thoughts on these parts I found?

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volaredon

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haven't made any progress on my /6 build in too long. Though winter is better for working on things/ so that I can have this thing ready for action earlier in the spring, winter mode in my garage seems to be worse every year, as far as packing it full of stuff I don't want exposed to "winter"// leaving me less and less room, to actually accomplish anything out there. I swear that garage is shrinking, walls are closing in.
But, I am still hanging out here (probably TOOO much HaHa) and project creep keeps eating at me, 2nd guessing myself about what's been accomplished so far/ and what parts I have accumulated/ are they the "right parts" for this build, compared to what "every one else here is doin'" while at the same time, being "He11 bent" on avoiding recent, China made "pseudo parts" that I know won't last worth a damn, which would all but guarantee my hard work won't last... like I expect it to.
all the while, getting "the stare" every time another package ends up in the mailbox or coming from the "big brown truck" with my name on it.

Along this line, when I had my cam reground by Oregon, I bought a set of lifters from them at the same time/ to accompany the cam they did for me.
Maybe I read too much of others' stories of failure on here a bit too much..... and they rest on my mind heavily on much of what I do, NOT wanting to end up in the same boat...
those lifters that Oregon sent me, came in an unbranded white box/ I have no clue what brand they may be or where they are from.... I still scout Ebay quite a bit looking for the next screamin deal..... maybe I'll find others sleeping and get a deal on a 4 bbl intake for this thing??? I doubt it, but you all know what I mean. I already have a super 6 stack, all opened up and ported to 2-1/4 outlet on the exhaust side, along with a NOS brand new BBD sittin' here ready to go on. unless I can steal that 4 bbl setup somehow...

Does anyone know anything about the old McQuay Norris brand of parts? I found someone with a lot of 8, then same seller has a box of 4 Mc Quay Norris VL-31 solid lifters for a slant, in a different Ebay lot..
I look on places like Rock Auto, and come up with "not found" when I put that number in the search box. They "worth a $#!t?" Being an old school brand and old stock besides, I hope so.... I can clearly see "MADE in USA" on the boxes in the listing which makes me feel better than parts from a plain white unbranded box. I DON'T want to eat this cam and have shards throughout the engine from it.....

also along the same way.... I just bought me an MP double roller timing chain, MP packaging specifically says "225 timing chain" right on it.... P3690279 I'm surprised it didn't call out 383-440 as well, aren't they the same chain? Were they good stuff? I have had the same experience as some of you guys buying recent Cloyes stuff (which used to be top notch) and being sloppy out of the box....especially when talking small blocks. I do have the double roller cam gears already.
I also have a Melling (which I think is really "Cloyes") double roller chain for these gears already... last one Rock Auto had at the time I bought it. dunno if they have any more, since I bought the one I have, from them.
 
If you're talking about solid lifters, I wouldn't sweat it. You could call and ask Ken if they are lifters he reworked, but I can't see him risking quality there. He does offer lifter refacing and hardening. I know @RustyRatRod has done at least one slant six solid cam from Oregon. Maybe he'll let give a heads up on which lifter he has ran.
 
these white box lifters are supposed to be new, not refaced. My engine came to me lacking a couple of lifters so I wouldn't have had a whole set to send for refacing anyway/ but it was something like $3.50/ea to reface vs $5/ea for brand new ones, wasn't worth having a set refaced, for $1.50/ea difference. I went ahead and got those McQuay ones coming, wasn't a whole lotta money. so, is someone gonna come on and say "theyre both junk"? (meaning Oregon's, and the old stock McQuay ones) these McQuay ones were slightly cheaper than what the Oregon ones cost me. but "not much"/ almost a wash.
 
I hope I ain't the only one here that never used to worry about such things..... but I have had bad parts bust me in the azz too many times recently/ especially at work. Latest there, is a radiator that was gotten from Napa for a Chevy Express 1 ton van that the petcock WILL NOT seal, blows antifreeze out as soon as I put 7 PSI to it... and its so tight Im afraid to snap it off if I go any tighter..... I HATE REDO'S! have had many problems with distributor caps over the past couple years as well, mostly NAPA Echlin (we are contract restricted to having to get everything from NAPA, unless they can't get it) They used to be great, a lil high prices but rarely used to have problems with their parts..... so it was worth it... Not any more!!! on this /6 rebuild, it's my truck and my money and time being spent.... definitely not an endless supply of money to redo repairs on account of defects....
 
I've heard a lot less problems with solid lifters than with hydraulic lately. The last I had heard, Federal Mogul solids are supposed to be one of the better available right now. But finding some Mopar NOS solid lifters on eBay may be your best option yet.
 
When I was a kid McQuay-Norris was right up there with Federal Mogul, TRW, Sealed Power, and others. I wouldn't give it another thought.
 
I know in the 90s I sure didn't think much of McQuay suspension parts compared to moog.
Auto zone used to sell them, we'd get a car in for alignment and turn it away with a quote for repairs needed before it could be aligned, and especially on idler arms the car would some back for alignment after someone had replaced the worn parts with McQuay parts and they'd have enough play to be "marginal" at best right out of the box. Alot looser tolerances than moog had. And they would be "totally shot" within 6 mo to a year. Rarely had to re replace anything from Moog like we did McQuay.
 
My experience with McQuay-Norris was with engine hard parts, bearings, timing sets, etc. in the early '70's. Can't ever remember having any problem with any of them. But I understand they merged, or were bought out by someone, in about that same timeframe. Who knows, maybe something changed after that.
 
Just make sure that each lifter can move up and down and turn freely in every bore. The lifter bores in a slant six block is another place where residue varnish or dried soap from the hot tank process can reside.
You can also check the convex face on each lifter by holding the surface that rides on the cam against a flat plate.
The edges at the outer diameter of the lifter should be away with the center of the lifter face on a flat plate. Not by much but it should be that way.
Do a visual check and a fit check with a push rod on the push rod seat. The seats should be shiny and uniform across the set. Seat a push rod in each, the push rod should turn easily under light hand pressure
If the OD is good and the face is good, and the pushrod seats are good, there is not much else to go wrong with a solid lifter.
 
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Ok.... Any word on the MP timing chains then?
I know Mopar themselves didn't make those themselves. Wonder who really made them for Mopar?
 
Got the McQuay Norris lifters yesterday. They definitely rock when set flat on a table.
They are the barbell/dumbbell style.
Also got my Mopar performance timing chain in the mail today. Judging by the order form in the package for a $5 copy of the 1992 Mopar performance catalog that is telling of its age.
I do notice the rollers on the chain pins are split, and don't spin separate from the pins. No ID marks on the chain to indicate who really made it for MP. I already have the double roller timing sprockets for it from past eBay/rock Auto buys.
 
I compared the lifters I got from Oregon cams and these McQuay ones and the McQuay ones do seem to have more radius on the face.
With the chain I compared to the one I already had (Melling, box says made in India) and the rollers on melling spin separate and have no "split" unlike the MP, also the MP links look alot more like a bicycle chain than the Melling.
I also have a low mile takeout of a double roller big block, with both big block sprockets. Old enough to have the "DP/CD" imprint on the cam gear,. Got from a retired machinist among his stash. Originally I was gonna use this crank sprocket and chain with the right cam sprocket for a /6 until I discovered a complete set (as separate components) of the right components actually for a /6. Gonna have to dig that out and compare too
Somewhere on here (may have been in the small block section???) there was a recent discussion of different timing chain sets.
 
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