Purchased this Cam:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/WCAM...tock%20Camshaft

with these lifters as recommended by WEBCAM from Pelican:
"Web-Cam Performance Lifter Set, 8 Lifters Per Set"

The guy building my engine is concerned because they do not appear to be truly solid lifters.

See this thread:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=575126

Anyone using these? Think we'll be OK to go with them?
High price (literally) for failure here.

Thanks

I've had a cam follower failure experience where my previous engine builder tried to use stock followers on a WebCam camshaft. The cam eat the face right off them. I recommend only using the matching WebCam products (cam, followers and secret sauce) as a system. My new engine builder (me) is happy with the results.

Does the guy reaize that OE factory lifters aren't truly solid either?

This is a factory lifter cut open:
Click to view attachment

The OE cup piece inside is a press fit.

The Web lifter has a snap ring retaining their cup piece which has a slip fit.

Go to the Webcam website and buy the right lifters for your cam from them. They KNOW which ones you need.

I tired to help a guy out by giving him quality lifters from vendor A while his cam was from vendor B. The cam went flat almost immediately. Use the right gear for your cam, and get it from the folks who KNOW. In this case, that is not Pelican, it is Web.

Zach

The difference with the Web lifters in question is the pushrod cup is free to travel wherever it wants to go. While the stock lifter is hollow, it's pushrod cup is fixed.

No matter what cam and lifters are used, they must have the proper heat treat, lobe taper and lifter crown properties. If not, they will last 300 miles or less.

When I sold Web cams, I did not sell Web lifters, I had lifters made, or we modified them to match the properties of the camshaft in our own manner.

The last cam or lifter failure I had was in 2005, and that was the last time that I bought a lifter off the shelf, anywhere.