Rocker arm rumor???

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moparduster

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A buddy of mine was talking to me and said that he was gonna take his RHS LA-X heads and have the pedestals drilled and have studs installed so that he could run a set of Chevy Roller rockers cause he could get them dirt cheap. Is that possible? And if so is it worth it?
 
It's possible but what's even easier is if he buys the special Comp Cams screw in studs that adapt the heads 5/16" bolt size to a 3/8" size that's like a chevy. Tell him if he does this he also needs guide plates or things will flop all over. He'll also need hardened pushrods to last with guide plates. For the same money he can probably buy some decent rocker arms like Harland Sharps that are way better. They use a tie bar to positively locate them. Here's a pic of mine
 

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Shaft mounted rockers are way more efficient. Ever hear of a chevy pulling the rocker stud out? Custom studs, guide plates, hardened pushrods, and the rockers themselves...sounds like Crane Gold shaft rockers price right there.
 
fishy68 said:
It's possible but what's even easier is if he buys the special Comp Cams screw in studs that adapt the heads 5/16" bolt size to a 3/8" size that's like a chevy. Tell him if he does this he also needs guide plates or things will flop all over. He'll also need hardened pushrods to last with guide plates. For the same money he can probably buy some decent rocker arms like Harland Sharps that are way better. They use a tie bar to positively locate them. Here's a pic of mine
Click to expand...


What ratio are those? I can only find them in 1.7 and 1.8.
 
moparduster said:
A buddy of mine was talking to me and said that he was gonna take his RHS LA-X heads and have the pedestals drilled and have studs installed so that he could run a set of Chevy Roller rockers cause he could get them dirt cheap. Is that possible? And if so is it worth it?
Click to expand...

Done it. It works great if you want to use longer valves for high lifts.

To do it right you better know how to set everything up for the proper valve train geometry. You can't just drill and tap holes and screw in studs. The machine work will be expensive unless you can do it yourself.

You'll have to use an oil through the pushrod system and block off the oil coming through the shaft pedestals.

If you are not looking for high lifts, stick with the shaft rocker system, it will be less expensive.
 
moparduster said:
A buddy of mine was talking to me and said that he was gonna take his RHS LA-X heads and have the pedestals drilled and have studs installed so that he could run a set of Chevy Roller rockers cause he could get them dirt cheap. Is that possible? And if so is it worth it?
Click to expand...

When I first read this I was thinking he had Magnum style RHS heads but after I read it again I'm wondering if you mean his heads now are a LA shaft system and he want's to mill the pedestals down and drill them to convert it to a Chevy stud system?? If so that's definitely in the top 10 of stupidest things I've ever heard of. Tell him he's a freakin moron. :wack:
 
fishy68 said:
When I first read this I was thinking he had Magnum style RHS heads but after I read it again I'm wondering if you mean his heads now are a LA shaft system and he want's to mill the pedestals down and drill them to convert it to a Chevy stud system?? If so that's definitely in the top 10 of stupidest things I've ever heard of. Tell him he's a freakin moron. :wack:
Click to expand...

Wow, good thing I'm not overly sensitive, because that is exactly what I did. It allowed me to get .750" lift with perfect geometry.

If he went ahead and did it, at least I would have the company of another "freakin' moron".
 
Was trying to find the ones like fishy has with 2 joined together, that would eliminate the need for guide plates and hardened pushrods. But I can only find them in 1.7 and 1.8 ratio. If I can't find them I will just look for the SBC ones for a 3/8 stud. They are a little cheaper then the Mopar specific ones and I don't see why they wouldn't work. I may be missing something but they look like they will work.
 
Those are the ones that are joined together. See the pin laying in the pile of bolts and pedestals? It goes between the rockers when you bolt 'em on. You can see the holes in the Viper ones, the Magnums have the same holes to slip the alinement pin into.

#S70036 for the non-adjustable

#S70036A for the adjustable

I'm sure fishy will corroborate when he gets the chance.

But.......WILL he agree with a "freakin' moron"?
 
IQ52 said:
But.......WILL he agree with a "freakin' moron"?
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I said nothing about you personally. Sorry if you took it personally.

Perfect geometry (which my Harland's had just bolting them on) is great but unless you run a girdle your asking for trouble IMO. I've been around a lot of Chevy's in my life and saw a lot of rocker stud problems. That's why I think it's not at all good idea at all to spend more to use a chevy system that's inferior rather than spend less for a better product.
 
fishy68 said:
When I first read this I was thinking he had Magnum style RHS heads but after I read it again I'm wondering if you mean his heads now are a LA shaft system and he want's to mill the pedestals down and drill them to convert it to a Chevy stud system?? If so that's definitely in the top 10 of stupidest things I've ever heard of. Tell him he's a freakin moron. :wack:
Click to expand...

Sounds personal, but it's okay, I hold no malice. I actually got a good laugh from it because I knew it was a viable concept. This guy was just thinking about doing it. I had already DONE IT.

Maybe all of us should think about what we say, before we answer. I gave it a great deal of consideration before I chose to respond in this fashion:

Here is what one of "the top 10 stupidest things" looks like.

http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums...2010MoparNatsandChenowethcontestengine037.jpg

I wanted .800" lift potential. I chose to use this system. Stupid and moronic or not it worked to 8000+ rpm.
 
IQ52 said:
Sounds personal, but it's okay, I hold no malice. I actually got a good laugh from it because I knew it was a viable concept. This guy was just thinking about doing it. I had already DONE IT.

Maybe all of us should think about what we say, before we answer. I gave it a great deal of consideration before I chose to respond in this fashion:

Here is what one of "the top 10 stupidest things" looks like.

http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums...2010MoparNatsandChenowethcontestengine037.jpg

I wanted .800" lift potential. I chose to use this system. Stupid and moronic or not it worked to 8000+ rpm.
Click to expand...

I know I should think before I say some things then my mouth over rides thinking and spouts it out. Sorry

So yours were LA style heads that you did this too? Why didn't you just by magnum style heads? Would have been less machine work, wouldn't it?

Why don't you think you could get .800 lift from a rocker shaft design?

What my main point was, and I still stand by it, was that a shaft system like the LA design is more stable from the get go. That's why it makes no sense to me to machine the shaft stands down then install a girdle to basically do the same thing. Not knocking your build at all. Looks great. I just can't understand why. JMO
 
Why? Personal choice. Hot rodding at it's best.

But also.

By the time I got the centerline of the rocker arm fulcrum and the tip of the roller at a 90 degree angle to the valve tip at 1/2 lift and centered over the valve tip with the extra long valve, the stud hole in the magnum head was in the wrong place. There wasn't a shaft mounted rocker system with the correct geometry for a valve that was an extra .200" in length, that I was aware of, and all the heavy duty Chevy parts were readily available, big rocker arm selection, 7/16 studs, adjustable guide plates and Jomar makes the girdle that fits the Magnum head.

Also the LA head has virgin pedestal bosses and fully machined shaft bosses. It gives you great flexibility in designing something to fit your application. In my case it allowed me to place the stud rockers exactly where I needed them, easily install the girdle and attach the girdle to the shaft pedestals and head bolts, giving me a very rigid system.

You can even buy the RHS X head without the pushrod hole drilled, machine your own hole and use offset rockers and completely remove the pushrod pinch.

The shaft pedestals are untouched. Heck, I can still at this point, remove the stud mounted rockers, put in stock length valves and use a shaft rocker system on those very heads.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I NEVER want to do it again. Too much work.
 
So then, basically you milled off the LA style stands so the rocker would have the correct geometry all the way through it's travel? How did you handle valve gear oiling? Through the pushrods?
 
No Stroker, the LA style stands are untouched, they do not interfer with the stud mounted rockers at all. In fact they turned out to be very usefull for anchoring the stud girdle. The only thing I milled off were the as cast magnum pedestal bosses to get them to the correct height for the pushrod guide plates and 7/16 studs. But I think that is what you ment anyway.

And yes, we oiled through the pushrods.
 
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