Re: Billet cams and lifter supply
 

Just curious Mike ,asking for a friend, how much did the get for coated lifters. DLC?

Re: Billet cams and lifter supply
 

I purchased the dlc coated lifters through a builder and they originally ship the wrong diameter. I returned them in the middle of COVID and it took 17 months to get replacements. (Original price was $1500)

Re: Billet cams and lifter supply
 

Are you running a steel cam core or cast iron? If iron, it needs to be nitrided. If stee,l make sure you request the cam manufacturer to micro polish the cam lobes. Also you must run DLC coated tool steel lifters (the old Shubecks will work in a pinch). I work for a distributor that sells Driven Break In oil and we go through several pallets every couple weeks without any problems. On the contrary I have heard negative things about the new Penn Grade break in oil. It's not the same formula as the original Brad Penn. I have a couple of customers that have Rockwell testers. It seems that the "good" traditional flat tappet non tool steel lifters will have a hardness rating of about 60c. Lifters also need to be checked for crown. I received a tray of lifters from Sealed Power that were Chinese. They had sufficient hardness but no crown to speak of. Because of that they wouldn't rotate enough to prevent the lifter from dishing and ruining the cam lobe.

Re: Billet cams and lifter supply
 

In the early-mid 1980's I worked for the Los Angeles County Mechanical Department, and the cars the Sheriff's department had were '77-78 Novas, 79-83 Chevy Malibus, and they had Chevy trucks and vans.Other County departments had various Chevy and Dodge trucks as well. Around 1981-82,we had an absolute epidemic of flat camshafts in all those various engines, predominantly the 305 Chevys,not too much with the Dodges. We tried various things, but it still was a very common experience. We were searching for an answer, tried various brands of lifters and oils, but the issue continued almost unabated. Along about the early 90's the steel roller cam with hydraulic roller lifters came out, and the problem vanished. At the time, that was when the zinc additive disappeared from the various brands of oils and that was when all this started. Now, the issues we are being confronted with probably more than anything else are supply problems. It's maddening to be told that the goods you ordered for a thousand or more dollars are back ordered because the vendor doesn't want to lose the sale so he takes your money and tosses your order at the bottom of the pile.Not a good way to ensure repeat business, but I guess the modern business culture doesn't care about that.

Re: Billet cams and lifter supply
 

I used to work on a Pro Stock team using Jenkins power. He told me that his main criteria for oil was a high zinc level.