Shorten 273 pushrods experiment

nm9stheham said

Tnx; yeah, I'll have to do something else as I can take off only 60% of the weld.

Think I am going with the Comp Cams K75805-16 semi-finished p-rods, 6.5-7.5" long with 5/6" ball on one end, and then buy the Comp Cams 5C5P-16 5/16" cup ends to finish them off. $121 from Summit for the 2 parts sets, in stock. .080" wall, so should be plenty strong for our approx 280-300 lbs open spring pressure and modest lift and rates.

You can get these semi-finished rods in lengths from 5-6" to 10-11" BTW.

Click to expand...

You can get new chromoly cup/ball pushrods from Melling, Part# 500224. They aren't welded, so just pull the tips out, cut the tube, and press the tips back in. I've done this in the past when using 273 rockers on heavily milled blocks and heads, and hydraulic cams.

The Comp kits are not a cut and press type kit. The id of the tube has to be sized in order to press the tips in with the right amount of press fit. Also, the tool they make to size the tubes is nothing more than a specially ground HSS drill bit. How many hardened pushrods can you size with a cheap drill bit? I did about five before it broke.