I decided to adjust the valves on my '56 TBird today.  The best I can determine from the receipts is that the engine was gone through in 2005, and driven very little since then.  The valves were in pretty good adjustment, and only minor tweaks to get them to the recommended .019".  They have the interference fit screw adjusters on them, and not the locknut type. 

What surprised me is there are no markings on the rocker arms whatsoever.  I know there were 1.43 and 1.54 ratio rockers available for these Y-blocks, and the ones I had seen previously had identifying numbers, such as 5751066, or ECG6564-B2.  

Does anyone have any comments on unmarked rockers, are they common, and what might I have?  

Thanks, Ralph

Since they are unmarked, I would think they are aftermarket.  I haven't heard of any (older) aftermarket rockers that were the high lift ones so I suspect they are the low ratio rockers.  Just my guess.


54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

I had just installed the Mummert rocker arm assembly on my '57, and they are marked ECG6564-B2, which I understand is the higher ratio.  They appear to be a high-quality product and oiled the rockers well while watching the engine run with the valve covers off.  There is a set screw in the hole where the over-flow tube would normally be in the stock application, to force all the oil out the rockers.  

I am just curious if anyone has any knowledge of unmarked ones, aftermarket, or whatever, from back in the day.  There evidently have been some aftermarket manufacturers of the rocker arms.  

Thanks, Ralph

Maybe Rocker Arms Unlimited in Redding, CA.

I highly recommend Rocker Arm Specialty. If you ask him he can even supplier a true 1.6 ratio on new shafts ready to go.

I think they're one and the same, but there was a name change. They did say that they could convert my 1.43 to up to 1.6 but didn't say how. I guess I need to revisit that.

The last item on my check list was to check the oil flow to the rockers while watching the engine running.  There appeared to be plenty of oil to the pushrod side, but a couple of holes in the valve side did not have very much flow.  So, I crimped down the overflow tube a bit to keep more oil being forced out of the rockers.  Since the Mummert rocker arm assemblies have a set screw plugging the outlet where the tube normally exists, I trust lessening the flow out the tubes is not a problem.  I had read somewhere that the tubes are there to lube the distributor gear, and the cam chain,  but Mummert didn't see the removal of them to be a issue.      

I also observed the pushrods rotating fairly well, which I think is a sign of good cam lobe taper to provide for tappet rotation. I guess the pushrod rotating is a sign the tappet is also rotating, which is all good. 

All being said, the no-names seem to be working fine, and I will leave them alone. 

Thanks for the comments.  Ralph,

 

I’ve run my engine many times without the rocker covers on and shields on the heads between the springs and edge. I do it to see flow out of the 2 overflows. I believe the overflows are important and as long as there is oil evident at the flows and on the side edges of each rocker I’m not worried. At driving speed there is a lot of oil splashing every where as evident when after driving there is oil on the top of each spring when I takeoff a cover. There have been many engines that have no oil feed of oil to rocker systems at all using only the vapor of the engine. What’s important is good servicing with clean new oil at least once a year.
Racing or high performance has a different criteria.

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

A company called ‘Barker’ made high lift rockers for the Y in the Fifties.  Cliff Murray ended up with an appreciable inventory of those and was selling them on EBay for awhile.  Other than having a ‘B’ on them they are unmarked.  Here’s a picture.
  

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I've had brand new in the box TRW rocker assemblies, unmarked, 1.43 ratio