I am putting a 383 together with afr 195 eliminators.

I have a set of crane gold aluminum 1.6 roller rockers from my other engine. They are self aligning with a 3/8 stud.

I called afr and they said I can't use the self aligning rr's because the tip of the rr is too big for the 8mm valve stem.

My options are to
1. Get a set of non-self-aligning roller rockers and use the afr guide plates.
2. Use the crane gold rockers and take the guide plates out.

Has anyone used self-aligning roller rockers and afr heads?????

Please help, summer is here and I want to drive my car!

 

Measure the distance between the rails, using a caliper, laid down against the roller just like the valve stem tip will be.

Then measure the valve stems.

If the space is greater than the valve stem dia, then they'll work. Otherwise, you'll have to buy rockers. Which, since you've got $1400 to drop on heads, doesn't seem like all that big of a deal, to me; especially since you can sell those rockers and get good ones such as Comp or Crower steel ones, for not a whole lot more.

If you use the SA rockers, take off the guide plates, and put hardened washers of about the same thickness under the studs. If you have to get normal rockers, use the guide plates.

 

So you are saying that as long as the rocker tip is wider than the valve stem, than I will be fine?

 

If you really want to do that then check EVERY rocker arm after you assemble and lash them down. The guide plates are stamped steel and they usually don't align the rockers DIRECTLY over the tip. I would use the rockers if they fit over the valve stems. Just ditch the guide plates. If they don't fit the stems, then just buy a new set of rockers.

 

I am confused to what I have now, are these SA or NSA?

 

No, they are not self-aligning.

 

how do you tell?

 

If they were self-aligning, there would be a feature on them to maintain alignment.

It would look like a washer at each end of the roller, or a rail on the casting beside each end of the roller, or the roller would be MUCH wider and would look like a spool, to keep the roller centered on the valve stem.

 

Thanks for your help!
The guy I bought them from said they were SA.

So, I can use the guide plates with these non-self-aligning roller rockers! Excellent!
I dont' have to spend more $ on a different set of rockers.

 

<gasp>You mean..... the PO of used car parts LIED?</gasp>

People either don't know what they've got; or they figure out what you wish it was, and tell you that's what it is, and once they've got your money, then what the parts actually are is YOUR problem; or they figure out what the most expensive or romantic-sounding label ("from a Vette", "70 LT1", "early Vortec", etc.) to put on their bucket of steaming excrement.