lifters for 55 Special

[Guest]

I have a 1955 Special with a 264 engine. I have been told that the push-rods and lifters for the 55 are unique and therefore expensive. I was also told that if I purchase lifters and push-rods for a 1956 engine they would work fine in my engine. Assuming this was true I bought push-rods on ebay that were marked for a 1956 Buick Part # 0.426 1171345. These came in packs of four. I bought 4 packs. I now have a lead on lifters that are suppose to be for a 1956 Buick with a 264 engine on e-bay. The seller doesn't know if they are really what I need. The e-bay item number is 1150915722. If anyone could look at those and tell me if I can use them I would appreciate it.<P>Thanks<BR>Jim O'Callaghan<BR>BCA# 35855

[palbuick]

Hi Jim<BR>To begin with, in 1956 Buick did not make a 264 motor only 322.<BR>Part numbers for your lifters are 5231809, 1935 to 1955 V8.<BR>Part numbers for your pushrods are 1343359.<BR>1953 to 1955 V 8.<BR>The part number 1171345 is for 1956.<BR>Buick did mfg a Hi=performance lifter for the 53-56 V8, but had a different number, and you had to have the Hi-performance push rods with them.<P>Good luck<BR>Jim Schilf / palbuick@aol.com

[Guest 57delivery]

Where can one buy the lifters for the 1955 engine? My engine parts book list them for 56 only.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Have you tried Egge in California ?

[Bhigdog]

Where can one buy the lifters for the 1955 engine? My engine parts book list them for 56 only.

Kanter or Terrill Or possibly even your local NAPA store...............Bob

[Guest 57delivery]

sad to say I manage the local CARQUEST and only show the ones for 56 only.

i just found them on Kanters site. Thanks for the quick response.

[stealthbob]

Someone may speak better to this but don't you need to match up the lifters and rods...I recall something either being out length or even dissimilar metal densities?

There was definitely something though, about sourcing the two separately....

[old-tank]

56 lifters will work if you use the shorter 56 pushrods and will give good service if you use a 56 cam. But if you use the 56 lifters on the original 55 cam they will fail in about 25,000 miles. The 55 cam is steel and the 56 cam is cast iron and the different lifters are designed to work with the respective cam.

Willie

[stealthbob]

Thanks Willie...my bet is that I heard it from you before.

...see, I am paying attention.

[Bhigdog]

The rub with the 55 vs 56 lifters is in my experiance none of the after market vendors knew what I was talking about when I tried to explain that the material the lifter was made of is important and they could not say one way or another if it was "correct". Most of the the new lifters I've seen come in plain unmarked boxes with no way of even contacting the maker. They would probably speak only Chinese anyway.............Bob