Steve's Ride

[simplyconnected]

...Kevin got them to admit, not in exact words of course, that they had a quality issue then.

...The lifters failed because of a manufacturing defect. COMP basically admitted that.

You think Comp knew their product was bad when they sold it to me?

Lifters are not hard to test. They are basically hardened and ground precision steel with a hardened and ground piston, check valve and spring inside.

What part of this is a mystery? Heat treat? Sizes? Rollers? For hundreds of dollars/set these parts should be perfect before they go out the door.

To answer your question, all I can go by is physical evidence, not anything someone says. We can talk until we're blue. Take one that failed apart and look. Measure the clearances with a micrometer. - Dave

[Yadkin]

It's hard to conceive that they put out bad lifters on purpose.

[Yadkin]

Comp fails again! It's been a week and the replacements did not arrive. Kevin ordered them and as a builder orders thousands of dollars of components every month, so you'd think they pay him some attention- Nope! He called them at 9am this morning for an update and as of 3pm they hadn't bothered to call him back.

I just ordered a new set of Cranes from Jegs and paid for next morning delivery. Over $1000, but according to Kevin they are the best. I should get them by Wednesday, noon at the latest, or the $35 delivery charge is free. That leaves Wednesday night, Thursday night, and possibly Friday morning to do the repair. Hopefuly I'll get this done in time to drive to the mountains in my completed project to see my Dad, who's 85 years old, and spending a few days at my place near Boone on his annual trip from Cape Cod down to Florida.

[simplyconnected]

Ford uses the dog bone style lifters in their SBF engines. They work great.
The 'link' style made by Morel are good too. Ever since Morel, there are a lot of 'knock-offs' that you must steer clear of because they are cheap and they fail. - Dave

Crane's are the best? I never heard of a bad lifter from Morel. THEY are the best, and everyone else copies them. You can find them under the Lunati brand also.

When you're done foolin' around with the junk, you will find that a set of Morel hydraulic rollers are reasonably priced. - Dave

[Yadkin]

When you start writing checks to pay for this project, then you can decide what goes in it. Lol

[simplyconnected]

I can say now, without a doubt, the car is no longer fighting me. Things are going together now much more easy now that she's nearly complete...

Steve, we all want to see your project go together without any surprises or extra expense. It's hard enough to restore as car as it is.

All along I have tried to offer sound advice to that end but according to this thread we know where NOT to buy automotive paint and which roller lifters to stay away from. I'm sorry you spent an extra thousand bucks on more lifters and I sincerely hope they work out for you. I suggest Morel because they are $300.00 cheaper than the ones you bought and their quality is simply the best.

This open international forum lends to help restorers because we all learn from each other's mistakes and maybe, just maybe, someone has more experience or in-depth knowledge about 'what to use' or 'things to stay away from'. This one could have been avoided because we have been here before.

Sometimes money has little to do with good quality (parts and service). Know your parts and your builder inside and out. If you aren't sure use an international forum like this to gather information from other restorers.

At first, your builder thought you didn't set your lifter preset correctly. Then he admitted that the lifters may be bad from the factory. What does that say about the builder AND the parts he uses?

I don't recommend throwing more money at a situation out of frustration but thanks for sharing your experience with us. Good Luck. - Dave

[Yadkin]

Kevin didn't buy the comp lifters or recommend them. My research then was from some guy on the internet.

With regards to paint, I didn't choose the brand. I know exact zero about that so rely on my bodyman. He was the victim of a lazy supplier to O'Reilly, and he's no longer doing business with Mr. O, since he didn't pony up the money to redo the paint. Mr. O did.

[Yadkin]

New lifters in, maiden voyage up to the BRP, raining pretty much all the time. Nice run up 421, varying my speed to set the rings, burned lots if gas and a quart of oil., smoking seems to be gone, no oil leaks from the valve covers.

[simplyconnected]

I love the Blue Ridge Parkway. Why would a new engine burn a quart of oil? I can see a little oil but nowhere near a qt.

I hope your new lifters last this time. - Dave

[Yadkin]

The BRP is right near my cabin, and I take it occasionally to avoid traffic in Boone.

A quart seems excessive to me as well. Hopefully it stops.

[Yadkin]

I drove the car back home this afternoon, a 90 mile drive. Not a lot of tools where I had it nor time to use them, otherwise I would have tuned it a bit before I left. It is running very rich, as the blue smoke under hard acceleration has ceased and is now black. I got considerably better fuel mileage on the return trip, using about 1/4 tank of gas.

Lots of traffic in Boone and Wilkesboro, and the cooling fan worked flawlessly.

Has not used any oil since that one time.

[Yadkin]

Got the original invoice and reproduction window sticker from Marti.

[Dan Leavens]

Nice touch

[Yadkin]

Some pictures from my drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway last Friday. I thought the signs were appropriate.

[Dan Leavens]

Steve now that is way too cool with the signs placed there to show off your classic