Anyone Using Crane Big Block Solid Roller Lifters

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Garrett Ellison

Garrett Ellison

Redneck Nouveau Riche...
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Good morning, and here goes! I'm sure this has been asked before, but looking for the latest and greatest information. I'm looking to see if anyone has ever used Crane CR66542-16 roller lifters, 64629-16 pushrods, and 64792-1 Gold rockers together on the street. If so, what kind of service life can you expect with street only usage from the lifters and how often are you keeping up with lash adjustments? I realize they aren't BAM lifters. If the these parts are all part of a professionally built 440 based 505 short block assembly with eagle rotating assembly (4.25 stroke, 7.1 inch rods, MAHLE pistons) that we'll be picking up in the near future. The original intent of the build by the PO was street usage. The block has already had the lifter bores bushed, but I don't know yet if the lifter bore bushings have been drilled or hopefully slotted for oil delivery (I would hope they would be with street usage in mind). If they are, we'll probably be going with hydraulic rollers anyway. We have some used Stealth heads on the radar at the moment as we don't intend to rev it to the moon. Leaving power on the table is not as much of a concern as durability. Being it's intended as a low rpm primarily street use affair, we're looking at a Comp 274 XE solid roller, as the recommended valve spring pressures are very close to that for a hydraulic roller. https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-energy-236-242-solid-roller-cam-3-bolt-for-chrysler-383-440.htmle
Overall question, should we just go ahead and plan on a hydraulic roller cam with a set of Morel lifters? The only way it would be used with solid rollers is if we could expect a reasonable service life out of the Cranes because we've already got them.
 
The pushrods and rockers will be the last of your worries. The lifters are the big deal. Tha Crane pasty number you posted appears to be the Ultra Pro lifter. That’s a damn good lifter with an .815 wheel. That’s what I’d use, but I’d look around. IIRC Straub Technologies has that lifter for less money, and maybe another brand for less than that.

As long the lifter has an .810 or bigger wheel you’ll be golden.
 
Hello again YR, and thank you, I was hoping you’d respond! I figured you would know on that lifter. The last time I’ve tried to bring Crane’s catalogs up, they appear to have been taken down, and anything not in stock at the parts places has been listed as not available. Although I believe they have been out of production for a few years now, R.I.P. Crane Cams, it was a good run... :(
He actually already have those very lifters in possession, he picked them up along with the pushrods and rockers as part of the deal last weekend. There’s a cam is in the already in the short block, but it was intended for INDY 325 heads and 11:1. Its supposed to be a Comp .660 lift unit, so that will have to be changed.
A couple of more questions: being it’s primarily going to be a street use engine the bushings need to be drilled to provide oil feed and do those lifters have pressurized oil feed to the rollers or is that necessary? I only opened the box to look at them and look at the roller wheel size is but didn’t take them out of the plastic. Also, is the billet cam only compatible with a bronze alloy oil pump drive gear or can a Melonized gear be used, if there is even a B/RB intermediate drive available with a Melonized gear?
Thanks again!
 
It's actually all good, the overall build has changed. It's going to be used like it is with what is there and the plan is to find as good of a head as can be budgeted and as light of a vehicle as possible to put it into.
 
With 11:1 CR, I would go one size larger with the cam & 505 cubes. Will still have a good idle, but reduce chances of detonation.
 
Bewy said:
With 11:1 CR, I would go one size larger with the cam & 505 cubes. Will still have a good idle, but reduce chances of detonation.
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We'll probably be running less than 11:1. That was going to be with 72cc chambers in the heads the PO used to have with .040 thick gaskets. I've not confirmed by direct measurement but that would be with the pistons around .004 down the hole. The rings gaps and the piston to wall clearance was set up for nitrous usage, so it may get a girdle (if it doesn't already have one) and a few pounds of boost.
 
Garrett Ellison said:
Hello again YR, and thank you, I was hoping you’d respond! I figured you would know on that lifter. The last time I’ve tried to bring Crane’s catalogs up, they appear to have been taken down, and anything not in stock at the parts places has been listed as not available. Although I believe they have been out of production for a few years now, R.I.P. Crane Cams, it was a good run... :(
He actually already have those very lifters in possession, he picked them up along with the pushrods and rockers as part of the deal last weekend. There’s a cam is in the already in the short block, but it was intended for INDY 325 heads and 11:1. Its supposed to be a Comp .660 lift unit, so that will have to be changed.
A couple of more questions: being it’s primarily going to be a street use engine the bushings need to be drilled to provide oil feed and do those lifters have pressurized oil feed to the rollers or is that necessary? I only opened the box to look at them and look at the roller wheel size is but didn’t take them out of the plastic. Also, is the billet cam only compatible with a bronze alloy oil pump drive gear or can a Melonized gear be used, if there is even a B/RB intermediate drive available with a Melonized gear?
Thanks again!
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WTH?? Did Crane go down AGAIN???? I just hate it if that happened.

If they are the bushed lifter they definitely need pressure fed oil to the wheels. If they are needle bearing lifters, I don’t run pressurized oil to the needles. Splash oiling for the needle bearings is fine IF you keep the idle speed up to a reasonable number...like 1000 RPM in gear. There is plenty of splash oiling to keep them lubed. Also, I don’t like to see less that 40 psi of hot oil pressure with rollers.

I have never used the melonized gear, so I can’t say on that.
 
Garrett, are they needle bearing rollers or bushed? That’s the question for street duty. Personally I would not run solid needle bearing rollers on the street. Seen too many drag week engines come apart for that reason.
 
I’ll have to break the seal on the plastic and take them out for inspection. Nothing better than popping the cherry on new old parts!:p We’re going to determine what we have and which direction we need to go when the time comes. This one has become a back burner project at the moment so we can be certain about reliability, and hopefully find something light to throw it into. Finding out if the lifter bore bushings are modified for oiling is priority now, but I’m just thankful that they have been really indexed and bushed.
 
oldkimmer said:
Garrett, I may have a cam 4 u. Maybe a trade? I use bronze gears with roller cams. Kim.
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Hello again! What cams do you have? We are looking at the possibility of procharging so anything with a 112 or wider LSA (even a single pattern Hemi cam with symmetrical lobes, to cancel out the difference in lobe sequencing) would work.
 
TT5.9mag said:
Garrett, are they needle bearing rollers or bushed? That’s the question for street duty. Personally I would not run solid needle bearing rollers on the street. Seen too many drag week engines come apart for that reason.
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I was told by Comp cam not to run bushing rollers on the street, " the idle time will beat the bushings right out of them". Dont know if they are right or wrong but I have been running their shity retro hyd rollers with needle bearings on the street for 4 years in my 340.
 
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512Stroker said:
I was told by Comp cam not to run bushing rollers on the street, " the idle time will beat the bushings right out of them". Dont know if they are right or wrong but been running their shity reytro hyd rollers with needle bearings on the street for 4 years in my 340.
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Yea I know it can be done, and has been done, I just don’t do it personally. I’ve seen what needle rollers do to engines when they come apart. I can still hear the screaching in my head. Lol
 
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I personally think the ‘68 block may be the greater weakness to overcome. This is all of the available information that I have on it at the present. The only thing that remains of it is the assembled short block. The heads were never installed on it after completion. Sometime after this the PO had gotten the aforementioned valve train components.
 
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I have had Isky bushed lifters in my engine for 6-7 years, ONLY street driven in a major city so gets a lot of idle time. Also solid, not hyd. If the bushes wear, you would get valvetrain noise, which I am not getting.
 
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