Biscuit, I have reread your post and you state that "none of what you have said defines a left or right follower" in the following post you state that you know that there is a right and a left follower defined by the chamfer etc.
The point I am trying to make is that the fact that they are sold in pairs and probably machined as pairs is almost immaterial. My experience of matching unknown lifters from a box of assorted lifters to used barrels bought on the internet is that it doesn't much matter whether the lifters are mated pairs or not, but it is important that you have a right and a left lifter and that they are fitted in the correct orientation and that they slide up and down nicely in the lifter tunnels.
I am simply trying to answer the original question posted here and that is, whether the original lifters go back in their original bore, or not is for all practical purposes immaterial from the point of view of their linear movement in the lifter bore, the critical point is that worn lifters - ie lifters that are not necessarily worn out but that have been run for a sufficient time to bed into the cam lobe above which they sit - should NOT be put back over a different cam lobe or else premature wear of the lifter, the cam lobe or both is somewhat likely. If you have lost the correct orientation of the original lifters (which is the case in question here) or if you are using a set of unknown used lifters, or are fitting a new camshaft with existing lifters, then it is good practice to surface grind the face of the lifters, thus giving a fresh surface for re-bedding in. There is no need to do anything else to them or to purchase a brand new set of lifters, which are rather expensive.
The point I am trying to make is that the fact that they are sold in pairs and probably machined as pairs is almost immaterial. My experience of matching unknown lifters from a box of assorted lifters to used barrels bought on the internet is that it doesn't much matter whether the lifters are mated pairs or not, but it is important that you have a right and a left lifter and that they are fitted in the correct orientation and that they slide up and down nicely in the lifter tunnels.
I am simply trying to answer the original question posted here and that is, whether the original lifters go back in their original bore, or not is for all practical purposes immaterial from the point of view of their linear movement in the lifter bore, the critical point is that worn lifters - ie lifters that are not necessarily worn out but that have been run for a sufficient time to bed into the cam lobe above which they sit - should NOT be put back over a different cam lobe or else premature wear of the lifter, the cam lobe or both is somewhat likely. If you have lost the correct orientation of the original lifters (which is the case in question here) or if you are using a set of unknown used lifters, or are fitting a new camshaft with existing lifters, then it is good practice to surface grind the face of the lifters, thus giving a fresh surface for re-bedding in. There is no need to do anything else to them or to purchase a brand new set of lifters, which are rather expensive.
