Hollow valve lifters worth it?

rhinodaddy

rhinodaddy

Member
I bought a rebuld kit for my 8RT engine from Patrick's that included solid adjustable lifters. There still new in the box. Nothing wrong with them, but I see Drake's has the hollow adjustables on sale in their Summer catalog. Any thoughts on the Drakes, or whether the difference is worthwhile? The engine is going to be fairly stock with a mild cam grind and orginal crank.

Thanks for your comments.
 
To answer why you may not notice any difference , hollow lifters are obviously lighter and have less resistance so at high revs there is less lifter weight to get moving and less strain on moving parts, solids are cheaper and will perform just as well in almost any commuter type flathead .
 
I agree, but I have been seriously thinking of buying some of Drake's. The price seems awfully cheap.
 
Find out where the cheap ones are made, I'll bet I know already... If they don't hold up, you'll have a bunch of metal particles floating amonst your other valueable parts... I would just hate to take a new engine apart to clean- decide what parts are salvageable... WHAT is cheap, anyway? (in the larger sence)
Karl
 
Thank you all for the input, I'll stick with the solids. I had the same concerns as Karl. Getting cheaply made fenders is one thing, High speed rotating and reciprocating parts is another.
 
You would think with all the discussion about inferior quality ones, an outfit like Drake would be sure to have them made to quality specs. The price does make one question that possibility though. I'd like to have a few, just to analyze them.
 
I bought a set of hollows from Carpenter this spring on my way back from Florida. They let me in on the manufacturer here in the US who is making theirs. They were not what I would call cheap in price and the parts coming out of the box look like quality to me. They will be going in a '35 coupe with 221 LB engine soon, so time will tell how good they really are.
 
I went to the hollow lifters just so I could drill the block and pin them to keep them from turning when adjusting. The cam has a small base circle and the lifters would drop out ot sight.I could not use the sheet metal tools. I had to rotate the cam,adjust and rotate back. The hollow lifters allow much easier adjustments.
 
Well, not to be the devils advocate but anytime you can cut down on any reciprocating weight and friction, DO IT.. I would not suggest that you tear down a decent running flathead only to put in lightweight lifters but during a rebuild every bit helps...I bought mine from Flathead Jacks who was sourcing his from Australia.. Its been 25000 miles now on a supercharged 296" well built flathead and everything is great, only one valve adjust..
 
Sorry, been out of contact for a while. The engine needed a rebuild, and I hated to do it, but I sent the Johnson lifters that came in the block to Patricks in Casa Grande AZ, and he didn't recommend re-using them. The solids he sold me are adjustable and have 4 diagonal veins. I don't know if those are for lubrication, pinning them in for adjustment, or appearance (genuine, simulated hollow???) so I'll still be drilling the block

To answer flatjack, I can't say 100% what I've got or where they were made because the solids came in a plain white box as part of a complete rebuild kit. In Patricks catalog they advertise all Isky valve train parts.

Now, what's with the ****-eatin' grins by JWL and Pete??? C'mon guys, spill.
 
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I expect JWL and/or Pete will be along shortly to set us all straight regarding the use of adjustable lifters... again. Let's just say they like doing it the OEM way, which has the advantage of never getting out of adjustment.
 
rhinodaddy said:
Sorry, been out of contact for a while. The engine needed a rebuild, and I hated to do it, but I sent the Johnson lifters that came in the block to Patricks in Casa Grande AZ, and he didn't recommend re-using them. The solids he sold me are adjustable and have 4 diagonal veins. I don't know if those are for lubrication, pinning them in for adjustment, or appearance (genuine, simulated hollow???) so I'll still be drilling the block

To answer flatjack, I can't say 100% what I've got or where they were made because the solids came in a plain white box as part of a complete rebuild kit. In Patricks catalog they advertise all Isky valve train parts.

Now, what's with the ****-eatin' grins by JWL and Pete??? C'mon guys, spill.
Click to expand...
I suspect that they think there is probably a good chance that your lifters were made oofshore.
 
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