over the years were solid types.

[tubman]

On a related note; I have an Iskendarian MAX-1 cam and kit installed in my latest engine. So far, it runs fine. The lifters came with the cam in an Iskendarian box. Does anyone know who makes Isky's lifters? BTW, they are solid bodys.

[rotorwrench]

To the best of my knowledge, Ford never put those in new engines. If someone knows different, then I'd sure like to know. The 1939 to 1942 time frame was during the war for Canada and the US later. I wonder how many sets they made for Ford. If they made 100,000 sets for them then they may have been around long after the war. There may have been a lot made for the war under a 1942 contract too. Manufacturing records would show them to have been manufactured in 1942 when in fact, they may have manufactured well into the war years to fulfill a 1942 war department contract with Ford. There are likely not a lot of folks at Top Line that could factually tell a person the straight skinny on that type of info. Whatever parts the US military purchased from Ford were sold out as surplus after the war and could have ended up all over the place.

[51 MERC-CT]

Seem to recall seeing factory Ford's that had hollow non-adjustable lifters. They had no slots but either one or two small bleed holes.
I suspect that they are referring to this type lifter that had problems.