By staying with 1.6's I meant keep the stockers. I just don't have the money that it appears a high majority of the posters have; hardened pushrods, guideplates, roller rockers, new springs, custom cam, etc, etc... I'm not saying you're wrong by any means but I have done this same thing, WITH all factory parts ( the springs were factory btw my uncle bought the car brand new in 1970 and sold me the motor last year) so yeah, maybe I did get lucky, but I was not wrong. I'm just a firm believer in stock stuff, the aftermarket is great, but for the budget oriented ppl such as myself, cast iron does just fine to a certain extent. If i could make 360HP and 447 ft/lbs with minimal intake and exhaust porting on these heads, basically stock bottom other than the 9.5 :1 pistons, a lumpy cam, an 84 ford cast iron intake (no porting) and a stock POS Motorcraft 600 carb, with a thorough port job and a good intake and carb, a guy could have a 375-400 HP TORQUE MONSTER for like $1700. Not bad in my opinion.

 

if you are on a major budget you can drill and pin the press in studs to keep them from pulling out. then you can use stock valve train which would be fine for a mild street build. i run .520 lift on stock rockers and rocker bolts on my e7s, theyve been fine for years.

 

I operate on a budget too. Investing in roller rockers doesn't have to cost though. You don't HAVE to buy new stuff. I've bought two sets of used 1.7 "Cobra" roller rockers (pedestal mount) for $100-125. At that price you can't afford NOT to do this upgrade. You not only pickup power from the increased lift (actually you'd be lucky to see 5 hp from that) but your motor benefits more from the reduced oil temps and decreased friction in the roller trunions. One set I bought about 5 -6 years ago and they're still running strong, and they had 100K miles on em when I bought em. $125 for a 15 hp(Ford's numbers) boost is a bargain to me.

 

Alright i apologize i understand where you're coming from i just get kinda frustrated with ppl sometimes who find it so easy to spend other ppl's money. I didn't take into consideration the possibility of used parts, as I am new to the whole aftermarket deal. The 399 stroker I'm building now is the first motor I've done using aftermarket anything besides pistons. AFR 185's, Air Gap, Headers, ROLLER ROCKERS, etc... So i apologize once again

 

Beware though, once you've run roller rockers, you won't want to go back to either ball or sled fulcrum rockers The motor seems to rev quicker with a roller valvetrain.

 

Hmmmmm interesting I like fast revving lol. Thanks

 

I'm slowly but surely building up a '69 351W to swap into my pickup. I've got a pair of D0OE heads that came on the engine, as luck would have it they've already been converted to screw-in studs and guideplates - so that saved me a bit of money - plus it came with roller tip rockers, Weiand stealth manifold, Mallory dizzy and some other goodies.

Anyway, I had the heads cleaned and checked for cracks, new guides and hardened exhaust seats installed (~$125) and I'm doing a bit of porting on them now. I got some 1.9/1.6 undercut valves so once I'm done the shop's going to do a valve job (another $100 or so) and I'll turn them loose on the short block. The engine supposedly has about 40K miles before the Falcon it was in gotted rolled. I'm still going to have it checked and reworked as necessary because: a) I don't trust people when they sell me used parts, b) it was a teenager driving the car and I'm quite sure he ragged on it, c) the oil and spark plugs that came out of it looked awful, and d) why swap an iffy engine into a truck I plan to take far from home on hunting trips and scavenger hunts? Not looking to throw away money, but I do want peace of mind.

You don't need to spend a ton to get a strong engine, but I wouldn't cut corners to save a little. IMO, new lifters, springs, rings, etc. now are cheaper than a new rotating assembly later because something simple failed. Especially if you're talking about a 400hp engine.