Ok I am doing my heads and cam soon and I am getting some afr heads so they come with pretty much everything I need and I am also going to get some roller rockers. I am just wondering is there anything else that I will have to get and anything else that would just be nice to have and easy to do when I am doing all the others. Thank you all

 

Keep the stock rockers.

They come assembled, but the 205cc come with springs that can only handle up to .600 lift. You can upgrade with AFR.

 

I am going with the 225 so will I be ok lift wise with those heads

 

You'll need new pushrods, LS2 timing chain, gaskets, maybe replace the oil pump, and head bolts/studs. I recommend ARP studs because they don't turn in the block threads when torquing the heads down and you don't ever have to clean out the bolt holes ever again.

 

Why do you guys think I should keep the stock rockers and not get after market ones. If I have to get new rods and stuff for my heads and new studs/bolts it seems like it would just be worth getting some new rockers. Is there a disadvantage to most after market ones or do you guys just feel there not worth the money.

 

In a traditional SBC the rockers were not roller fulcrum or roller tip so the typical thing to do was to replace them the first time that you did valve train mods as a full roller rocker reduced friction and was more acurately manufactured for better precision valve motion.

Gen III/IV motors come with a cast aluminum roller fulcrum rocker from the factory. They are very light and precicely made so gains from full roller rockers are very small.

 

my concern retaining the stock rockers when doing a cam and or head swap is they are not adjustable. Varying thickness in head deck and gasket, valve spring install height, along with base circle diameter of the cam requires that you carefully check for proper pushrod length. You still need to do it with adjustable rockers, but the exact length is not as critical. Stock rocker arms are known to shed needle bearings if pushed to hard.

 

It's not a big deal if you use the proper pushrod length.

I had the stock rockers in my 408 which saw 7000+ rpm regularly.

 

fwiw, I just had to take my valve covers off to re-torque a couple harland sharp rockers I just put in, and there was a small sliver of metal that looked like it got shaved off the rocker bolt when I torqued them down. They might be badass looking and really heavy duty, but if they're creating metal shavings, thats BAD.

I honestly wish I had just sold them rather than installing them, but then again after it's tuned and I get the knocking figured out, it might be worth it for the reduced valvetrain noise.