I've skimmed through some old PHR magazines and a REALLY old SBC rebuild book and there were a few articles in it about using a some BBC parts on a SBC to help performance and durability. There were a bunch, but the only ones that some to mind are the BBC rocker arms (1.7 ratio) and the retainers/springs/etc. The other was the BBC oil pump for increased lube ability.

Are either of these worth trying on my sbc? I am curious because I'd like the extra lift from the longer ratio rockers, but since I don't have the money for an expensive set of 1.6's from Crane etc, they seem like a good way to go if they will drop in.

As for the pump.. is it worth the effort on a street driven sbc? If so, how much work would it be to install on a sbc? Will it even work?

 

No, none of that is really worth the effort.

The rockers are longer overall; they don't fit without modification.

The valve springs and so forth would require cutting the spring pockets in the heads out to the correct diameter. Once you get around to spending money on that, there's no particular advantage to parts sized specifically for big blocks over any others.

The oil pump is a bolt-up, except for the screen. It offers no advantages in a small block with stock oil clearances. In fact, the Melling M99HVS is merely a big block pump with a special screen to be the right depth to fit a certain small block pan.

 

Ok, cool.

Thanks for clearing that up RB. I figured the rockers might work, but I knew the springs would take machining to the head to fit properly. Guess the rockers wont.