318 LA roller block questions
Hadn't read that anywhere.. will be sure to give it a better look now when i pull the heads.
Trust the machinist……
62 belvedere with a Poly it was 3050# so i figure with a alum headed LA i should stay under 3000..
Excellent!
Aluminum heads, intake, headers, it keeps adding up.
Roughly…. 50 lbs for the heads, 25 for the intake, 5-10 for the header exhaust manifolds but this is a catch 22 since the exhaust piping is double but the power increase is a great off set most of the time. Aftermarket aluminum wheels etc…. Keep more weight off. It’ll be good.
K.. so few quick questions (I hate asking these but i would rather learn from others mistakes before i do it myself)..
Smart man! No sense falling in the same traps and pits.
was going to go with PRW Stainless then this morning i do a quick search and see posts about the bushings basically wearing through on them. I have seen posts of galling on ductile iron rockers (otherwise i would get the mancini set) And i just don't trust aluminum long term on a driver. Soo.. without spending a crazy amount of money what are the options? I tend to overthink stuff which leads to stress which is what i seem to live on at this point :)
I get that overthinking thing. The best for longevity would be Ductile iron. Aluminum has a long life. Galling is a lack of oil. Galling happens with any rocker (or other part) that doesn’t get enough oil.
Second.. Since i plan to use OEM magnum lifters couldn't i do pushrod+shaft oiling or would that drop pressure and flood the top end? (this was just a thought)
I haven’t had an issue with the duel oiling myself but some have. The thing here is, when you’re oiling an engine, the oil that is protecting the moving parts from each other is a controlled bleeding point. If you’re going to build a relatively powerful engine (this is an opinion point of where that power level is, but let’s just say, “Not your average Hop Up.” RPM is a factor here.)
The engine is going to need a certain amount of pressure to keep oil thickness between parts in order for the parts not to rub on each other.
I have had no issue with a standard oil pump while turning 6500 rpm. This was also done with the dual, oil shaft and pushrod oiling methods working at the same time. It’s also not a sustained rpm but just a short visit and not often repeated.
And third thing... Is there an advantage to 1.6 ratio over 1.5 other than a little more lift?
Yes and no. Making a move to a 1.6 from a 1.5 often leads to increased performance. Sometimes, it doesn’t. If the ratio increase doesn’t lead to more performance, consider your cam right for the job and go back to the 1.5 rocker.
The thing with increasing the rocker no one ever really considers much even though it’s widely mentioned is the increased duration. Often you’ll hear, “OH! That’s a free 2*’s more at .050!”
Well my friend, believe it or not, not everything that is free is good. The extra lift is almost always useable even when the head stalls at the new lift. But it’s more of the cams timing events that are ever so slightly altered that can back fire.
And that’s why, every once in a while if you ears are open, you’ll hear someone say, “I added a ratio to the rocker and I went slower/there was no change.” Sometimes an extra ratio up on one side works well. Like a 1.6 on the intake and an1.5 on the exhaust.
I don't get why people go 1.6 when doing a build if you are just going to order a cam anyway, why not get the cam with the lift you want to start with? This is just more of a curiosity that i might be missing something with 1.6.
Generally speaking you are correct BUT 99.5% of the hot rodders, enthusiasts and most engine shops do not know what the best cam is. The last .5% do. While most really smart people that cam pick the right cam, won’t because there customer has an idea of what they want even though it isn’t the best for what there doing.
Cam company recommendations can be horrible or even worse than a new guy trying to figure this out. The solution would cost more money than anyone is willing to spend paying the man who actually knows.
I see some guys sending out rockers to get redone at $300+ a set, at which point you are spending HS type money..
There’s better than HS but that’s even more money.
Normally when people send their rockers out it is to correct OE or very old HP/race units. This is worth the expense.
P.S. Sorry bout the questions but i have never used aftermarket rockers on a mopar.. last one i did was a ford which was just.. buy whatever and bolt on and they worked well forever it seemed.
MoPars can be tricky. Let’s just say you can’t frisbee throw parts on and expect greatness much less properly working items. One of the things about a MoPar (and other) shaft rocker systems is proper placement of the rocker. All rockers are not created equal for perfect operation.
Also.. since someone will ask, if i did the math correctly my spring pressure at max lift should be 305#
Looking at the mancini aluminums $579 for HS actually doesn't sound bad and i wont be putting a ton of miles on.. might be my choice. My brain sucks :)
Find and ask a pro shop that actually knows MoPars.
Ask a racer what worked best with the least problems and modifications.
Yeah, looking for a spider and dogbones now... being an LA with spider bosses/magnum roller lifter bores, i should be able to use pretty much any LA roller cam shouldn't i? The motor already has the LA timing cover/mechanical fuel pump..
Correct. An LA engine that is roller cam equipped can use any LA roller cam (long snout) with roller lifters (OEM or not) though the OEM lifters will require the dog bones and spider. I just took apart of roller V6. I have 6 cylinders worth of dog bones. Would you like them?
P.S. for cam i was looking at this.. for this year i just want a nice driver but would still like a good runner, Mainly why i am wanting good heads and such which can be used on a bigger build. I'm still using a highway gear and stock converter for this year also.. don't want to find a pig and pay for new axles just yet
Lunati cam choice..
Give me a minute to look at the cam…