I recently bought a set of valve covers for my 385 fastburn. I dont have roller rockers on the engine now but I am planning on upgrading in the near future. The new valve covers are these......

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRO-141-131/

The question is....they say tall on the description but on the box it says "1/4" taller then stock" is one quarter inch tall enough? They are not all that tall.....anybody run these covers or know how much clearance you need to run roller rockers....and the covers have baffles....anyone have problems with clearing the baffles?

 

You won't have any problems with clearance if you go with Comp Pro Magnum full roller rockers.

 

I hesitate to give a over-all opinion on this because of the differences that can occur in heads and valve train setups, but here's my take on it:

First, I ended up using those very covers for the needed clearance on my AFR heads.

The stock covers on my 96 Vette wouldn't clear the poly locks. The stock covers cleared the rockers themselves without any modification, but the poly-locks sat too high and wouldn't let the stock covers drop all the way down onto the heads.

The ProForm 1/4" taller covers took care of that problem, but I did have to clearance my alternator. On the 96 Vette it's on the driver's side and I had to grind on the alternator in an area about the size of a quarter for the needed clearance.

Of course, before doing any grinding, I taped off all the openings in the alternator to keep any aluminum fragments for getting inside.

Your 'F' Body engine is probably setup differently. You may or may not have a clearance issue with the alternator or something else.

IIRC, I didn't have an issue with the ProForm baffles either.

Story continues: Last summer when I installed new DART Pro1s on my son's 96 Vette, his STOCK covers dropped in place with no clearance issue whatsoever. He's running the same Scorpion full-body rocker arms and poly locks as I am and his stock covers cleared.

So the difference was in the heads - AFRs Vs Dart's

If the 1/4" taller ProForms won't clear the poly-locks - locks being too tall and hit the underside of the covers - you can try increasing your lifter preload to slightly lower the poly-locks.

Jake

 

I would try a thicker gasket before I ever changed the pre-load.

 

My brother had those on his motor with no problem. He now has the plain aluminum ones from Summit that are short. He also has Comp Cams Magnum rockers. The ones that only have the roller tip.

 

k this might be a dumb question but will those fit the stock oil fill cap or would you need to get a different one? it just looks like the hole is smaller than stock

 

The stock oil filler cap didn't fit. I bought a press in type at Pep Boys. I also had to buy two grommets to fit the taller cover holes. Other stores probably have them too.

Jake

 

Sure, that's an option too. I even considered doubling gaskets (the type with the metal center) had it been necessary.

Lots of different ways to skin a cat.

Jake