59A valve upgrade

J

jettech

New member
Hi gents, newbie here. I have a clean used std bore 46-48 59A with stock internals and would like to upgrade the valves to the stock 8BA style I see some sellers online offering. A few of the the mushroom valves in my motor now are pitted and look to have rusty seat angles. The rest of the components , cylinders are flawless and tight.

My question is do I need to change the stock lifters to adjustable or can I run the new valve set as direct replacement with current stock lifters ? I hear they’re the same length but would like to confirm from someone who’s done it before I pull the plug on a purchase. This will be a street driver and looking to just freshen up the motor with the valves and a lap .


And thank you in advance !

Leo
 
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If you are NOT installing a new cam or having the current one reground, you will have to keep the current lifters in the same holes they are now and adjust the new valves by the original factory method of adjusting stem length. This may require some welding on the stems unless you can find valves with longer stems. Certain Chev valves may work here.
You can NOT install new lifters of any kind on an old cam and expect any long term engine life.
Be aware that new adjustable lifters are of marginal heat treat quality and the screws are well known to have problems staying in adjustment.

From your description of the seats, you are going to have to have a complete seat grind also.
 
From my perspective, going to adjustable lifters is worth the risk versus finding someone who can properly do the valve seats and grind valve stems to achieve exact tolerance. Get the best quality adjustable lifters you can find, and run Valvoline VR 50/20 for the zinc lubrication for at least break in and one oil change.


The bad news is that Third Gen, CG, and pretty much everybody else is out of stock for good adjustable lifters
 
trying to be helpful Leo, we have had at least four returned engines with bad adjustable lifters, and the tool to adjust them are stamped junk. No more adjustables original solids or we won't do it. Only adjustables any good are Ford Tractor adj. lifters. And the best failure was on my personal car, Under 100 miles a valve guide that the stem clearance so bad like .100 .Chances are your solid lifters are OK= search for late Ford valve guides or measure used one. Reground camshaft works fine as Pete said not good mixing new lifters with a used cam. 20-50 VR1 racing oil with zink . Best deal is if you were closer I would do your seats for free being a barner member. Oh ford valve /springs keepers from early 8BA (later 8A has rotators so the lash is different. Good luck these parts are still around sam
 
Pete said:
If you are NOT installing a new cam or having the current one reground, you will have to keep the current lifters in the same holes they are now and adjust the new valves by the original factory method of adjusting stem length. This may require some welding on the stems unless you can find valves with longer stems. Certain Chev valves may work here.
You can NOT install new lifters of any kind on an old cam and expect any long term engine life.
Click to expand...

Pete, thank you for this valuable information! I was planning to install new 8ba lifters with my used camshaft in my 21 stud 1937 engine. Your guidance and information has saved from making a big mistake.
 
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As Pete noted, using 1.6" Chevy exhaust valves can give you a longer stem - such that you can use original style lifters and grind the stems to set the clearance.

One word of caution is that you need to understand your installed spring height - as Chevy valves will usually require more shims or custom spacers to tune the spring pressure to what it needs to be. This is directly dependent upon the CAM you're using (stock versus high-performance) and the recommendations from the CAM grinder.

Also, cams with higher lifts than stock will have smaller base circles, so more valve length is needed to make up for this. You may need to have the valve tips welded up to "add some length" - as part of the overall valve-job process.
 
Johnson adj lifters are some of the best (hope so i just put them in my motor) not cheap 30 bucks each, good luck

kurt
 
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