Hydraulic versus Solid Lifters EA81

[newgen85brat]

I have read numerous threads but just need the straight talk. I have an EA 81 from my 85 Brat that has a broken crank. I have not had the time to open it up and see what happened but I do know when I bought it, the crank pulley was sitting in a "funny" position as if it broke not far behind the pulley. I am afraid of what I will find when I split it so I am trying to find another engine to use for parts or rebuilding it. I know that you dont usually need to build the bottom end but I would like to go through it and have a brand new motor for my Brat. My Brat has another motor in it (solid lifter) but I want the new one to replace it just as I pull the old one. I have a bad habit of taking too long to finish projects and cannot afford the shop space for this project. I found a motor and the guy says it came from a Brat but does not know the engines year. It is 646941 serial number but does not have the sticker on the valve covers.

 

My question is this, can I buy this motor and put my new hydraulic lifter heads on it even if it is a solid lifter motor? There are not a lot of EA 81 motors close to me and when one pops up with all parts including a radiator and shrouds for 200 bucks, I may have to grab it. Please let me know what you think. Thanks

[Markus56]

If it has solid lifters, it needs to stay that way. i dont think they have the oil ports for a hydraulic lifter to operate. a buddy of mine tried it and he might as well have taken the lifters out. however if you swap the rocker arms out, the heads should fit right up

[newgen85brat]

So as long as my heads are okay on my 85 engine, the short block does not really matter? I just want to make sure so I don't starve something of lubrication. Thanks for your help.