I don't want to be cheap but I'm way over my budget on my car and can't afford the Endure-X lifters most LT1s have. I've seen many with low miles on ebay for under $100. Can I buy any made for SBC? I would think as long as the bore is same diameter as the LT1s which I think they are then I would be fine.

 

John, Nu-Tek has Crane solid roller lifters for $275...
http://www.nu-tekmotorsports.com/new_page_3.htm

I searched on Ebay and the only lifters I found in the price range you're talking about were used, and I definitely wouldn't buy used parts to put in your engine. If you can find a new set of Isky solid roller lifters on Ebay for a nice price, without an offset (some sets that I saw had offsets for 18 degree heads) then you're probably just fine.

I'll let someone else chime in on whether or not SBC lifters definitely fit in an LT1, but it's my belief that they do. It just doesn't work in the opposite direction (LT1 to SBC) from what I've heard.

 

I used regular small block Comp Cams #818 solid roller lifters in my LT1 but a machining operation was required to provide clearance for the tie-bar that joins each pair of lifters. The LT1 block has a deeper lifter boss in the valley to support the length of the stock roller and it interfered with the tie-bar. Economizing on a critical part such as the lifter may not be the most cost effective approach. I've seen many otherwise great-running motors destroyed due to the failure of a roller lifter. There is surely another part of the project that won't subject the motor to such potential catastrophic failure if a compromise has to be made.

Good luck

 

You have to get the lifter made for,"tall lifter bore" crane and crower both make them. Im running the cranes right now. No machine work necessary.

 

silly question, but i was unaware that you can use used lifters with a new cam- can someone verify (other than a hyrolic roller)

 

trey, i would imagine you could use any used roller type lifter solid or hydrolic with a new cam. the reason you can't do it with flats is the wear patern and the rotation... it kind of wears into a lobe a certain way if i remember rightly and will not last long on a new lobe.

 

so lifters like these would work?

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...=ISK%2D202%2DH

Thats not too bad then.

 

The lifters pictured are NOT roller lifters, they are standard, solid lifters designed for flat tappet camshafts. I think you need to research the basic differences between roller camshafts and flat tappet cams. Using those lifters on a roller camshaft would create a whole new level of problems.

Good luck

 

You might want to ask Jason Short about those Crane lifters.

Yeah you can machine the block to run the shorter lifters. It's not tha big of a deal if the motor is all torn down anyways. The price of the block maching might offset the cost of the more expensive tall solid roller lifters.

There are two types of lifters for a SBC. The lifters for a roller cam block 86-97 & LT1 and the pre 86 blocks. The later blocks need a +.300 longer lifter.

You can get either Comp 871 or 873 lifters for the later blocks. I sell them for $425 and $440 a set for solid roller setups.

Bret

 

John, get the Crane lifters. This is not the place to try to save a buck or two. Well, a buck or two more than what you save by not buying Crower or Comp Cams lifters, anyway.

 

I was going to try and install the cam I got from you on the stock engine which is currently installed. That's why I wanted to keep things cheap since I'll be buying all new parts for the stroker later anyways. I think I've just decided to get another cam for this engine and save the solid for the stroker. Thanks for the help though

 

No problem John. Bottom line, you'd need a lot of support pieces in addition to lifters to get your solid roller to work in that engine, and it's too big for the stock heads and stock displacement. If I remember correctly, it's in the 235-240 degree range @ 0.050. I think you've got the cam card?

You'd probably be better off buying a CC305 or LT4 "Hot" cam, although you're not going to benefit as much without head porting to go along with it. 1.6:1 roller rockers might be a better, less invasive way to pick up a few horsepower, unless you're going to get your AFRs soon and want to install them with an appropriately sized cam on the 350 in the car, which is always an option. Sorry, I can't think of anything else off the top of my head that would give you a relatively cheap boost in power.

BTW, is your car running? I saw a couple posts in the NW forum on progress, but didn't check back to see if you'd got it going yet.

 

Thanks for the help Jim. I think I'm just going to get some 1.7:1 rockers and leave the cam alone for now. I' actually have a T78 turbo sitting in my room but after all the plumbing I think it would weigh the front down quite a bit. I might just go with a Powerdyne SC for now and get a Paxton NOVI 2000 later. yes the car is running but I'm not driving it around the way it looks (5 different colors). I just have to put back together the chassis wiring and it's off to get painted

 

Before anyone buys Crane's they should talk to Jason Short.

Rich Krause

 

^^^

To paraphrase Jason, both crane and their lifters suck.

Ryan