Re-using Used Lifters on Another Cam

lifters have a convex shape to the face, you can rock 2 together and see the radii. if they are concave (my slants were when I pulled them) 2 things happen: 1 is that the different cam is not faced to that lifter as it has its own crown to its lifter lobe tip so there is going to be a mismatch, an area of extreme pressure, like a knife edge, that lube will not be able to float. 2nd is the cam lobe with its different profile will no be able to turn the lifter in its bore to equally distribute the high pressures a lifter face sees, that will lead to failure very quickly. If you choose to reuse a lifter for any reason, you can help yourself by making sure it still has a convex shape to the face, rock it on a straight edge. also check the cam to see of the lobe tip has a very pronounced biasing of wear toward one edge. If that is the case, the cam has worn its nose taper. These 2 factors will reduce the chance of the lobe being able to turn the different lifter in the bore, and that will lead to failure. You can reface lifters with a valve grinder that has the right attachment or send them out if they are special (Porsche, diesel, old Volvo, etc) IIRC Oregon cam grinders will resurface your old slant solids for $2-3 a piece when sent in with a cam core. I saw a video of a guy doing his GM's on a drill press, bearing them down on a piece of sandpaper over some soft backing so as to get a convex shape onto them. Dont know his success rate....we built a buddies Cleveland with used lifters on a new Erson Cam and it worked. The stars were in alignment that night.....