I have recently been contemplating a mild modification to my engine. I have a stock chevy 350 in my 1985 firebird. It is the GM 350 that you can get from jegs, or summit, nothing special. I don't want to have to pull the heads, or let alone the engine.

My question is this... Roller rockers or cam?

I want something I can do over the weekend.

Obviously, for the cam, I would have to remove all the accessory items on the front of the engine :a/c, power steering, alternator, fan, radiator, and valve covers, and timing cover.

Roller rockers, I have heard there is a lot more involved with upgrading to roller rockers than I originally thought. I thought they were just as simple as removing the old ones and installing the new, adjust lash, and ready to go. Am I right? or are they really that much of a pain? I just want to go to 1.6 ratio. I was looking at the proform 778-66908 rockers.

Any other suggestions? I would like to spend around $300.

 

Roller rockers reduce friction. They also have a more precise ratio than stamped steel rockers. Going to a 1.6 ratio is just a poor mans cam swap to get a little more lift. Not all 1.6 rocker swaps are a direct swap. It all depends on the head castings. When changing the ratio from 1.5 to 1.6, the pushrod is located towards the pedestal slightly. Depending on the size of the pushrod hole, it may need to be modified.

Buy a camshaft to best suit your driving habits and keep it within the limits of stocks heads, pistons etc. Install 1.5 roller rockers at the same time for an easier swap since the rockers need to come off anyway for a cam swap.

 

If it's the "260 HP" "Goodwrench" motor, you have a part-for-part replica of the mid-70s smogger 165 HP turds. It was never intended as a "performance" piece; it's made for people in "economically sensitive" situations who just need to get some fleet vehicle back on the road and earning revenue (think, phone company van) at the lowest possible cost but with also the lowest possible risk.

You got your deep dog-dish pistons, your 8.2:1 compression ON A GOOD DAY, your 993 heads (other choices back in the 70s included 882 and 624 as well) with 76cc smogger chambers and restictive exhaust ports, your 929 cam (although if it's the "290 HP" version it comes with a bit more cam than the 929 butis otherwise pretty much the same). You have basically a 165 HP 1974 Impala 350 2-bbl motor. It only makes "260 HP" if you put long-tube headers with small primaries and long collectors on it, no exhaust of any significance (typical engine stand setup), a Holley 750 carb and a Performer RPM intake, external water pump and no alternator or other "accessories" let aone external emissions ones, and optimize everything for a dyno pull. IN A CHASSIS though, it's .... maybe 180 - 185 HP, with a 4-bbl carb. With short-tube headers it might crack 200 but I wouldn't bet on it.

As such, neither roller rockers nor a cam swap, will accomplish much.

My suggestion would be, keep your money in your pocket for the time being. Save up for some heads to go along with BOTH a cam and the rockers. Until then, you're just wasting a bunch of time money and effort and accomplishing basically nothing.