Johnson lifters or not ?

Robert Dip

Robert Dip

Senior Member
I have two rebuilt engines, one is a ’37 21 stud and the other is a 59AB that have very low mileage. ( no cylinder ridge showing ) I imagine they were rebuilt many moons ago, and the question is on the adjustable lifters used at the time. Were Johnson lifters readily available with no competitive company manufacturing similar hollow adjustable lifters as done today ? The photos show what I removed from one engine….can it be identified as Johnson ?? Robert
 

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Yes, I would say they are Johnson's. I cannot back up my statement, but I believe all adjustables that look like those are made by Johnson if not sold by them. There are other adjustables, but they have a definite different appearance.
 
O M G !!. What is the world coming to? Walt Dupont used adjustable lifters!;) What else did he do when he was young? Chase girls?
 
Back when I was young I had 46 just like your's, It was just like new belonged to an old lady, she traded it in for a new car. the seats looked like they were never set in. after about six month that back set had spots all over it, I don't know what happened, I hope I wasn't along at the time. lol Walt
 
Thanks guys.....I guess they must have sold a ton of these to the engine re-builders. On another forum, I had asked If I could use these on a newly reground cam, and the answer was 'No'. I am still debating this response within myself, as they are in such 'new' shape. I also checked them with a micrometer straightedge, and they do have a very slight convex radius. I wonder if new lifters today have this radius? If not, all the more wants me to use them....just a thought. Robert
 
Hi Rob, yes those do appear to be the Johnson's, and they should have a "convex" radius on the bottoms. Not certain about the brand on the "hollows" though.

I have a shot below here of them in our boxes that we pack them in to sell/use.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. We normally purchase them in "bulk", 96 pieces to a "tray"!
 

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Robert Dip said:
Thanks guys.....I guess they must have sold a ton of these to the engine re-builders. On another forum, I had asked If I could use these on a newly reground cam, and the answer was 'No'. I am still debating this response within myself, as they are in such 'new' shape. I also checked them with a micrometer straightedge, and they do have a very slight convex radius. I wonder if new lifters today have this radius? If not, all the more wants me to use them....just a thought. Robert
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Just my opinion based on 30+ years building engines as a hobby, and getting paid for it.

Don't re-use them without re-finishing the bases (or using new ones). Flathead cams are not cheap.

Used/bad/marginal lifters plus new cam usually equals bad cam in short order.

This is from way back - Always replace a cam and lifters as a set. If you take the engine apart make sure the same lifter goes back on the lobe it came from (same with pushrods, rockers, etc.)

The most critical part of the cam/lifter life together is that first 20-minute break in. The lifter bases and cam lobes will mate to each other during that time. This generates lots of heat. That's why you need to use lots of break-in lube and keep the rpm up in the 1800-2800 range and constantly vary the engine speed. If you need to adjust something, shut the motor down. Don't idle it, etc. Run a break-in oil in addition to break in lube on teh cam...

Keeping the revs up actually results in better lubrication due to the splash oiling going on.

IMO the best cams come from the factory with a black nitrided finish on the lobes. It looks rough, and you will wonder how the heck is this going to work? Trust the cam grinder, he knew what he was doing. That nitriding is even harder than the shiny "flame hardened" and shiny ground lobes, and it holds the lube better during break in.

After that 20-minute break in. Do what you want.

My 2 cents
 
Walt Dupont--Me. said:
Back when I was young I had 46 just like your's, It was just like new belonged to an old lady, she traded it in for a new car. the seats looked like they were never set in. after about six month that back set had spots all over it, I don't know what happened, I hope I wasn't along at the time. lol Walt
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Walt ,When you were young the 46 WAS NEW!!!!!! Phil
 
I believe Johnson was the only original Mfg of the hollow adjustable lifters. I recently bought an NOS set ina box labeled Wohlert, a "Product of Wohlert Company, Lansing MI. Inside with the lifters was the tool for holding the lifter while adjusting it. It had the Johnson engraved on the tool. Saw a set of NOS Sealed Power lifters that also had the Johnson holding tool packed with them. An early Lincoln vendor at Hershey had them. Couple more 2 cents worth.
 
Robert, usually cam followers are Chilled cast iron (the hardening process) The hard skin should be thick enough to allow refacing.(maybe more than once)
A good file should not be able to mark them.

I read somewhere (Reds headers or Rumbleseat?) that they should be hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 52 to 55. I emailed Drakes about theirs, and they came back to me with a Rockwell hardness of 45. Are theirs the soft ones that are failing? There is a rumour about that there are soft ones on the market.
I am trying to find out which are the good (and lightweight) current manufacture ones (if there are any)
 
I'm learning more and more as comments come in....I believe that I am not the only one absorbing the advice and comments here. I am interested in sending a cam core to the people doing the L100, I wonder if they also resurface theses lifters. Robert
 
I would reuse them in a second...assuming that they all appear "serviceable". I.e no pits or obvious signs of degradition. And what will regrinding do other than make the contact area softer? My guess is they are better, as is, than any import offered today!
 
Johnson lifters are much heavier than stock (unadjustable) FOMOCO lifters. Lighter is better. There is a significant difference in weight among the various Johnson-style lifters on the market. Shop around. One way to spend a quiet evening with a postal scale is to weigh each lifter and file the ones that are heavy. It might not make any difference in the 0-60 time, but it seems like the right thing to do.
 
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