I can't really find a CD74AC164, my store does have the CD74HC164 tho, will this one suffice?
http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/27016/TI/CD74HC164.html
looks quite alright to me, eh
No, its not as good. Look at the "Absolute Maximum Ratings" page of the data sheets for those 2 chips. You will see that the "AC" version has much higher current ratings compared to the "HC" version.
Paul