VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 54 cam and lifters

I received my new cam and lifters for my 54. The lifters are shorter than the originals and I am told that new push rods are required. While that makes sense to me I am wondering if the new cams fit both std and PG. If so are solid lifters being used for both seeing that there are no hydraulic lifters to be found anywhere. The push rods I'm told are now the same for the Std as the PG. I am thinking that if someone could not get hydraulic lifters it would be possible to change them over to the solids similar to the Std except for possibly the lifter diameter.

If you use solid lifters on a Hyd. lifter came you will get a lot of valve noise and a rough idle. That is because a Hyd. lifter cam has no opening and closing ramp built into it as a Hyd. cam is always in contact with the lifter.

Can both the solid lifter cam and solid lifters be installed in place of a hydraulic lifter cam and hydraulic lifters. The new lifters that came with my cam are shorter and don't have the umbrella top. It requires replacing the push rods with longer ones which I'm told are the same as the hyd. lifters use. My reason for asking is I have a spare 235 PG engine and when I get ready to use it I want to be a little better prepared than I have been with my standard.

You can use solid lifters and a solid lifter camshaft in a Hyd. lifter engine but you can not use Hyd. lifters in a solid lifter block. The solid lifter block is not drilled from end to end through the lifter gallery for lifter supply oiling.
This is not true for 1958 and up blocks as all were drilled.
1956-1962 235's used the longer 11 13/32" push rods for all engines. Also that push rod was used in 1953-1955 Hyd. lifter P.G. engines so you could use the push rods from the 1954 P.G. engine.Your old ones from the stick engine were 10 3/4".

Thank you Gene. I think I now have a good understanding of what goes with what. Luckily my cam supplier is sending me new longer push rods at N/C as he feels he should have explained that when he took the order for the cam.

Wow, that's a good vendor.

Actually I think he is trying to make up for his slow delivery on the rest of the order. I placed the order March 22 for all items to do a complete overhaul and still have yet to receive the gasket set and rod bearings.