I give up: How to find deals? Retrofit Hyd Roller Lifters?
10-13-2016, 02:47 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
I give up: How to find deals? Retrofit Hyd Roller Lifters?
I've been looking a few days a week for a couple of months now to no avail: How the heck do people find used or deals on retrofit hydrolic roller lifters? (or other SBC performance parts, for that matter)
These things are so unbelievably expensive, especially for any that can be spun up to decent RPMs. I've been monitoring all of craigslist using a special-purpose search engine, Ebay, racingjunk and here. -NADA.
There was an incredible deal on a set of Lunati Signature series lifters on here that I missed by 5 minutes! (While I was loading my PayPal app to send money I got a message that the other guy had just sent payment.) -I've been kicking myself ever since...
Is it simply that because the good lifters are rebuildable that you just don't see used ones, or what is the deal? I've actually seen plenty of big block hydraulic roller lifters, but small block just never seem to be available.
-Anyone know of any companies that have good BlackFriday sales that I should keep my eye on?
My only remaining thought is that come Christmas people might start selling some old parts to get some extra funds for Christmas so I might see more parts become available on the used market...
Adam
These things are so unbelievably expensive, especially for any that can be spun up to decent RPMs. I've been monitoring all of craigslist using a special-purpose search engine, Ebay, racingjunk and here. -NADA.
There was an incredible deal on a set of Lunati Signature series lifters on here that I missed by 5 minutes! (While I was loading my PayPal app to send money I got a message that the other guy had just sent payment.) -I've been kicking myself ever since...
Is it simply that because the good lifters are rebuildable that you just don't see used ones, or what is the deal? I've actually seen plenty of big block hydraulic roller lifters, but small block just never seem to be available.
-Anyone know of any companies that have good BlackFriday sales that I should keep my eye on?
My only remaining thought is that come Christmas people might start selling some old parts to get some extra funds for Christmas so I might see more parts become available on the used market...
Adam
Last edited by NewbVetteGuy; 10-13-2016 at 02:48 PM.
10-13-2016, 05:38 PM
#2
Race Director
I bought an $800 set of Crane HR lifters last year, and paid $200 on Ebay. They were brand new but the guy didn't have the original box. His loss, my gain.
You just have to keep looking.
You just have to keep looking.
10-13-2016, 06:39 PM
#3
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '05
Cheap HR retro lifter..know money gets tight but Id wait and save
BBC seem to eat them due to their goofy pushrod angle and heavy valvetrain
BBC seem to eat them due to their goofy pushrod angle and heavy valvetrain
10-13-2016, 06:55 PM
#4
Dr. Detroit
Member Since: Mar 2012
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Howards makes an excellent set for about $400......
I have used them a sbc .580-.590 lift applications and they work well and last.
Jebby
I have used them a sbc .580-.590 lift applications and they work well and last.
Jebby
Last edited by Jebbysan; 10-13-2016 at 06:55 PM.
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jim-81 (10-14-2016)
10-13-2016, 07:09 PM
#5
Race Director
10-13-2016, 07:42 PM
#6
Team Owner
When I was young and dumber i bought lower priced parts and they always eventually bit me in the $$S. If you are going to do something... do it right. Claysmoker got a deal but they were good stuff.
When you buy lifters you want the lightest strongest parts. I bought CC roller lifters years ago and aluminum RR's I was going to reset the valve lash I noticed that some of my push rods had galling. Half the roller lifters had powdered the wheel bearing and the same in the aluminum Harland sharp aluminum rockers.
I then bought the Crane ultra pro lifters. CC's best push rods and CC pro magnum steel rockers and i never had another problem.
I've also nearly cried over the years when i had catastrophic engine failures
When you buy lifters you want the lightest strongest parts. I bought CC roller lifters years ago and aluminum RR's I was going to reset the valve lash I noticed that some of my push rods had galling. Half the roller lifters had powdered the wheel bearing and the same in the aluminum Harland sharp aluminum rockers.
I then bought the Crane ultra pro lifters. CC's best push rods and CC pro magnum steel rockers and i never had another problem.
I've also nearly cried over the years when i had catastrophic engine failures
Last edited by gkull; 10-13-2016 at 08:38 PM.
10-13-2016, 08:18 PM
#7
Dr. Detroit
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NewbVetteGuy (10-14-2016)
10-13-2016, 10:58 PM
#12
Race Director
I believe Morel manufacture the Howard lifters. 
Re: Howards Lifters
Postby cpmotors » Sat Dec 27, 2014 5:14 pm
The Pro Lite Black body lifters are made in the USA by a mfg in Utah IIRC, very nice piece and bodies are .8420", round and straight. I have 1 set of the 91138 in use for a few years now with a .650 lift setup. Same with the Power Products #8096/8098 .844" lifters they sell, I also have a few of those in use.
The Pro Max lifters are Morels as are the Street Series retro fits from what I know.
Pete Graves
CPMotorworks,Inc.
Custom Engine Machining
Cylinder Head Fixture for Vertical / Surfacing Mills
Re: Howards Lifters
Postby cpmotors » Sat Dec 27, 2014 5:14 pm
The Pro Lite Black body lifters are made in the USA by a mfg in Utah IIRC, very nice piece and bodies are .8420", round and straight. I have 1 set of the 91138 in use for a few years now with a .650 lift setup. Same with the Power Products #8096/8098 .844" lifters they sell, I also have a few of those in use.
The Pro Max lifters are Morels as are the Street Series retro fits from what I know.
Pete Graves
CPMotorworks,Inc.
Custom Engine Machining
Cylinder Head Fixture for Vertical / Surfacing Mills
Last edited by 63mako; 10-13-2016 at 11:03 PM.
10-13-2016, 11:17 PM
#13
Safety Car
The Maximum Effort retros from Howards are mfgrd by Gaterman and are also a good lifter if used in the proper application.
You have to do your research and know what you are buying.
Alot of companies are private labeling parts from many different mfgrs these days and it's easy to over pay for sub par parts.
Will
You have to do your research and know what you are buying.
Alot of companies are private labeling parts from many different mfgrs these days and it's easy to over pay for sub par parts.
Will
10-14-2016, 11:31 AM
#14
Drifting
Street Series Morel for lobe lift up to .375" and rpm's in a SBC to 6400-6500 work just fine. If the build is going larger in cam lobe to make power higher then the better Morel Pro Series are needed.
Beware of the Chinese knockoffs. Just had a set of "Morel Imposters" sent to me for inspection. Set of solid rollers for a SBF. They were not Morels but found on Ebay selling for $189 and it the add it says "Shipped from USA".
Beware of the Chinese knockoffs. Just had a set of "Morel Imposters" sent to me for inspection. Set of solid rollers for a SBF. They were not Morels but found on Ebay selling for $189 and it the add it says "Shipped from USA".
10-14-2016, 12:22 PM
#16
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
I've been doing my research but there's certainly contradictory information out there.
Here's a thread I started on Speed Talk for exactly this purpos a while back:
http://www.speedtalk.com/forum/viewt...hp?f=1&t=47549
Here's where it left off:
Crane:
Regular- 11529
High RPM- 11532
Morel:
Regular- 5372
High RPM- 4602
Race- 5044 -7,000+ RPM
Lunati:
Regular- 72330
High RPM- 72430 ;rebranded Morel 4602s
Race- "Signature Series" 72530- 7,000+ RPM; rebranded Morel 5044.
Howards:
Retrofit Street- 91164N -I believe these are their standard lifters and might be the Morel 5372s rebranded
Retrofit ProMax High RPM- 91170 -designed to operate at over 7000 rpm - (fairly certain that these are also rebranded Morel 5044s)
Retrofit Maximum Effort- 91160 -I don't understand what the heck these are at all; they say they're for maximum maintenance and reliability- lighter than the other two lifters- might only be appropriate for moderate lift cams with moderate ramp speed???? -Given that the other models are rebranded Morels, I'm guessing these are rebranded 4602, but they're REALLY strangely branded if they are
Erson:
"Street Series"- PBMSL975- no details about RPM at all but from the name I'm assuming standard RPM
They have a "Pro-Race" series but I'm not so sure that they have one for retrofit hydraulic roller applications; the PBMSL975 might be it.
I kind of feel like the original purpose of my post / questions got lost though: Where (What sites/ forums) do you go to when you're looking for good used SBC perf parts?
I'm finding the ThirdGen site has honestly a lot of stuff go up for sale rather frequently there; obviously there's craigslist and Ebay, but where else do people go for good sources of used SBC perf parts?
Adam
10-14-2016, 12:26 PM
#17
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Street Series Morel for lobe lift up to .375" and rpm's in a SBC to 6400-6500 work just fine. If the build is going larger in cam lobe to make power higher then the better Morel Pro Series are needed.
Beware of the Chinese knockoffs. Just had a set of "Morel Imposters" sent to me for inspection. Set of solid rollers for a SBF. They were not Morels but found on Ebay selling for $189 and it the add it says "Shipped from USA".
Beware of the Chinese knockoffs. Just had a set of "Morel Imposters" sent to me for inspection. Set of solid rollers for a SBF. They were not Morels but found on Ebay selling for $189 and it the add it says "Shipped from USA".
-My initial build won't need to ever spin past 6,500 RPM, BUT I do plan on using a decent high lift and certainly a fast ramp modern design cam so I'm worried that the effective RPM limitation will be lower and I'd like additional safety cushion. I keep hearing builders say that it's the lobe profile that determines the effective max rpm before float or collapsing a lifter, so it makes me think that the quoted max RPM limitations are for those medium ramp speed designs and with a more aggressive Voodoo-hydraulic roller-type lobe the actual rpm limitation will be lower. -I also don't want to run crazy pressures-I'd like to go with ovate beehive springs so help with longevity and my understanding is that a slightly lighter lifter would be a better fit for lower pressures. (Then I can have my fast ramps and longevity and RPMs -it just takes more money to be able to have all three, right?)
I may need to rebuild the bottom end of my engine in a few years, too, in which case I'd want to do a 383 or 396 stroker and I'd need to get a bigger cam then, too and I just want to buy a good set of lifters once, a little more RPM safety cushion just makes me feel better.
Adam
Last edited by NewbVetteGuy; 10-14-2016 at 12:32 PM.
10-14-2016, 01:23 PM
#18
Had a 1976 L-82, 4-sp
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Royal Canadian Navy
Cheap, reliable, fast.
I like reliability and so far all is good with my build. I also don't like used for the most part, so cheap is eliminated. By process of elimination,I must be fast!!! Remember, you can only pick two.
I like reliability and so far all is good with my build. I also don't like used for the most part, so cheap is eliminated. By process of elimination,I must be fast!!! Remember, you can only pick two.
10-14-2016, 02:09 PM
#19
Dr. Detroit
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I would never buy a set of used roller lifters........
The only time I reuse rollers is if I am putting them back in......even then they are thoroughly checked.
Jebby
The only time I reuse rollers is if I am putting them back in......even then they are thoroughly checked.
Jebby
10-14-2016, 02:46 PM
#20
Drifting
There's no question that the Street Series Morel are my "backup plan". Ideally, I'm looking for one step up slightly higher end, reduced travel lifters, which is why I'm looking for a slightly used model. (Ever since the Lunati Signatures were almost in my hand, I now would love an equal quality lifter.)
-My initial build won't need to ever spin past 6,500 RPM, BUT I do plan on using a decent high lift and certainly a fast ramp modern design cam so I'm worried that the effective RPM limitation will be lower and I'd like additional safety cushion. I keep hearing builders say that it's the lobe profile that determines the effective max rpm before float or collapsing a lifter, so it makes me think that the quoted max RPM limitations are for those medium ramp speed designs and with a more aggressive Voodoo-hydraulic roller-type lobe the actual rpm limitation will be lower. -I also don't want to run crazy pressures-I'd like to go with ovate beehive springs so help with longevity and my understanding is that a slightly lighter lifter would be a better fit for lower pressures. (Then I can have my fast ramps and longevity and RPMs -it just takes more money to be able to have all three, right?)
I may need to rebuild the bottom end of my engine in a few years, too, in which case I'd want to do a 383 or 396 stroker and I'd need to get a bigger cam then, too and I just want to buy a good set of lifters once, a little more RPM safety cushion just makes me feel better.
Adam
-My initial build won't need to ever spin past 6,500 RPM, BUT I do plan on using a decent high lift and certainly a fast ramp modern design cam so I'm worried that the effective RPM limitation will be lower and I'd like additional safety cushion. I keep hearing builders say that it's the lobe profile that determines the effective max rpm before float or collapsing a lifter, so it makes me think that the quoted max RPM limitations are for those medium ramp speed designs and with a more aggressive Voodoo-hydraulic roller-type lobe the actual rpm limitation will be lower. -I also don't want to run crazy pressures-I'd like to go with ovate beehive springs so help with longevity and my understanding is that a slightly lighter lifter would be a better fit for lower pressures. (Then I can have my fast ramps and longevity and RPMs -it just takes more money to be able to have all three, right?)
I may need to rebuild the bottom end of my engine in a few years, too, in which case I'd want to do a 383 or 396 stroker and I'd need to get a bigger cam then, too and I just want to buy a good set of lifters once, a little more RPM safety cushion just makes me feel better.
Adam
Beehives....only unless you are going to spintron test the valve train. Beehives are great if the valvetrain has been throughly tested. I have had way to many customers with dropped valves with beehive springs.