[Healeys] Lifter (cam followers) options

[Bob Spidell]

Here's the link for the DWM bucket lifters and push rods:

https://www.bighealey.co.uk/austin-healey/engines/3000-top-end?page=3

I also had my engine broken-in on a static rig by the shop that rebuilt it.

Bob

On 10/9/2025 9:44 AM, Stephen Hutchings wrote:
> When I had my cam ground during the restoration, the machine shop recommended that I hav
> e the original lifters resurfaced and hardened, rather than buy replacements.
> This is going back a few years and there are now more options available. Some of those lifters pitted after 5, or 6 thousand miles, and some looked fine.
> I decided that the ones that pitted were not hardened properly…an assumption I know!
> I corresponded with Mike Salter who was having lifter problems of his own, and in the end I replaced the whole set with the modified ones from AH spares because I no longer trusted the re-hardened set- and also removed the inner valve springs.
>
> After a few hundred miles the new lifters looked OK, but I’m about to check them again, this time after a couple of thousand miles.
> I’ve been doing a lot of reading about bucket lifters, tubular push rods, etc. and it seems that some people are saying the current replacement lifters are wearing prematurely because they are not domed properly and aren’t rotating.
> Just to add to the confusion, when I removed the set that were pitting, I could see by the pattern on the wear surface that indeed some didn’t seem to be rotating, but had no visible wear, whereas the worn ones seemed to be rotating.
> What I’m throwing out to the list is - I wonder if anyone has experience with the tubular pushrod/ bucket lifter combination…or any other alternatives.
> I don’t know what I’m going to find after a couple of thousand mikes, but I’d like to be ready with a strategy if there’s a problem.
> And Mike, if you’re monitoring the list, what kind of lifters did you use in the end?
>
> Thanks,
> Stephen, BJ8
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