[Fot] Fwd: GT40 lifters

[billdentin at aol.com]

Amici...

A detailed description of what happened during the development of GT40 lifters in TR engines.

From Kevin Potter, Beady Eye’s mechanic.

Bill Dentinger


Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Kevin Potter <kdplep at gmail.com>
> Date: November 16, 2017 at 7:53:45 PM PST
> To: Bill Dentinger <billdentin at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: [Fot] GT40 lifters
> 
> Bill,
> The cam bearings we put in the freezer to contract the outside diameter to aid in installing the into the block. The lifters had a slight "slopiness' in clearance, to allow for lubrication, so they pretty much just fell into place!!
> 
> Symptoms varied. The lifter and cam hardness, needed to be matched. I do not know the metallurgy that was needed between the 2, (Bob did!) but the aftermarket available parts didn't get along all the time. Ken deducted the soft lifters were the cause most of the time, and came up with the ones he would supply to us. The first symptoms would come up when you did a valve lash check, and you found one, or several, valves having an abnormally wide clearance, In extreme cases, you probably felt a loss of performance. If the lifters were soft, the wear was on the lifter. Too hard, or in some cases, soft cam grinds, the cam lobes would be worn off. Either way, the damage could be extensive. An oil sample would indicate metal in the oil, from the cam lobe, or lifter base, basically being worn off. The cams, and some lifters' were a ground, machined, casting, not billet, so they were extremely fine "grindings' that would not be trapped by the oil filter. Once through the filter, the bearings, pistons, rings, cylinder bore, etc. took the beating. Kind of a slow death of the engine!! 
> Unfortunately, we had quite a few Kaestner cams that were ruined....Once we ran the reground, hardened cams and GT40 lifters, our cam issues there went away. By the way, the original Triumph factory lifters were very good. The after market pieces available were the issue. For what it is worth, the regrind work we used, was done by Crower cams. As I mentioned earlier, Ken and Babe Erson worked together on some of his cam/lifter stuff..
> 
> I hope this helps,     Kevin
> 
>> On Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 1:31 PM, Bill Dentinger <billdentin at aol.com> wrote:
>> Kevin...
>> 
>> Note, Richard Taylor's question below.
>> 
>> Richard is an interesting guy.  He's an architect from Georgia, who drives his 'street looking' TR4 to race events, towing a small trailer with his motorcycle, race tires, and tools on board.  When he gets to the track, he unloads, puts the race tires on the car, and goes racing.  For what appears to be a mildly prepared TR4...he goes FAST.
>> 
>> He is most famous for being part of a team that recovered one of a half dozen famous WWII fighter airplanes, which crashed in Greenland, after running out of fuel on their way to Iceland.  They crash landed on the ice, the crews were rescued, but the airplanes (two bomber, and six fighters), were absorbed by the iceberg.  That quest to recover those airplanes nearly cost him his business, home, etc.  They finally did recover one of the airplanes.  They had to dismantle it in order to get it out of the iceberg.  When they got it out, they could not afford to restore it.  Some Texas millionaires took over the project, restored the plane. 
>> 
>> It is a very interesting story.  If you have further interest, google "Glacier Girl".
>> 
>> Bill
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Richard Taylor <tarch at bellsouth.net>
>> To: Bill Dentinger <billdentin at aol.com>
>> Sent: Thu, Nov 16, 2017 10:48 am
>> Subject: Re: [Fot] GT40 lifters
>> 
>> What are the symptoms of lifter related problems?
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Nov 16, 2017, at 11:58 AM, Bill Dentinger via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Amici...
>> 
>> I contacted Kevin Potter, our engine builder/mechanic for most of our thirty-six years of racing concerning the Ford GT40 lifter option.  He said at the time, we (and others) were experiencing lifter related failures due to the lack of consistent metallurgy for the lifters Ken Gillanders was obtaining and selling at the time.  Some were real hard, others were real soft.  Ken was seeking an alternative, probably via Erson, and came up with what turned out to be the Ford GT40 lifter.  It was a perfect match, except for its smaller diameter, which was addressed with a bushing.  It was a fix and we never experienced another lifter related failure thereafter.
>> 
>> Bill Dentinger
>> 
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>> 
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> 
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