Titanium solid lifters

[1972ho]

Were titanium lifters ever used in nascar engines when they ran flat tappet camshaft and if so was the camshaft made of titanium the reason I ask is I just saw a set of them on eBay and was just curious how they were used.

[peejay]

A titanium camshaft sounds like an awful idea, after having experienced the early days of Ti bike parts. Ti is a tough metal but it is also very flexible. In the bad old days, people speced Ti parts to the same dimensions as steel or aluminum and the result was very "noodly" parts. After that, people learned to compensate by increasing the OD of the various parts to get an acceptable amount of stiffness.

A Ti cam would probably need to be 2x the diameter of steel. Also coated, because Ti galls even worse than stainless steel.

[swampbuggy]

As for the camshafts used back when they employed mushroom lifters, and a .875" lifter bore size was mandated, i remember someone saying something like welded up stellite one race wonders . I am sure Pamotorman or Warpspeed can give us the facts, but i am betting neither item was Titanium. Mark H.

[SupStk]

I’d be curious too what treatment a ti lifter would have to go through to prevent scuffing.

[swampbuggy]

Supstk, i was thinking along the lines of placing a alloy steel face appx. .125 to .187" thick to the bottom of the tit. lifter body much like steel tips are mounted (for the lack of a better word) to the top of titanium valves.

[SupStk]

Supstk, i was thinking along the lines of placing a alloy steel face appx. .125 to .187" thick to the bottom of the tit. lifter body much like steel tips are mounted (for the lack of a better word) to the top of titanium valves.

That’s possible on the lifter face, was also wondering about the side load scuffing on the lifter body. There are coatings on ti valves but thought the load on a valve stem seems minor compared to a lifter.

[1972ho]

The one that I saw on eBay had some type of a black coating on the face of the lifter kind of made it look like it was a smith puck type lifter.

[Pete1]

"A titanium camshaft sounds like an awful idea, after having experienced the early days of Ti bike parts."

Well, it depends on what the application is. This one which is a scale model 8 inches long, with a lifter, of a flathead Ford 404A grind,

Small 404a..png

makes a perfect paper weight.

[englertracing]

I'm wondering if they are just titanium nitrided, and when a numb nuts sells it, it becomes just titanium

[j-c-c]

Like my Gold rocker arms?

[strokersix]

I'm wondering if they are just titanium nitrided, and when a numb nuts sells it, it becomes just titanium

Yup. My first thought too.

[cgarb]

Chineseium...just like the drill bits. Working with quality cutting tools for a living... you can spot junk cutting tools from a mile away. My favorite is the swap meet guy selling old dull cutting tools with fresh gold spray paint. Makes you want to give them a swift kick to the genitals. I always pick one up, ask the price, look at the dull edge and then ask why someone would paint a dull endmill or drill? Usually people get uptight over getting called on it or then claim they don't know.

[Tuner]

Chineseium...just like the drill bits. Working with quality cutting tools for a living... you can spot junk cutting tools from a mile away. My favorite is the swap meet guy selling old dull cutting tools with fresh gold spray paint. Makes you want to give them a swift kick to the genitals. I always pick one up, ask the price, look at the dull edge and then ask why someone would paint a dull endmill or drill? Usually people get uptight over getting called on it or then claim they don't know.

He might be related to the guy who sells "restored" carburetors he glass beads to death and shoots with the gold spray paint. Besides the excessive glass bead job peens the itty bitty air bleed and idle jet orifices to a new size, usually smaller .. but ...??.., he usually leaves a lot of glass beads behind too.