Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 54 235 Chevy rebuild - where to find lifters?

I'm new to inliners so thank you in advance for your help.

I am rebuilding a 235 Chevy for my 1954 Chevy Bel Air. Going the stock route. Block has been tanked, crank has been ground. Now my machinist is helping me source parts.

I'm not super worried about sourcing most of the parts. I think my machinist will purchase them locally.

My machinist is recommending new hydraulic lifters and a new cam. Any recommendations on where to purchase a cam and lifters? I've read threads in this forum about hydraulic lifters not going well so I figure I should be picky and try to find the best parts. One thread suggested looking for NOS lifters on ebay or swap meets but I don't know if I have the patience for that given my block is already at the shop being worked on.

Thanks everyone! Jesse

Any thoughts? Or can someone help me locate an existing thread on this topic?

Have you contacted Tom Langdon at Stovebolt? He still lists them on his website:

http://www.langdonsstovebolt.com/store/#!/Internal-Engine-Parts/c/18665954/offset=0&sort=normal


Tom's very knowledgeable about these engines.

Jesse, sorry I'm a bit late to your question and this thread... Look for Elgin Industries Cams if you haven't already decided on a source. They sell to machine shops, so your guy should be able to get whatever you need from them. I've also used Delta cams, but Elgin is a better deal (excellent quality and a bit cheaper). Delta quality is also excellent, to be clear.

A couple questions - Does the engine have a '54 block, or later? If it is a '54 block, was it originally equipped with a hydraulic cam (which only came on Powerglide cars in '54)? If it is an early full pressure block, and it wasn't originally fitted with a hydraulic lifter cam, the oil gallery to support the hydraulic lifters wasn't drilled at the factory. If it was originally fitted with a hydraulic cam, then the oil gallery is drilled, of course, and you have your choice of hydraulic or solid lifters/cam.

Hopefully not too late with this...

(You probably know, but just in case, the block casting number or stamped serial number on the machined pad just aft of the distributor can be decoded to help positively ID the engine, if you are unsure of its history. My mostly original '53 Bel Air with Powerglide has a '54 solid lifter engine in it, just by way of example on how things may have been changed 50 years ago).

Although solid lifter isn't what you asked, I prefer the 261 truck cam (Elgin # E-293-S), which is what Chevy also used in the '53-'54 Corvette 235's. It has a bit higher lift than the stock 235 cam, so the engine will breathe a bit better, without being an aggressive cam grind.