Are they better? I'm sure they are stronger.  Any disadvantages?

[QUOTE=81Corvette]Are they better? I'm sure they are stronger.  Any disadvantages? [/QUOTE]

To be honest with you Larry, some of the "mechanical" guys will have to answer this for you. I'm not mechanically minded at all but I would think with that much HP you would need the solid lifters.

Great News, The engine builder agreed that it should not have broke and will warranty it!!  Now to pull the intake off of it so I can find any missing parts. I asked them to upgrade the parts also to the 7/18" studs and the Harland rocker arms. They also said the engine should have been able to handle up to 7,000 RPMs so my wimpy 5000-5500 should not have been a problem. They will also check in to the solid vs hydraulic lifters. Thanks for all your help !!!  

That's KEWL!! But...I hope you didn't really ax them to upgrade to 7/18" studs...if you did, they're probably still laffin! I hope you said 7/16"...and the above is just a typo!
If you plan on goin to solid lifters, you'll have to put in a solid cam too. Can't mix-n-match that stuff. I guess you knew that, but some folks might not.

Joel, don't scare me like that. I had to  go back to my post to make sure I said 7/16. 

Congratulations Larry. I'm sure you're feeling much better after receiving that good news.

Jim,
Thanks for the PM. Joel already answered the question
Scott

My spell check must not be working 

  While your at it and they will do it for you, have them "mike" each valve spring and match them up. They should also be checked for correct compression and matched. Use assembly grease not oil to lube for re-assembly. With oil, it gravities off after awhile and leaves you high and dry. Assembly grease stays put until you reach temperature asuring there is lube for start up. Personally, I perfer solids. You have to be a little more aware of clearances and may have to adjust more, but you don't get as much valve float. Hyd lifters r more forgiving, but they MUST be set right to work properly. We have one guy who does nothing but spec parts and engine components. He matches them and marks them in sets for assembly. Nothing goes into an engine without his ok on the tag. We do this for all our engines regular or high performance. In 15 years we have never had a call back because of something we screwed up and we're pretty proud of that. Take extra time and effort to do things right the first time and you won't have to do the again. Dam I wish we did trannys.

Great info Jim, Thanks!!