My 383 is getting close to completed and I have all the valve train except the pushrods and that's because they have to be measured. The summit catalog has some adjustable(Length checking) pushrods that you can purchase so you can properly figure out the correct length but they come in two variations.

Variation one: 5/16" diameter adjustable from 7.500 to 8.700 = $35.95
Variation two: 5/16" diameter adjustable from 8.500 to 9.800 = $35.95

As you can see by the price, I'm not anxious to purchase BOTH of these since this is a one time use in all likelyhood. Do you any of you LT1 solid roller guys know a ball park range for the pushrod lengths? The cam is a small base circle design, I'm using stock LT1 head castings that have been ported. The block has been zero decked and I'm using a Fel Pro head gasket with .039 compressed height. The heads have had a 'cleaning' cut of .010.
Thanks,
David K. Wilson

 

7.80 " for my normal base circle solid roller cam 383LT1 with GM LT4 heads and or TFS LT1 heads with Jesel shaft rockers.

I'd go with the 7.5 to 8.7 " checker.

Karl

 

Thanks Karl!

 

7.95" pushrods here with a solid roller cam, longer valves and lash caps.

 

Thanks for the reply. Did you ever get any recommendations from anyone regarding the cam drive gear? You know, the old SBC had to have a bronze distributor drive gear when the SBC user opted for a Solid Roller cam because of differences in metallurgy. I have a brand new gear coming for this cam install but a buddy of mine seems to think that the bronze gear is still necessary. Just checking for experiences on this.
Thanks,
Dave

 

My solid roller LE3 cam has a cast iron gear so using stock drive gear is not a problem.

 

Thanks for the speedy and informative replies!
Dave

 

What can you tell me about lash caps and why you elected to use them? I've read about them a long time ago but I've slept since then. Thanks!
Dave

 

Solid roller cams have a lot of spring pressure and operate at high rpms. Valve stems are a subject to a lot of pounding. Lash caps decrease stem wear.

 

I'd worry more about the pushrod diameter here as well.

Bret