Roller Rocker Help...

[Shifty]

Ok, I'm in the process of rebuilding my motor and need some advice... I just ordered a 210/215 roller cam kit from Full Throttle, the only thing left that I need is a set of roller rockers, should I do 1.55-1.60-1.65???
I have a girdled 109 block, stock stroke stock crank, 30 over, stock ported heads, ARP studs, stock ported intake, TE45A, 3.5" downpipe, 3" single exhaust, 3200 Vigilante lock up converter, 200-4R trans, stock rear... It's going to see alot of hard street miles and I try to go to the track as much as possible... I'm not sure what will work best with the rest of my set up... Thanks for any advice you can throw my way, Gavin...

 

[charlief1]

Gavin,
I'd take the lift at the cam and multiply it by all of them and then see which one will do the best with the heads you have. Do you have enough clearance to what kind of lift and not kiss the pistons or the top of the head with the keepers. Lift will give you volumn but will it help under presure.

 

[Shifty]

Hmmm... Ok, thanks Charlie... I guess I'll have to do a bit of homework before I order them...lol...

 

[charlief1]

A friend of mine gave me a very important peice of advice when I buildt my first car in the 80's. Write down everything you want do do as wild as you think you want, put it away for at least a week, then pick it back up and see if it's really practicle and go from there. He was very right and you'll be suprised the changes you'll make.

 

[Shifty]

Hahahahaha... I'm trying to keep everything pretty basic, this is my first time trying to set up a motor combo... I've always had simple bolt on cars so this is all new to me... I'm thinking I'll just go with the 1.55's for now, more or less a flip of a coin decision... I can't really get an answer saying if I should go big or small, so I figure the 1.55's are closer to stock rockers then the 1.65's...lol... I guess that's what I'll do for now, either way they have to be better then the stockers right...lol...

 

[charlief1]

Is this your first turbo car? Remember that when you do your initial start up disconect your waste gate so you won't build any presure for the first 1000 miles or so. That way the engine will break in safely.

 

[KevinB]

Do the heads flow good? If they do, I'd buy the 1.65's.

BTW, seems like everyone has a different break in method. My current engine, which has had the sh*t kicked out of it and still is alive, was broken in at the track:biggrin: Unloaded it off the trailer (no street miles yet), made some easy passes (about 4), then busted off some 9 second runs. I go by the theory "break'em in like you're going to drive them"

 

[86 TR]

BTW, seems like everyone has a different break in method. My current engine, which has had the sh*t kicked out of it and still is alive, was broken in at the track:biggrin: Unloaded it off the trailer (no street miles yet), made some easy passes (about 4), then busted off some 9 second runs. I go by the theory "break'em in like you're going to drive them"

Sorry don't mean to hijack the thread.
Sounds like me breaking in my new engine last weekend. It ran for about 15 minutes to check everything out and then I gave it 20psi boost as soon as it hit the street. Everything appears to be great! I agree drive it like you stole it. Always worked good for me.

 

[Shifty]

I wrote a novel...lol...

Yea, this is actually my first turbo car... My buddy John has been helping me along with everything, he's definitely the brains behind the operation, but he's on vacation and I'm getting restless with a pocket full of money...lol... I got the car off him last year, he needed a FAST system for his GN, so I bought that and he gave me the car... It needed a trans when I got it, so I did a trans and converter... First time out the car ran 13.20's, put a set of MT radials on it and ran 12.80's...WOW... So I bought a race chip for 100 octane, went to the track, and ran an 11.80... My crossover pipe and headers were leaking bad, they were past the point of repair so I got a set of cheapo headers and a 3.5" downpipe... I broke a bolt off in my TE44 when I was taking the exhaust elbow off, so I said to hell with it and bought a TE45A off Jim/Vsix that night...lol... i went to the track and ran an 11.30 on pump gas, I got all excited, put some 116 in it, turned the boost up a bit, and the car slowed down and lost some boost...Hmmm... Turned the boost up a bit more and blew a hose for the inter cooler... Found a new one at the track and made another pass and the car went 10.80's letting out around the 1000' mark... I was having problems with boost creep, it went way too high... I turned the boost down and made another pass, it went 10.80's again, but I knew I hurt something when I saw all the smoke... Turns out it was a head gasket...OOPS... I replaced it 4 months later, and the first time I got to drive the car it spun a bearing :frown: I'm finally done being pissed at the car, so I started looking for a crank because I destroyed the one in the car... So here I am... I found a used stock crank, it's getting cut .20 as I type... I got the motor out of the car last weekend, my girdle came in yesterday, so tomorrow I'm dropping the girdle and block off tomorrow to get the machine work done, I'm also having the rods re sized... I've had a lot of ups and downs with the car, but I still love it... It needs paint and body work, I have a full gray interior that's going in this weekend hopefully(The maroon interior was destroyed, and I hated it) but any car that can drop a second with a bit of real gas and a few pounds of boost is cool in my book... It made me like turbo cars so much, I went out and bought an 08 Subaru Legacy GT, then I decided I wanted a truck to pull the car when I go far away for races so I bought a 2500 Ram Diesel...lol...
Sorry for the novel, I'm bored tonight... The heads flow good for stockers, John said they look great, who ever did them knew what they were doing... I was thinking about getting 1.60's, right in the middle, can't go wrong with that right??? Best of both worlds???
I have an E-mail into Brian for a Stagerite trans brake, I still need valve covers, I want a mini starter, I still need a fiberglass back bumper(Stocker is rusted out and I already have a fiberglass front one)... I'd like Alky, but I'm going to hold off on that for a while, I'm not ready to break the car again... Yet... I was looking at the 70mm TB, 70MM PTE upper plenum, and power plate, that's something that I'm going to try to buy before it all goes back together, it has all stock stuff on it now... I'm still running the stock MAF, so I'm sure that will need to be upgraded soon... And I still need a good sway bar for the rear, I already have uppers lowers and airbags... Anyway, that's my plans, goals, and past...lol... Any advice or info???

 

[KevinB]

Unless you get a smoking deal on the 70mm tb, I'd pass that up. I've seen a few cars run in the 9's with the stock stuff. I would use that money and buy a wideband 02 sensor setup. Getting your tune off the stock o2 setup is not very reliable from what I have seen over the years.

As far as the rockers go, the numbers advertised on the cam are with the stock ratio rockers, so the 1.65's will raise those numbers a bit. It's hard to say which ones are better imo unless you have actual flow numbers on the heads.

If you have the cash, the HR bar is a good choice for your roll bar.

What chip/injectors are you using?

 

[Shifty]

I already have a wideband... That was actually the reason I lifted on the first 10.80 pass, I forgot to hook it back up after I replaced the intercooler hose... I'm running a TT chip, with 60lb injectors, and a hot wired walbro 340with -8 supply and -6 return... I just bought a billet y-block so I can try to set up an in-tank double pumper... I was reading about how good the Precision intake and power plate work together to evenly distribute the air flow to each cylinder, and to top it off I was thinking that they would look good polished sitting on top of my motor...lol... My car actually looks exactly like yours, but it doesn't lauch that hard... Hopefully the trans brake will help with that... The first picture is with my new fiberglass bumper and new fillers, the second one is one of the 10.80 runs... I just got an 87 grill for the car too, so I'll have that on before it comes back out...

 

[KevinB]

Hey, that does look like my car!!!

I can't say anything bad about the PTE plenum and 70mm tb...I'm running that on my car.

 

[Shifty]

For some reason I can't get some of the pictures to work, but yea our cars definitely look alike...lol...

 

[Shifty]

There ya go... I look like an idiot in the picture, the car slammed my big head back because I was leaning up to pop the e-brake...lol... I'm kinda glad I had the helmet on... Hehehe...

 

[Shifty]

Ok, so anyway...lol... I guess I'll go with the 1.60's just to cut it down the middle between 1.55-1.65... I'm thinking I'll get the black powder coated turbo6 valve covers to go with it... Thanks for the info and advice... Nice car too:biggrin:

 

[KevinB]

There ya go... I look like an idiot in the picture, the car slammed my big head back because I was leaning up to pop the e-brake...lol... I'm kinda glad I had the helmet on... Hehehe...

That's great lol. Thats why I have very dark tinted windows You can't see me when stuff like that happens haha. I had my seat bracket brake at the track last year, left me looking up at the roof...no one knew what happened cuse they couldn't see in

Ok, so anyway...lol... I guess I'll go with the 1.60's just to cut it down the middle between 1.55-1.65... I'm thinking I'll get the black powder coated turbo6 valve covers to go with it... Thanks for the info and advice... Nice car too:biggrin:

The tbrake and anti-roll bar should help that out!

 

[chrisgarrett]

Ok, so anyway...lol... I guess I'll go with the 1.60's just to cut it down the middle between 1.55-1.65... I'm thinking I'll get the black powder coated turbo6 valve covers to go with it... Thanks for the info and advice... Nice car too:biggrin:

That's what I did. I went with the 1.60's. I bought mine about 6 months ago and had trouble finding them. Everyone stocks the 1.65. Probably different now. I went with the crinkle black TA low-profiles.

 

[Shifty]

LOL, Full Throttle has the 1.60's, I just got done ordering them...lol...

GBodyParts has the Black Powder Coated Valve covers, thanks for posting your picture because now I'm definitely getting them... I guess I might as well order them now... Who did you get yours through???

 

[chrisgarrett]

Brian didn't have either when I ordered. I got the valve covers from TA and the rockers from Champion.

 

[Just a Six??]

I went with the 160's myself. PT6776 GTQ turbo, 3800 10" LU (used my 3400 last year & it was decent) good flowing iron heads. Seems good so far but no track times for proof! Think the 160's will be a good choice for your car!
Good Luck!

PS: My 160's are T&D from TA Perf Just check any set you buy for where the roller tips sit. I added a 20 thous shim to one side of one shaft end as the one rocker was not right where it should be. The rest were all bang on.
TA sent me a couple shims NC but they are definately on the pricey side compared to Full Throttle. Altho, FT doesnt sell T&D.
What brand does FT sell now for roller rockers Harland Sharp? Not Scorpion are they? I know they are cheaper than T&D