Fishy68, I"ll look into the Lunati 60401 @ .475 lift.
Current cam is not factory. Crower baha. Dont have a spec card on it, or a degree wheel (yet). So its hard to tell the diff. between summit .441 & mine.
Do you know the part or grind # of the Crower cam? If so you might be able to look it up on their website.
Wondering how this cam would go w/ the Rhoads bleed offs I have.
As Moper said you don't really need variable duration lifters with a small cam. But if you go with a larger cam like the 268XE it might be beneficial since it's pretty big for the low compression you have. In fact that might be the hot ticket if the Rhoads lifters work as good as they claim.
How would I check lifter pre-load?
You need a dial indicator set up on the pushrod end of the rocker arm. Leave the rocker shaft a little loose and make sure the cam lobe your checking is exactly at the bottom (no lift). Slowly tighten down the rocker shaft with one hand while using 2 fingers to spin the pushrod being tested. As soon as you feel friction stop and zero out the dial indicator then torque down the rocker shaft and read the dial indicator to see how much the lifter was loaded. That is the amount of pre-load.
What is the best way to check my current rocker condition? (just visual or some type of numerical method using my dial indicator?)
You can check the ratio but it isn't easy and won't really do much good as all stock arms will be comparable. I'd suggest just a real good examination of their physical condition. If there are any stress cracks or the area of the rocker that contacts the shaft is worn much or the shaft itself is worn much they need replaced. If they look good they should be fine.
Thanks again, and still learning!