mechanical roller lifters on a hydraulic roller can

[CaptCobrajet]

Hmmmm.  That is a good point, Doug.  Jspindle you might want to be sure you have oil galleys in the lifters.  It would be odd for a '66 Sideoiler to have been drilled for hydraulic provision.  Maybe he meant '68 sideoiler......

[Falcon67]

I'll add that I thought about it a while and decided that while the lifter change was worth buying, buying springs and possibly push rods to complete the swap might be wasted money because eventually I'll put a real SR cam in it.  So might as well just let it be for now.  Also, in spite of the "owing myself a 10 second car", if I run under 7.50 at our track I have to either slow it down or put on a diaper.  Fitting a diaper is a no-go with the current setup, no room.  If I converted it to front/rear motor plates and cut out the cross member then I might could fab up a pan...  You see how this stuff runs away from you quick LOL. 

[jspindle]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I checked with my builder and the block(1966 427 sideoiler) has been drilled for hydraulic lifter. I did some investigation into the Crane 35532 hydraulic roller lifters that I have. Crane tech support said they were good for 450 lb springs,so like Brent said, my 435lbs on the build sheet my equate to about 450 lbs. That being said I called Morel  and decided to stay with hydraulic rollers. Morel's HI RPM HYDRAULIC ROLLERS recommended spring pressure 100-225 seat pressure and 350-550 open pressure and 7000+rpm capable.(part#72440-16) $$$ I will post the engine dyno video and sheet before I lost the lifter.  675 hp and 650 torque. Thanks again!

[blykins]

Hold up, hold up.....

That's a Lunati part number and is about twice the price of the Morel part number that everyone normally uses.  The Morel part number for a limited travel hydraulic roller lifter is 5329 and they retail around $550.  They have the same spring pressure capability and I've had them at 7500 rpm with an FE hydraulic roller. 

Who recommended a $1000 Lunati lifter to you?

[jspindle]

I went to Morel site and Lunati is a distributor for Morel. Tech told me these are Morels Hi Rpm. Maybe I can send them back . I just got them today and they say Lunati on the cross bar. They said these were the Morel HI RPM. What the hell! Thanks Brent.

[blykins]

Yeah, you got the double/triple mark-up special. 

Lunati does use some Morel lifters, but twice the price is ridiculous.  You need part number 5329, if you want to do a short travel, hipo deal. 

[jayb]

So, not to doubt your builder's word but drilling a sideoiler block for hydraulic lifters is not something that every machine shop can do.  In fact, not many of them can do it, and as mentioned previously a 66 sideoiler block was not drilled for those oil passages from the factory.  When you get in there to change the lifters, make sure you look to confirm that you have the oil holes, they should go right through the middle of the lifter bores.  The factory holes are about 5/16" in diameter.  I'd just hate to see you take your builder's word for it and have more problems when you find out he was wrong...

[cjshaker]

I didn't want to push the issue, but I agree. Very few people can do that machining procedure. I think I'd verify the lifter oiling.

[blykins]

I don't know guys, with 1900 miles on it, I'm sure he would have figured it out by now.  No oil to any of the lifters would make the thing sound like a tin can with rocks in it and it wouldn't have put any power down on the dyno. 

On the other hand, a lifter failing isn't unheard of.

[jspindle]

Brent, I thought the same thing. But I will check. Can you tell me which allen screw plugs to remove to check?   

[blykins]

You got the intake off of it?  Engine still in car?

[jspindle]

intake off and engine out

[jspindle]

yes intake is off and engine is out

[blykins]

Just pull a pair of lifters out.  If there's a hole in the lifter bore going to the next lifter bore, it's drilled.  If you follow that hole/passage all the way to the rear of the block, there will be a pipe plug on the rear for it.  There should also be a pair of plugs toward the rear of the lifter valley, that are at an angle.  That's the crossover between the two lifter passages.

[CaptCobrajet]

Pull a lifter and see if it has the galley drilled.  I do that drilling operation from time to time.  About $800 to do it these days.  Most people won't do it, or find another block.  In some cases, drilling the known good block ends up being the best option, but it isn't easy, and the learning curve is expensive if you screw up!