This is what I get for being a nice guy

About 45 days ago, a customer comes in with a fresh rebuilt 426 Hemi that’s been sitting for 2 years. After hooking up to the dyno, pre oil, fuel, and water. We get ready to start it, on its 1st rotation there is a loud snap. So off come the valve covers and we find a broken adjuster. The geometry is awful, maybe worse than awful. The adjusters are out about 8 or 9 threads, pushrods are aimed at the shafts, everything is in a bind. The customer bought the engine in Minnesota and now doesn’t trust the builder, so he’s not going to send it back.

Ok, even though I don’t work on other people’s engines, I tell him I will help him out and fix it. After fixing the geometry, getting longer pushrods, degreeing in the cam. I go to put everything together, and one of the brand “new” comp cams hydraulic roller lifters is missing the spring inside the lifter!!! So I go to order one set, and they are backordered until the end of Jan (maybe). I can’t even find a used lifter to take the spring out. Now this engine is going to sit in the shop.
This is what I get for being a nice guy, it bites me in my behind every time.
Rant over/

Joe

Order a pair of some lifters you can actually get……. Might need a couple pushrods too…… not a big additional expense in the long run.

There's an old saying: "no good deed goes unpunished".
I've lived that many times.
BUT - there's a personal satisfaction in solving problems, making someone else's situation better, and/or earning respect.
You'll likely attain all 3 - and hopefully be paid for your efforts.
Trust me, it could be a lot worse...

I'm guessing a spring out of just about any hydraulic lifter would work -- I think all they do is hold the cup up when there's no oil in the lifter. Once oil pressure is applied the job of the spring is done.

Been there done that. Funny too, I'll get a feeling in the pit of my stomach and when I do it usually means I m in for a lot more work than anticipated. I should say no and I don't.

What # Comp lifters ?
I just found some on ebay

I stopped by my local speed shop yesterday to chat up the owner. Nice guy, but he's into phords. Anyway, they do a lot of rebuilds. He was telling me that whenever a customer wants a time estimate, he tells them he can't tell them a thing until he checks on availability of EVERYTHING. Usually, it is 90+ days. Something is always on back order. Even common, popular stuff. And it sometimes affects the combo; they have to change to pieces other than they first spec'd due to turn around times.

He bought some big heavy shelves to hold the blocks and stuff. He puts paint daubs on everything in an attempt to keep everything where it belongs. I'll bet he has 40 or 50 engines apart and waiting for parts. He would have the customers hang onto them until their time gets close, but he usually needs to tear them down so he knows what they need. And then he hates to have the customer come and get it until it's time and parts come. Keeping track of it all, particularly the ordered parts is a full time job all by itself.

What a headache!

Bag it and stuff it into the corner. There are worse things that could happen than having to store a motor for a month.

After finding that mess you going to pull the pan? I can see more pain on the horizon.......

They are 8921-2, the ones on eBay don't look anything like them, the oil hole is in the band and the ones on ebay it's in the body.
Thanks for looking

Joe

I know I should, and I probably will, because I didn't mention 2 different size valve tip heights, 3 broken adjusters from being over torqued. Or the cam being installed "dot to dot" and being 6 degrees off.

The engine is most likely a pile of junk. Tell the owner that and ask him if he wants to proceed or not. Odds are that he'll be into it several thousand before it works right. Tell him to give you some money up front since you will most likely need to buy a steady stream of parts until it is done.

I'm a firm believer in Karma, both good and bad. A good deed done will come back as a blessing.

Agreed. If the top end has been a victim of bush league assembly, the bottom end probably is also.

^^ Spot on!

I gave my Dad a hand with a matching number '66 hemi rebuild that was going into a triple digit $ restoration about 15 years ago. There were about a dozen F-ups in that engine that he uncovered when we offered to double check everything for the owner before it was installed. A new set of pistons, cam, lifters, valley bolts,1 MP replacement head, balance job, and two rebuilt carbs later....it was finally right. All found in an engine previously deemed "ready to fire" , assembled by a local rebuilder here in central WI. That would've been a disaster.

I'd like to know who built it in Minnesota?

x8

How likely are they to be the 'big-brother' of the SB 8920 lifter? (my stipulation here being that the internals, including the retaining snap ring would be the same size)

Can't specifically help you today as those 8920 lifters are in my w2 stroker motor, but perhaps finding a single 8920 set might work?

Thank you for the suggestion, looked on summit and found

"Not Available At This Time

This product cannot be ordered at this time. Future availability is unknown. We apologize for the inconvenience"

Just one more reason to not use comp's. And the smallest to boot.

I probably have a spare set of Comp solid roller lifters in the shop. I used to keep one spare set of everything.

x2