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DryLakesRacer
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As a guy who designed and had roller rockers made I feel I need to chime in (both shaft and tip). I did it because I was wearing out valve guides on my racing engine which there were no manufactured roller tip rockers available. In a stock engine at least into the 90's there was no need by the auto manufacturers to do anything but what they did for years: they worked, they wore out parts, mileage wasn't a big concern.
Our Y-block rockers "rub" the valve stem down; if the geometry is not correct the "rub" pushes the valve sideways. As Ted says when you make a change like a resurfacing a block or head you need to look at the geometry again. The drawings are correct, whether you are using roller tips or stock tips. If you take a substantial amount off you need to look at the rocker stand to get the geometry back to normal. I've even used lash caps to do this. Stock engines run better and smoother when all aspects of the engine are examined during assembly. Time in assembly adds to longevity. Good Luck
56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.
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lyonroad
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Thanks Charlie. I was initially thinking that the location of the shaft could be relocated laterally but I can see now how a vertical adjustment would achieve the same purpose.
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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charliemccraney
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lyonroad (8/2/2014) ...Has anyone ever thought of modified rocker stands that relocate the rocker shaft to the optimum location for a given set of rockers? Perhaps after market rocker producer have already thought of this and then again perhaps this is a hair brained notion given my lack of experience in all of this.
Yes. Usually height needs to be added to the stands and this can be done with spacers. Depending on the design of the shafts, you may be able to simply use flat washers or you may need to make spacers. For a Y, I think you want to make a spacer at least for the oil supply stand.
Regarding the pushrods, I don't think there is a whole lot of choice, you just use what needs to be used. On a Y, a longer pushrod results in a higher rocker ratio, everything else the same. I'm sure there is an optimum pushrod geometry but it will probably involve a fair amount of expense to achieve for minimal gain. It could be absolutely prohibitively expensive. I don't know how everything lines up there.
Here's a link getting into the subject of rocker geometry. http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic27235-1.aspx
Lawrenceville, GA
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lyonroad
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One thing that occurred to me the other night when it was too hot to sleep is that if you change the rocker ratio you change the angle between the push rod and the rocker and the push rod and lifter by a small amount. Perhaps from an optimum angle to a less than optimum angle. Has anyone ever thought of modified rocker stands that relocate the rocker shaft to the optimum location for a given set of rockers? Perhaps after market rocker producer have already thought of this and then again perhaps this is a hair brained notion given my lack of experience in all of this.
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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Jimz Bird
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Great stuff. That really helps. Thanks Ted.
Jim Norfolk, VA
 "MABLE" 1956 Thunderbird Green / Brown Interior (ZE-XG)
 "MEAN GREEN" 1956 Mainline (FG-BE)
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Ted
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Jimz Bird (8/1/2014) Interesting article. ... One thing did stick out to me."Also, make sure to select the proper length pushrods. Although the adjusters will allow a shorter than optimum pushrod length, Comp Cams recommends that the pushrods are the last component selected. Use an adjustable “checking” pushrod to determine the proper length. Start with the seat all the way in the body. Then turn the pushrod adjuster out one half to one full turn from bottom for maximum strength." Does that sound like a worthwhile project or not? If so, does the one half to one full turn sound correct? Thanks for any input. I’ll have to disagree with Comp’s blanket statement on having the adjuster all the way down and then backing it up 1½ turns. From their comment on ‘maximum strength’, then one can assume that the shorter the pushrod, the stronger the pushrod will be by lieu of less deflection length which of course would be correct. But their adjuster positioning simply doesn’t work for every style of rocker arm out there as the pivot point at the pushrod is just as important as the pivot point at the valve stem. Their statement might apply to their own brand of rocker arms but does not cover some of the other manufacturers out there.
Besides the geometry considerations of the pushrod at the adjuster, the adjuster position on many shaft mounted rockers will dictate the actual rocker arm ratio. Here’s the link to the article that was published several years ago in the Y-Block Magazine covering this in more detail and especially for the Ford Y-Block family of engines. http://www.eatonbalancing.com/blog/2007/12/10/altering-rocker-arm-ratio-by-varying-the-length-of-the-pushrods/
And here’s the link to the article also published in the Y-Block Magazine during the same time frame that covered the rocker arm geometry itself. http://www.eatonbalancing.com/blog/2007/12/10/rocker-arm-geometry/
 Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)
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Jimz Bird
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Interesting article.One thing did stick out to me."Also, make sure to select the proper length pushrods. Although the adjusters will allow a shorter than optimum pushrod length, Comp Cams recommends that the pushrods are the last component selected. Use an adjustable “checking” pushrod to determine the proper length. Start with the seat all the way in the body. Then turn the pushrod adjuster out one half to one full turn from bottom for maximum strength."
The Pros probably do something like this as a matter of course when building.With the mishmash of parts that may have been used over the years I had the thought that maybe it would be worth the 15 bucks to get a pushrod checker to see if the proper length pushrods are currently installed and match.Does that sound like a worthwhile project or not? If so, does the one half to one full turn sound correct?
Thanks for any input.
Jim Norfolk, VA
 "MABLE" 1956 Thunderbird Green / Brown Interior (ZE-XG)
 "MEAN GREEN" 1956 Mainline (FG-BE)
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CK
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CK
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I measured the rocker again, yet this time at the tip of the ball and this gives a ratio of 1.43:1.
Thanks for the help guys.
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lyonroad
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Here is a picture. 1.54:1 above 1.43:1 below. You can see that the ball on the adjuster screw for the 1.54 is much closer to the rocker body than the 1.43. You can use a drill bit to measure the gap. 1/4" for the 1.54 and 11/32" for the 1.43. If the 11/32" bit won't fit its a 1.54:1 rocker.
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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