I'm working with a guy to get my engine built, at my request we are working close together so that I can learn a little bit more about engine & engine building as we go.

I know what I need in terms of rockers and that I want full roller; in looking at Summit Racing, there appears to be 5-6 different sets with a difference in price of around $200, all for basically the same thing (full roller, 1.5 ratio, aluminum, 7/16 stud mount). Just wondering if there is really that much difference in the brands or if any are better or worse than others. Thanks.

 

Personally I stay away from the china brands not because they are not USA but because I have heard a lot of mixed reviews.

A lot of guys seem to like these for budget builds

http://www.compperformancegroupstore...AlumRockerArms

 

Stay away from anything Proform. They are poor quality chinese junk. Crane Golds are nice, (have them on my car) The Comp Cams rollers are also very nice and so is Harland sharps.

 

I got a deal on Comp Pro magnum rockers $295, from what I have read they are very good rocker arms. I also read a lot of good things about scorpion rocker arms and Harland Shaps, however I went with the pro magnums because I personally did not want aluminum. My cousin has had the Crane Gold rockers for several years on his show truck with a BBC 468 and had no problems.

 

Crane Golds are fantastic and can be found used pretty easily.

 

Scorpions are made in the USA. I found mine the cheapest at ... Amazon!

 

Thanks for all the replies. I will look later and see where I can find the best deal on the brands mentioned and go with one of them.

Thanks again.

 

I prefer Comp pro magnums or the newer ultra pro magnums.

I also really like Scorpions.

 

I have these they work great but are expensive.

http://www.compperformancegroupstore...AluminumRoller

 

+1

Not a fan of aluminum in rocker arms. They will fatigue over time. The Comp rocker arm bodies are steel and they use larger trunions that wont wear out as quickly AND they are rebuildable.

 

Depending on what year your car is. You may need the self-aligning style rockers.

 

Happy New Year!

I have a couple of more questions. My engine builder ended up getting heads that (1) have 3/8" studs instead of 7/16" and (2) has perimeter bolt valve covers. The heads also have guide plates, but my builder said he can take them off if I want to use self-aligning rockers (which in his view, are better).

So...I'm having a hard time finding the proper rockers. I found some Scorpion ones that I like, but they are narrow body for center-bolt valve covers (according to the description). At this point, I'm leaning towards going with non-self aligning since I can find exactly what I want. Thoughts?

 

http://www.summitracing.com/search/M...s/?Ns=Rank|Asc



Narrow body is not an issue even if you use perimeter bolt covers.

 

Here's a good reason why I support N/A made products. Not that they do not have quality issues, but this confirms my feeling. I did a rebuild on a 350 and one of my rituals is to verify oil is traveling where it's suppose to. I do this while the engine is on the test stand and crank it over with no spark plugs. The attached pic shows that one rocker was NOT lubricating the the bearing. I wonder why. So do not assume new is good. Check everything. I like the COMP products, never had issues and the support was always there when I needed it.

 

So I can get the narrow body ones no matter what valve covers I'm using? If so, I plan on going with the Scorpions. Thanks.

 

Yes. Narrow bodies can be used with perimeter or center bolt. They are mandatory with perimeter bolt. Self aligning rockers and guide plates are mutually exclusive due to push rod binding issues. Be sure your builder puts washers under the rocker studs that are the same thickness as guide plates to retain proper geometry.

 

Yea go narrow self aligning and if you ever decide to go vortec heads you wont have to change anything.

 

I thought they were mandatory on centerbolt? Atleast Im running Scorpion narrowbody SA rockers under my stock vortec valve covers.

 

You are correct the narrow bodies are requires for most center bolts.

 

Correct. I eff'ed up. My bad.