Johnson lifters or not ?

oldford2 said:
Just curious,
What did the original Johnson holding tool (singular) look like?
John
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And then there was the little know knock off, Big Johnson lifters.
Their motto was, "When your clearances need to be tight, there's nothing like a Big Johnson."
Ok I'll go now.
 
bputhuff said:
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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That would be a lot of filing.
John

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Answer to the original question is no. You cannot use the type of Johnson lifter shown with a reground cam. It will be too short and because the screw has to be let out so far to adjust, it will not hold its adjustment. The correct Johnson lifters have a higher screw head (nut) and were made for reground cams. That version is no longer in production. You can tell the difference easily, the part where a wrench goes to adjust is much thicker.
 
jimTN said:
Answer to the original question is no. You cannot use the type of Johnson lifter shown with a reground cam. It will be too short and because the screw has to be let out so far to adjust, it will not hold its adjustment. The correct Johnson lifters have a higher screw head (nut) and were made for reground cams. That version is no longer in production. You can tell the difference easily, the part where a wrench goes to adjust is much thicker.
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I used to run a Napa machine shop the last 10 yr's of my work career. I've been (retarded) for 15yr's but we used the have those lifter with the thicker heads in the Napa parts book. Walt
 
jimTN said:
Answer to the original question is no. You cannot use the type of Johnson lifter shown with a reground cam. It will be too short and because the screw has to be let out so far to adjust, it will not hold its adjustment. The correct Johnson lifters have a higher screw head (nut) and were made for reground cams. That version is no longer in production. You can tell the difference easily, the part where a wrench goes to adjust is much thicker.
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Jim, if possible, please post a photo of the thicker Johnson lifter alongside the regular Johnson lifter.
 
19Fordy said:
Rather than file the top, could you just drill holes in the sides of the lifter to lighten it? I know it's hardened steel, but a carbide drill might work or perhaps water jet cutting.
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We have been doing that since the early 50's.
It is a $300 job. The holes are not easy but the REALLY hard part is deburring the inside of the holes. It's a dental pick and scrape job. and that's 9 holes per lifter.
This is just one of the small details as to why my circle track engines will turn over 7000.
 

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jimTN...a great awakening here.....'cannot use original Johnson lifters with a re-ground cam'...interesting comment.....so does one use Chevy valves with an adjusted shaft length ?? I'll have to do more research here...any comments from the know-how guys?? Robert
 
Isn't there a longer type of adjustables, and isn't there also a longer stemmed Chev valve?

Is there a current manufactured johnson style lifter that is correctly hardened, that the screws don't come loose in? Names please.
 
I personally don't think the weight of the lifter is a critical factor in engine performance. Yes lighter is better, however our street engines rarely 4K let alone 7. The answer is use a longer valve for the reground cams lilk the L-100, 400jr etc. The SBC is valve is .060" longer than the stock Ford valve. Now Walt Dupont has a fixture that welds material on the end of the valve and he uses stock ford lifters. these come id two different lengths. Don't expect to save any money here, this is a time consuming job. Just think of he engines application befor you builr it.
 
NO, the Johnson had a thicker adjusting nut, the longer stock lifters makes it easier to grind valve stems for some cams. Walt can give you a better idea of the combinations of valves to lifters, because he does this on a regular basis. Not many guys left that can do this, it's becoming a lost art.
 
Johnson thick head and std lifters
 

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first pic is std lifter second is thick head in an old dirt track 60 over with 404 cam. Sorry about pic quality, could not get the flash to work.
 
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