The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Lifter swapping

I'm in the middle of rebuilding my '54 235 and I'm trying to save where I can. The lifters for a '54 are about 3 times the cost of '55 - '62 lifters, but the head is the same and the cam location is the same....so can I just put in the cam, lifters and push rods from a '55 and up or am I missing something ?

Thanks
Kevin Reilley

Are you comparing hydraulic lifters for both? Or hydraulics for a '54 and solid lifters for the 55-62?

I'll be watching for the answers to your question. I bought hydraulics to replace those from my '53 235. It was a full pressure with hydraulics presumably from a car with Powerglide. I now want to install them in a '61 261 which was originally drilled for hydraulics but came with solids. My engine guy says it will work.

There are two lengths of pushrods used on 54 and up engines, its the lifter that is different like you say.The 54 cam has smaller bearing journals than the 55-62 cams.I think the earlier engines used a longer push rods with solid lifters, but I'm not sure. If you have a set of 55 lifters and pushrods, go for it ,but its not good practice to mix and match used lifters.Wally, why do you want to use hydraulic lifters in a 235/261? Many guys report noise problems at cruising speeds.

Tony, I bought the set of hydraulic lifters during the Hydraulic Lifter Scare of a few months ago. Remember when some folks said that they were harder to come by because the machinery to make them was getting old and not being replaced. I thought that hydraulics were be quieter and would need less maintenance. The 235 ('53 FP from a car with PG) was a preview of the '54, right? When I get my 261 in my engine stand, I'll have another look.

There are similarties and differances between the 53-62 full pressure 235s.

Similarities: All 53-62 FP 235s use 2.150" front cam bearings, so any mech cam will work in any 53-62 235. The 53-55 1st 235s used a mech lifter that had a "cup" on top that used a shorter push rod. Don't know what the hyd lifter or pushrods looked like for 53-55. All lifter diameters are the same, so no problem there.

Differances: The 53-57 blocks were not all drilled for hyd lifters. Only the powerglide units had hyd lifters in sedans until '57-58. Then I think most 235s got drilled for hyd, even if solids were used. I've only seen the fiber cam gear, but some guys here say that the cam gear was metal in truck engines.

I think all '55-62 pushrods are the same length for both solid and hyd applications. The '55-62 solids can be used in any '53-62 engine with a mechanical cam and the '55-62 pushrods. You must make sure that the solid lifters have the "groove" cut into their body to let oil flow around them if used in an engine that does not have the oil line in the pushrod galley.

Short answer: It is OK to use '55-62 solid lifters and tubular pushrods in a '53-55 1st engine, provided they are used with a mechanical camshaft. Make sure to use the oil line internal to the pushrod cover, with the proper oil restrictor.

The hyd lifters can rattle during highway operation due to poor oil supply, valvetrain geometery and valvetrain weight/spring pressure.

What you cannot/must do:
Do not use a hyd cam or lifters in an engine not drilled for hyd lifters.
You cannot run hyd lifters on a solid cam.
You cannot run solid lifters on a hyd cam.
You cannot reuse lifters on another cam.
You must keep lifters in order when swapping used cam & lifters between engines.

The '53 PG sedan engine was the first full pressure engine, featuring cast aluminum pistons, new cyl head, higher CR, bigger intake, shim-type main bearings, insert rod bearings, full oil pressure & passages, bigger cam bearings, improved valvetrain. It was carried over in the '54 stick sedans. The '54 PG engines got hyd lifters and a slightly hotter camshaft. Now I don't know for sure, but I have read from several sources and Motor's Manuals that some, if not all, 53 PG engines had solid lifters, but can't say from personal experience. Your results may vary.

good luck

chip

Chiphead,
Thanks for the advice, that gives me more options in my search for the best deal on rebuild parts. My block is getting dipped and mic'd tommorrow (hopefully!)

Good deal! I try to jump on things that have bit me, so others don't have to puzzle with it. Back in '97 I rebuilt my '54 235, and nobody was around to tell me why my '54 pushrods were 5/8" too short.

Also, make sure to have the block magnafluxed for cracks.

good luck

chip