Heres what I've got:

ECZ 292 block .060 over bore with ECZ-G heads, Erson cam with .486 lift using the 1.43 ratio rockers and duration of 296.

I had the guide posts machined for a .580 lift and I went ahead and installed clay on the pistons and did a dry run assembly to check for any clearance issues. My clay was approx 1/8" thick and there was no signs of any contact. (This was done with the valve train installed and adjusted and the engine rotated thru a complete cycle with the timing marks in there normal settings . NO advance or retard of the cam) I only checked one cylinder. I also did this with no head gasked installed as the orignal steel head gaskets were an additional .020" thick.

My heads are on and torqued but now I need to know do I use the short or longer push rods.

Are thet different because of the little tin pieces that go under the rocker shaft bases. Do I want to reuse these tin splash pieces? They are in my 56 manual but not in my 61 manual. I dont see a problem using either as the rockers are adjustable. But I wanted to know from someone who has more dealings with this than me as what they would do.

Thanks,
Kevin Bigwin56f100

 

i never bother with the drip trays or whatever they call them.i could see someone using them if their pushrods were a tad to long.as far as which pushrod to use ,you will just have to try both and see which one suits.you want to get the adjusting screw close to the center.

 

Kevin,

Without getting into a long lecture on valvetrain geometry...briefly, your best bet is to set your adj. screw as mentioned above, then....try to pick a pushrod length that will more or less center your rocker tip on the valve stem, when the corresponding lifter is at the 1/2 lift point (in your case, approx. .243 valve opening). (I'm assuming the figure listed is gross valve lift, not accounting for lash). When you rotate the engine & watch the rocker tip, it will move slightly in & out on the valve stem through the cycle, but the "average" position should be approx. centered. A little off is OK, considering a relatively low-RPM street engine. If it's way off, you have a geometry problem, due to mismatched components or wear, or changes due to non-stock components. If you find some cylinders or individual rockers are off & others are OK (with the same length pushrod), and assuming the head/block surfaces were trued, AAAAAND assuming no severe wear to the rockers & stems.....then likely the stem heights aren't equalized, due to some being "sunk" more than others during a valve grinding job. Most machine shops (in my exp.) won't equalize the stem heights unless they are asked to, 'cause it can be a pain in the a** and the majority of customers don't know/care. All this being said...you can get away with quite a bit of leeway, as long as the tips don't actually go off the stem. Excess leeway will lead to additional side load on the stems, tips, & valve guides, which means a rebuild sooner than later...but, if it's not a high mileage daily driver, then "sooner" still could be years away. Not the "right" way to do it, but it still may work. I'd bet 99% of the mass engine rebuilders don't bother even checking this, and for the most part their stuff seems to last long enough to make the customers happy.

I guess it did turn into a lecture- sorry, that's as concise as I can explain it. Just sign me "Putting my audience to sleep one word at a time..."

 

P.S. You also want to verify that the rocker does not make contact with the retainer during the cycle. Almost certainly not a problem, considering your cam & probable components....but thought I'd mention it.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I did forget to mention that the heads were completly redone with hardened seats and resurfaced and the block was surfaced but not zero decked as I was afraid of clearance issues.

Thanks,
Kevin Bigwin56f100