yea i can just pull a valve cover and see but can anyone tell me the rocker stud dia. on a 92 lt1 with stock heads? i think its the 7/16 but i just want some backup on this, and who sells 3/8s studs if i want them, and would they be any better? and if so is it just a swap or is there any thing else i will need to do?
lame question i know but i think you guys can give me a fast answer without the web surfing i would have to do.

 

Stock rocker studs are 3/8", 7/16" is an upgrade but you will have to change rockers, pushrods, and add guide plates.

 

You might have your numbers confused. 3/8 is stock and 7/16 is the upgrade. 3/8 = 6/16. Anyway several people make them mine were bought as trick flow branded but they say ARP right on the top of them. You will need different rockers and I don't know of anybody who makes a 7/16 rocker that is self aligning so you would need new guide plates and hardened pushrods. If you're going through that much trouble you might as well go with 1.6 or 1.7 rockers instead of 1.5's. In order to do that, however, you will need to replace the valve springs, which is a whole can of worms in itself.

 

wow that was fast! yea my bad 7/16 or 3/8, i just ordered a set of 1.6 rockers for the stock heads and i think they are 3/8 and just wanted to know if they will work. my stock guide plates are sloppy, will they work with non self allighning rockers?or do i need new guide plates too? i do plan to do the springs with the 1.6 rockers but i would hate to have to get guide plates and studs too.

 

Those are not real guide plates on your car, just used for assembly. TrickFlow makes a good set of guide plates and Chromemoly pushrods for a great price. Get ARP rocker studs.

 

Original "guidepates" are junk. You can get new ones though and trick flow makes some very nice single piece pushrods.

 

do i need new guide plates? i have the stock cam and im not going too big with this motor at this point and just want a little more lift at the valve. i have been told that they are for assembly but will they work for non self allighning rockers? or are they too sloppy?
thanks though you guys are great and i never thought i would get this much feed back soo fast.(sniff sniff i love you guys ha ha)

 

Yes, you need new guide plates. What you now have is not a guide plate.

 

i think what i have comeing are 3/8 stud self allighning rockers, from what i hear if i get them i dont need any guide plate is this right?they are crane gold rollers.

 

If they are self aligning, you don't need guide plates. Crane does make a self aligning rocker in the gold series, but they also make plenty of them that aren't. Do you have a part number?

Also, if you got 1.6's are you planning on doing the valve springs? Some people will tell you that technically you don't have to change the springs but I promise you that you'll regret it if you don't.

 

no i dont have a part # but the guy i am getting them from said they were for his lt1, if they are not self alighning then ill just go with guide plates, i will be doing springs but i think ill drive it for a bit before i do just to have time to save the money and sanity for the job. i think if i stay off the gas i can get away with it for a month or so with out new springs then when i do get the springs ill just put them in the next time i have the valve covers off, and i dont think it will be too bad if a project.
once agean thanks for the input!

 

I'm with Nathan on replacing the springs, wait to install the rockers until you can do springs. Also, installing springs with the heads on the car is a pretty big job

 

yea thats why i think ill have someone else do it after i save some more moola, i just have the covers off now doing some work on the intake ports and powder coating it red like an lt4. but hey what kink of a guy would ask for input and blow you off so ill hold on to the rockers untill i get the springs.

 

I can understand the idea of not wanting a lot of down time, but trust me, it'll be worth it to do the springs at the same time. On a stock LT1, just getting the driver's side valve cover off is a pain. You do it once and you're not gonna want to do it again anytime soon. LT1 springs are notoriously weak and on many accounts are "worn out if you so much as hit the rev limiter once." I don't know how many miles are on your car, but I don't know that I would trust the previous owner to have always babied it. 1.6 rockers on LT1 springs is questionable if the springs are brand new, I could not recommend it at all if the springs have any miles on them.

It's easy to say that you'll just drive it easy for a month, but what happens when you suddenly need all that horsepower? Say you're merging into traffic and you didn't see somebody until it's too late. Now the only option you've got is to get the hell out of the way or get hit? Are you gonna just stomp the gas and get out of the way or are you gonna take the time to think "oh gee, I would hit the gas, but I can't because of my valve springs, I better be careful." All the best intentions aside, it's simply not worth the risk. Do the springs when you do the rockers and you'll save the hassle of fighting the valve covers twice, and you won't have anything to worry about. Honestly why bother putting in the new rockers if you can't get on it a little bit to try them out? If you're gonna put them on it, but then wait till you do the springs to hammer down on it, why not just wait until you do the springs? The rockers have to come off again to do springs!

If you're doing springs there are several ways, most require you to remove the spark plugs. This makes it a great time for a tune up. If your car has original AC Delco branded platinum plugs, the platinum pucks have probably blown off the end of them and you're trying to fire an .080 gap when the factory spec is .050. Put new plugs on it and if you haven't replaced the wires yourself, do them at the same time. Since the plugs have to come out, unless they are brand new, you'd be foolish to not put new ones in it. Wires are a judgment call, but I like to do wires when I do plugs if the budget allows. In fact, yesterday is the the first time I've ever done plugs on my car without doing the wires too.

For wires, I recommend MSD super conductors, although they don't fit factory wire looms. Many others swear by Taylor. Get a good brand and you won't be disappointed. As far as plugs go, you've got a million choices. Factory spec is AC Delco 41-904 plugs, due to the problems with the platinum pucks falling off, I can't recommend them. If you don't mind changing them ever 30k miles you can save a ton of money and get Autolite 106's, AC Delco R44LTS's, or NGK TR55's. If you do like platinum, or iridium, I would recommend the NGK's. The NGK TR55IX's are supposed to be awesome. Whatever you do, forget about gimmick plugs like the platinum +4's, etc. Also, even if it says they are pregapped, check them. If the box gets dropped hard enough in shipping, the gap can change.

BTW, you might enjoy reading my web page on improving LT1 performance http://www.wku.edu/~nathan.plemons/h...rformance.html

 

Springs aren't the worst job in the world to do. You'll learn a lot if you can do them yourself.

 

im still thinking i might do them my self but i just dont know, i want the insall hight to be right and all and dont know if i want to mess with all the shims and stuff. i just did the plugs ngk tr55s and i did the wires and coil all msd with a 6al msd box.and yes now that you bring it up i might be too tempted to get on it without springs even if that mustang or porsch want to play who am i to say no! he he. yea i cant understand why i have waited so long to do rockers or springs when every thing else but the cam i have changed,i think something always looked more fun to bolt on, go figure.

 

while im at it what springs are good for a stock cam that will be a direct replacement for stock springs but will handle the 1.6 rockers with out spending a arm and a leg?

 

Unfortunately, I can't answer that. The first springs I ever used were double springs from a company that is no longer in business. They were fine, I later upgraded to a much bigger spring, but they would never fit your heads. Some people swear by the behive springs and such.

FWIW, you don't HAVE to shim them. Your factory springs aren't shimmed, so whatever you go with, will be just as close as stock. If you buy a spring with enough "headroom" it won't matter if they're just a little bit off. Now with that being said, it is certainly not a bad idea to shim them. This makes sure that you get consistent seat pressures across all cylinders. You better believe that the springs I have now are shimmed. When I did the springs the first time though, I just swapped them out and didn't bother.

If you're going to be into it, however, I wouldn't skimp on the springs. I can't remember exactly, but the springs I have are a huge double spring that has a seat pressure damn near double of the stock LT1 springs. More than once I have accidentally shifted from 1-3-1 and haven't broken the valvetrain yet. On stock springs I promise I would have put a valve right through the top of a piston! I'm sure you could call up comp cams and tell them what you're looking for and they could recommend a good spring.

 

yea i have gotten all kinds of ideas on what springs to use but i think ill call comp or crane and ask what they recomend

 

It's really not hard to do shims either. Just have to buy a checker but it's stupid easy to use. I've never shimmed a set on a car, but I've done a ton on the bench. Doing on the car will just make the spring change take a little more time is all, and might be a little dirtier because they haven't just been through the parts washer.

Just buy a good assortment of shims, be sure to get proper spring seats for whatever springs you may get. You will have to get new valve seals. They're extremely easy to install and even good ones are cheap as far as things go. Don't skimp there or you'll have a motor that'll smoke. Even with the oil on the valves it might not hurt to pre-lube the new seals with some assembly lube. While you're at it you might consider titanium retainers, they're lighter weight and can buy you some RPM potential. 10 degree locks aren't a bad idea either. If you put 10 degree locks, titanium retainers, and good springs, there's no reason why you can't spin 6500 RPM's. Talk about making a passenger do a double take, imagine the look on their face when you blow the tach clean past the red line and off the scale before you shift :P