Shout out to Howard’s Cams

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TT5.9mag

Two atmospheres are better than one
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I’m sticking in a cam in a 318 this weekend and I’m cleaning parts in preparation. Needed a set of lifters and decided on Howard’s 91711. I disassemble and clean any lifter that goes in an engine I put together, and I just finished these. Gotta say, other than some light machine oil, these were damn clean and all of the check valves passed my suck test. Every single one measured .9035. Nicer than a lot of other brands I’ve taken apart.
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There’s no question that there quality is probably at the top of the heap in high production off the shelf components right now.
 
There’s no question that there quality is probably at the top of the heap in high production off the shelf components right now.
I particularly like their grinds, because they have a lot of lift per a given duration. That favors the Chrysler .903 lifter diameter greatly.
 
I used the same lifters with one of their cams in a stock 340 a little over 2 years ago. I didn't disassemble the lifters. The engine was running great before the change so I made sure everything went back together exactly the same. Break-in went smoothly and I have since put on about 5,000 trouble free miles. The lifters do bleed down so they clatter until oil pressure builds.
 
@TT5.9mag, very interesting. I have never checked new lifters. Maybe I have been lucky? Have you ever found a bad one?
Bad is not how I would describe it. I have found stuck check valves, and junk from machining. Mostly stuff I wouldn’t want in a clean, new engine. I did return a set a long time ago because the lobe contact surface was marred up on a few of em and I wasn’t going to chance it. If I remember those were Melling stock replacement lifters.
 
I did return a set a long time ago because the lobe contact surface was marred up on a few of em and I wasn’t going to chance it. If I remember those were Melling stock replacement lifters.
was that a set from summit?

i had a order come with a bunch of the lifters just rolling around in the box. customer service couldn't understand why i didn't want a bunch of banged up loosies.
 
was that a set from summit?

i had a order come with a bunch of the lifters just rolling around in the box. customer service couldn't understand why i didn't want a bunch of banged up loosies.
I don’t exactly remember but it very well could have been.
 
I guess the hardness test will come from running the engine.....
Considering I'd bet 99% or more people don't have a hardness tester in their back pocket, yeah, you're probably right.
 
Bad is not how I would describe it. I have found stuck check valves, and junk from machining. Mostly stuff I wouldn’t want in a clean, new engine. I did return a set a long time ago because the lobe contact surface was marred up on a few of em and I wasn’t going to chance it. If I remember those were Melling stock replacement lifters.
I wouldn't describe the failed set of Crower lifters I had as bad. Faulty valving, yes. They all broke in great and had a great wear pattern when I yanked them back out. They were the cam saver lifters that had the flat ground all the way down the side to spray the lobes with pressurized oil. My guess was that they were bleeding down when hot as a result of that. They were quiet when cold, but sounded like a solid cam when they got hot. Talk about a 175 dollar waste. They got replaced with some Melling $4.99 ea. stock lifters and have been quiet as a mouse ever since. Boy, was I mad that day. I had those lifters back out of a running engine in about 20 minutes. LOL
 
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