Roller rockers 1.6 no needle bearings affordable

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dstemmerman

dstemmerman

1972 Dart Swinger Denver
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Does anyone make an affordable (less than $600) 1.6 adjustable roller rocker without needle bearings? The Comp Pro Magnums only come in 1.5, PRW has needle bearings, Hughes are expensive for my needs (around .600 lift solid FT) and I have heard questionable reviews on the Harland Sharps.
 
I personally would have thought there would have been enough demand for Comp to have made theirs available in 1.6 ratio. But, being it's not Chevrolet or Ford, I'm afraid that's not the case. These look pretty beefy, but I am not a big fan of aluminum rockers on an endurance engine.
Erson Small Block Mopar 1.6 Roller Rockers New | eBay
 
Garrett Ellison said:
I personally would have thought there would have been enough demand for Comp to have made theirs available in 1.6 ratio. But, being it's not Chevrolet or Ford, I'm afraid that's not the case. These look pretty beefy, but I am not a big fan of aluminum rockers on an endurance engine.
Erson Small Block Mopar 1.6 Roller Rockers New | eBay
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I appreciate the input. I believe they stopped making these and they have needle bearings.
 
I haven’t looked at Isky or crowder in a while, may be worth a shot.
 
Forgot to mention I have looked at PRW as well, but those are needle bearing shaft as well.
 
It appears no one makes such an animal that I have been able to find yet, except for Hughes. They look good but that option kills the affordable part in short order. I will see if I can come up with anything.
 
It's not off the shelf, but I am getting ready to bush some 1.6 PRW's.... Pulled out the needle bearings, and found some stock bushings the right size to cut and press in. It won't be full bushings but 2 1/3 length bushings on each rocker. These are aluminum bodied rockets. For other 1.6's, we went with Hughes. Just paid....
 
Okay, this is the pic off the PRW website for the BB rockers, which claim to have needle bearings(and dont, I’ve had them here in the shop).
You can plainly see they are bushed.
Besides that....... it’s a pic of SB rockers...... they are all centered, no right and left offset like BB’s have.

08D70D25-255D-4CBC-934E-90DB02AA69FA.png
 
I like the looks of the PRW rockers, I wouldn't lose sleep over them being in any engine, even if they had caged needle bearings. Caged needle bearings are only as strong as what they are surrounded by, and they will last a long time surrounded by forged steel, much less investment cast stainless, which is what very high end rocker arms are made of. Those things are too pretty to hide under a set of valve covers. Thanks again for the info PRH.
 
Garrett Ellison said:
I like the looks of the PRW rockers, I wouldn't lose sleep over them being in any engine, even if they had caged needle bearings. Caged needle bearings are only as strong as what they are surrounded by, and they will last a long time surrounded by forged steel, much less investment cast stainless, which is what very high end rocker arms are made of. Those things are too pretty to hide under a set of valve covers. Thanks again for the info PRH.
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Mancini has 1.6 rockers arms for the small block. They are manufactured by Harland Sharp and are bronze bushed with a roller tip. On sale now for $405 which include the rocker shaft hold downs.
 
Pretty sure the aluminum PRW's have needle bearings, whereas their stainless rockers are bushed. I've had great luck with my PRW 1.6 stainless rockers. You just have to check them VERY closely before installing. Setting them up for the proper side clearance is a bit of a pain in the ***, but all part of the process.
 
Garrett Ellison said:
I like the looks of the PRW rockers, I wouldn't lose sleep over them being in any engine, even if they had caged needle bearings. Caged needle bearings are only as strong as what they are surrounded by, and they will last a long time surrounded by forged steel, much less investment cast stainless, which is what very high end rocker arms are made of. Those things are too pretty to hide under a set of valve covers. Thanks again for the info PRH.
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Fretting of the shafts has been a frequent problem for the needles.... Getting the hardness correct is not all that easy, judging from the issues.
 
I was reading through this post and was curious? What is so bad with getting a high quality roller rocker with needle bearings? I though good quality rockers with needle bearings was the way to go.
Carl
 
My stainless PRW's are 1.6 and bushed . Buy them direct from PRW because you don't want a set of old stock off somebody's shelf .The early runs had issues with shaft hardness and I had a set where the shafts degraded and ate the bushings , fortunately I had my motor built by a reputable pro instead of some backyard retiree , my builder made a phone call and a brand new set hand picked for tolerance appeared on my front porch one day for free . Gotta love dealing with people who still value their own word .
 
nm9stheham said:
Fretting of the shafts has been a frequent problem for the needles.... Getting the hardness correct is not all that easy, judging from the issues.
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Induction hardened thick wall shafts are necessary to run needle bearing rocker arms...after that, it is the beadle bearings race that will be the next thing to keep and eye on.

Everything has a life span, the longer it lasts ...the faster the next thing connected to it will wear, relatively speaking.lol
 
you could bush any 1.6 needle bearing rocker with the right walled bushing, probably would wear better with a bronze bushing anyway instead of bare AL on a stock shaft. suppose you could go real high tech with sealed roller bearings. Thing is with needle bearings and the way they are spaced is that there is no where for a stray needle bearing to go. They are in fact sealed on both sides with either shims, spacers or rocker shaft hold down blocks. You just need the hardened shafts.
Im sure if you bust one in half, the cages may hold them, may not depending on the severity of the break.
 
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