How many of you out there have had your lifters resurfaced? If so, were you happy with the results and what are the pros and cons?

I have talked to a couple of guys that swear by it, and then others that will only go new, not resurfaced.

Do most machine shops handle this?

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Dan, it has been a normal process on all engines for decades, particularly those that new lifters were not plentifull or Necessary.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I would think it should work good since the valvetrain is adjustable,I had some rebuilt lifters in a FE without adjustable rocker arms that were quiet until it warmed up then a bunch of noise. They were about .030 shorter then the replacements I bought.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

I’ve moved this topic to the Technical section as it’s a better fit there.

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My philosophy on resurfaced lifters is always buy new if they are available. If not available, then I am game for resurfacing and then only in applications that have reasonably stock or low valve spring pressures. In a performance application where valve spring pressures are increased over stock, the correct hardness and crown on the lifter face for wear purposes would be mandated to be as good as it can be. For the Y engines, good quality, made in U.S.A. lifters are available so using reground lifters in a Y would only be done to save some dollars. You get what you pay for?

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A major concern I see in resurfacing lifters is the potential for resurfacing lifters that have already been through the resurfacing process in the past. In these instances, the surface hardening on the wear face is going to be even more questionable. It’s already questionable with one resurfacing action but goes downhill each time they are additionally resurfaced. And then the amount of crown reground on the lifter face is as important. An incorrect crown is just as wear prone as insufficient hardness. From a business perspective, it’s a substantial risk I don’t want to warranty.

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Here’s a link to a similar past thread on the subject.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic52298.aspx

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I have talked to two reputable machine shops that I have dealt with before with excellent results - they both reported back, "We don't do that anymore." The one shop said that they had no way to make sure that the face could have a convex shape to it. It would have to be entirely flat. This is the same machine shop that does all engine work for the White Post Restoration facility in White Post, Virginia. Odd.

Guess I am going the new route.

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Hi! I used resurfaced lifters and reground cam in my 292 build. On the advice of Tim McMaster by Oregon Camshaft. They looked great and broke in well as the valves didn't move much after initial adj and then break in. I was happy.

Well, i can only go on past expeirence over 40 yrs and had NO problems with resurfaced lifters, my cam guy had a machine that resurfaced the radius on face. And now bearing in mind information and parts are available at the push of a button new lifters are more available, although there were less quality ones being highlited at one stage. As TED rightly points out for higher spring rate and load, new Quality ones are required to reduce problems. Dan, i would think that shop hasnt got the correct machine for the job. Either way i,ve been running reground lifters in my engines for long time and no problems.

yyy

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I am pretty sure that the guy that bought the Racer Brown cam business who is or was located in Pasadena MARYLAND can resurface lifters if needed. If you were to buy his cam and lifters he would probably stand behind them both.

I used his cam and lifters in my truck with (as Ted suggests) fairly low pressure springs and had no problems. BTW he was very helpful with selection of the cam for the truck application. Most custom grinders can help you make a better selection of what kind of cam will do for a particular application than picking a cam out of a catalog and custom cams are not that much more costly.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

The way I see it is if in keeping with stock low spring pressure and done correctly you can get by with reground lifters. Building an engine for more power requiring more spring pressure and higher lift cam then new all the way. It's very expensive and time consuming having to tear down from cam and lifter failure. I've had failures even with new so I will be very cautious.

-Gary Burnette-

I'm with Bill on this one .Have used reground lifters & cam before and have had no problem on good rebuilt street motors. The only problem I had ( BEFORE learning about zinc ) was not using the correct oil and taking about 6 lobes off the cam ??? A very expensive lesson . If I was building a high performance Y Block with a big cam ,springs & compression and plenty of noise I would want the best parts money could buy .As Ted says ,you get what you pay for .Just my opinion .

Lon

yblocksdownunder