Keith Craft's extraordinary service

[thorconstr]

A few months ago a friend that I had turned onto Keith for a new 427 inch small block had problems with his engine. Keith had him ship it back and found that it had a bad distributor drive gear on the cam. Keith replaced the cam and related parts, rebuilt the engine out of his own pocket and shipped it back in a little over a week, with my friend only paying shipping one way.
My 496 inch ate another set of roller solid lifters. I sent the engine back to Keith who did not do the original build, but rebuilt it after a previous lifter failure. He checked out the engine, replaced the cam, put a set of hydraulic roller lifters in and is shipping it out today after having it a week for a minimal charge. Now that's what I call service!

[ERA Chas]

Thor,
Any idea why the 496 ate "another set of roller lifters"?
-And yes, Keith's a class guy.

[blykins]

Keith runs a quality business.....no doubt about it. Years of experience....I'd trust him on anything he told me. I drive him nuts asking him questions several times a week...but he always takes time to answer emails or phone calls. I think it aggravates him when I like to do things by myself....because he would rather just do it himself and not have to worry about it anymore.

I'd like to introduce myself to him at the LCS....but I'm afraid he'll come out swinging when he finds out who I am.....hehehee

[Buzzmobile]

I woke him up one morning in his toter home and he worked on my car in the parking lot of the midamerica meet cause I was too stupid to figure out how stupid I was with a carb problem. He had it fixed in no time, and we went for a ride. His only comment (I swear)..."some people say you can have too much horse power in these cars. You can never have too much horsepower" . He will do everyone of mine in the future...period. nuff said! (smiles)

Buzz

[PDUB]

There is a nice write up on Keith's shop in the latest issue of Kit Car Builder Magazine. I have been to his shop and I was very impressed with it. You are correct in saying that he is a class act.

[thorconstr]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Thor,
Any idea why the 496 ate "another set of roller lifters"?
-And yes, Keith's a class guy.

This is the third set of solid roller lifters that failed. After talking it over with Keith we decided to use hydraulic roller lifters. Keith believes that a solid roller is not meant for lower rpm (idleing in traffic & low rpm in high gear highway travel) but high rpm track and strip with top oil pressure. I used Pennsoil 25/50 racing oil that I changed with the filter every 500 miles. After 3 sets of lifters, it seem to be a plausible answer. The engine originaly dynoed at 717 hp, so I doubt that the horse power loss with hydraulics will be felt too much. And yes Keith, Shelly, and his crew are class people!

[blykins]

What else did it take with it when the lifters went?

[thorconstr]

I lucked out! Well actually I had installed a FilterMag on the oil filter a while ago and it caught most of the stuff. I didn't hear the lifter noise over the exhaust noise until I was about 1/2 a mile from home. The FilterMag is cheap protection. The filter was pretty heavy when I took it off. Keith said that there wasn't any scoring. A 5.4 DOHC would be far less grief, but then I couldn't say "it's a 427 side oiler". It's cost a lot of money to say that!

[ERA Chas]

Thor,
Thanks for sharing.

[Excaliber]

Solid rollers not getting enough oil to the roller itself has always been a chronic problem. There simply not recommended for a 'street' application. I also lost a roller lifter within a few thousand miles due to lack of lubrication. The rollers go 'flat' when they stop 'rolling'.

NEWER style solid rollers are designed to take advantage of oil pressure being directed to the roller itself, rather than rely on oil splash. Not all blocks can use the new modern style solid rollers, which are QUITE EXPENSIVE compared to the older style. Generally it's just easier\cheaper to go with hydraulic rollers, but original 'side oiler' blocks accept ONLY solid lifters.

I went with a solid flat tappet cam when replacing my solid roller. More than adequate performance, long life and inexpensive.