I recently bought a car with 11:1 compression, a solid roller cam, Erson 1.6:1 roller rockers and stud girdles. With the 1.6:1 rockers, total lift is about .650 on the intake and .625 on the exhaust. heads are Sportsman II's, stage 2 with roller springs. The motor runs great, even on pump gas, but I'm concerned about how long this combo will last. I do longer distance driving from time to time, and don't want to held back by concerns of relibility. I'm pretty much planning ( :D ) on keeping the RPM's under 6,000 as much as I can.
My questions are;

How many miles are these valvetrains good for before something breaks?

How often should I adjust valve lash?

Would 1.5:1 rockers help with longevity?

Bump......

Jimmy, it won't last at all. You need to load it on the trailer and bring it over here. I will dig up a nice reliable stock 307 out of the shed. We need to replace it now before its too late. As a huge favor I will give you the 307 if you leave that junky motor here :D

Seriously the main problem you will run in to is excessive spring ware on a long trip. Also depending on how old the cam is it could be a steal billet that requires a self sacrificing bronze distributor gear. That would be another worry of mine on a long trip.

So what did you buy this time? ;)

Sorry to step on your feet Jimmy, but I'm in the process of putting together a roller BBC myself. I was wondering the same thing. How long does a bronze distributor gear last? What do you mean by spring wear?

I would have concern with " Erson " roller rockers. It seems to me that they havent been made for 15 yrs. or so. I could be wrong on that ... If that is the case there is no telling how much wear and abuse they have seen. Also .. they were bascially a cast alum. rocker arm.

Originally posted by BLK64SS:
I would have concern with " Erson " roller rockers. It seems to me that they havent been made for 15 yrs. or so. I could be wrong on that ... If that is the case there is no telling how much wear and abuse they have seen. Also .. they were bascially a cast alum. rocker arm. The Erson's were made at least untill the late 90's when SSI went out of business. I know Summit
also carried them for a while after SSI was gone. I would not worry to much about them.
As for a bronze gear I have never ran one. I do remember guys that would replace them after one season of 1/4 mile passes. One Power Tour type trip could be like several seasons of hard racing on that gear. I am sure there are others on here that can share some bronze gear experience.
Find out what sping pressure is needed on the cam and have the springs checked out at a machine shop. The last thing you want to do is wear out a set of springs on a long trip and want to show off that night with a burn out the ends badly in front of a bunch of on lookers. ;)

This is what I bought....
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Jimmy_P/30V-8FordA.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Jimmy_P/30V-8Ford.jpg
It's a BLAST to drive!
It also has a Cam Dynamics roller cam, which I'm having a hard time getting information on, besides what the original owner has told me over the phone. I'm just wondering if going from a 1.6 to a 1.5 rocker will help spring longevity?

Hey Jimmy, nice rod! The springs on my bbc have been the same for 4 years of abuse. Of course at the end they started to break. I have used the same bronze gear for 4 years. It was difinitely time to change it but as you can see it does not wearout overnight. When do we get to see the ride? I think you, richard, myself and maybe a few others in the area need to get together for a drag race night. Are you going to the Nostalgia Super Stock series event at Denton Dragway Oct 22nd? How about Goodguys show Oct 1.? I plan to schedule breakfast at the IHOP in Grapevine again and cruise to the show from there. See y a....

graemlins/hurray.gif graemlins/hurray.gif
Very cool...... I just picked up a 40 2dr sedan that I will be putting the 450 HP LT1 that was going in the wagon. I should have it at Good Guys but it wil still have its current 305/200r4 combo that it came with.

The 1.5's would probably help. Its not like loosing a couple HP is going to hurt you in that thing. I bet its a rocket ship. Are those 275-60-17's? Looks good.

gearheads78 .. Thanks for straightening me out on that. I thought they had stopped making them shortly after buying BRC which was the late 80's - early 90's.

Nice ride!!! Lift and rpm are what kill springs. 1.5 rockers will reduce lift and increase the life of the spring. How much is anybody's guess. .650 is a huge amount of lift, so even with the lower ratio rockers, there is still a lot lift there (.609 minus lash with 1.5). You really can't take advantage of that much lift until the engine is well up in the rpm band (well above 6000 rpm).

You can get a roller ground of your choice and put a cast gear on the end of it (pressed on)so you do not have to worry about using a bronze gear, any of the manufactuers out there should do it I get mine from comp, cost a little more but well worth it thats what I do. Sean

Jimmy, that's too cool! Anyway, I would SERIOUSLY consider swapping the cam out to something s bit more tame. .650 lift is not going last long. That's a pure race piece. Stick to those .500-.550" SR lifts for some longevity.

I don't know how long I can keep my foot out of it. Pegging the 8,000 RPM Stewart Warner Tach is a real hoot!
Yeah, I guess a little .550 lift would work...... It just sounds sooooooo good! The 3800 converter isn't the best for cruising either.

If I had seatbelts, I'd be at Kennedale Friday night, Frank! Don't think it will 60 too good, but it might MPH OK. :D
I will, without a doubt, show up at the GoodGuys show. I need to round up a few parts and finish this car.
Oh yeah, the rear tires are 275/60/17's I've been thinking of selling them and getting some Radir's and whitewalls for the late 50's, early 60's look??

have comp grind a hyd. roller that will work with the 1.6 rocker. save the money for the lifters.If you do a lot of crusing keep the stall around 2800+/-.Keeps the heat out of the tranny on long trips. Then u can use a spring that will be easier on the motor. and there is an option on the bronze gear. GM used a melonized gear on production motors with rollers.

killer car.......drive it

Originally posted by Jimmy P:


How many miles are these valvetrains good for before something breaks?

There is another member here thats got over 30,000 miles on his solid roller setup. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/4/20879/2.html#000017
In your case you really need to know the full specs on the cam to make any guesses, if its a billet core drag race cam don't except any real mileage out of it.