The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

Had a miss in my 283 I suspected was valve train related. Pulled a cover and found a loose rocker arm. Pulled the intake and found this. Ok, gotta replace the cam and lifters so lets get a better, hotter cam. Gonna need a timing set and gaskets too. Might as well upgrade to roller tip rockers. Let's drop the pan and replace that weepy rear main seal. Gonna need sealants and break in oil. Lets get the Retro Sound radio in with the free shipping. Intake and valve covers need glass bead blasting for a repaint. All because of one failed off shore made lifter.

Update: I found the lifter hairpin in the oil pan. I was able to remove the pan in the truck by rotating one crank journal out of the way.

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

That always seems to be the way doesn't it? But it makes sense too when you start tearing stuff apart. What better time then to do a few other things you've been wanting to take care of?

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

That is my logic too. How may jobs start with " as long as it is this far apart..."

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

and theres that rabbit hole.....

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

If I do this I may as well do that and then I need these to make those work!:lol: Oh yeah I've driven down that Road

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

It happens to all of us. I needed a tranny in my El Camino. Might as well build a new big block....I'll touch up this spot of rust....now the body is off the chassis and the body is stripped to bare metal. All because the tranny went.

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

I’ve got a mega dollar story for you!
My buddies mil had a 76 Nova. 305 auto. Your basic run of the mill car. It was mid winter. Generally around zero temps. Car had no power so a tune up was done. Fixed a few things along with a tune up. 300 bucks. Ran great for one day then back to the same thing. Back to the shop for a carb and distributor redo. Another 400 bucks. Good again for one day. Back again. Gotta be a need for rebuilt heads. 800 more. Runs good again. More power for only one day. Gotta be the cam, right. New cam, lifters, chain. 800 more. Wow! Now we’re honking. Wrong again! Back to the shop. They keep it inside for a week. Start it every day. Take it for a spin around the block. All is good!
Wrong again!
Same thing, no power. Back to the shop. Lots of head scratching. For some reason the mechanic trips and wacks his head on the muffler and above the cursing you can hear the loud thump from the muffler. He gets right pissed and wacks the muffler with his ballpeen. The muffler is rock solid. Solidly frozen actually! Condensation build up from not running long enough would freeze overnight and create the no power thing. So another 200 for a muffler. She’s happy now. Poorer though! It was one of those above the rear ended mufflers.

Sorry about that. Got carried away. Sorry if I jacked your thread a bit.
And yes i’ve been a victim of the same ‘snowball effect’ while fixing stuff. Started out on a rear main once and ended with a 6-71 huffer on top. Well worth it though!

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

Just be grateful the pieces didn't do some real damage.

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

I had a $1000 lifter too. New cam. lifters, pushrods, oil pump, main and rod bearings, timing set and full gasket set...

Re: The $1,000 lifter. Long and sad
 

"While I am at it I may as well", is one of the more expensive phrases in a car or truck guys vocabulary.