I could not agree more!

Th Isky plate take more time to install but your Valve train alighment is perfect(if dome correctly) from then on I tried many different plates before going to them and will use nothing but them on the LTx heads now.

Lots of good info in this post!

 

TF has some weird valve spacing and they are probably NOT the same.
People will learn one day that mixing and matching parts without having done it before don't work UNLESS YA CHECK them more than once.Reading a post is NOT the same thing as checking,it's just somebody's opinion as maybe ya have seen.
Ya file the slot too much and they won't do their job.

 

IMO most have seen TOO many engine building contests on TV and think they can build an engine in 20 minutes.
They don't realize the background of the people IN those contests and the camera don't show the ones that don't crank or the ones that are pouring oil out of the pan or the ones that crank but don't run the required length of time.
This is from guys that build engines in a NASCAR shop(probably not rookies) and have rehearsed it 100 times with everything laid out just so so and all the tools laid out too.

 

I don't have a problem running the Isky adjustables but just by looking at my stuff I thought I could slot the guideplate boltholes to slide them over a little more but have yet to try it. I will buy the Iskys if I have to but the reason this was not checked is, I swapped heads in the car and didn't get to double check it. Later

 

Update,
I have installed my case hardened GM guideplates. Since I have the 7/16" studs there is less than .015 or less of wiggle room for adjustment.

I bolted on all four on the left side, torqued them down and they are dead nuts on. The roller tip is evenly placed on the valve and any offset when twisting the rocker is equal on both sides. Rocker geomentry also appears to be dead nuts on.

It appears that with the bigger 7/16" the installation is nearly fool proof, the plates simply center themselves within a few hairs of perfect. I am now convinced that there was no issue with the install of the previous GM plates that could have caused this abnormal wear. It must have been caused by something else like the old cheap hardened PR's.

I have also installed brand new thunder racing chromoly 7.20" pushrods. Hopefully I will get the right side of the engine done tomorrow before a weeks vacation on Saturday.

 

Good luck with it. Make sure you check them after luike 50 miles or so of driving to make sure there is not another condition causing it. Doubtful, but stranger things have happened.

 

The threaded part of your 3/8 where always 7/16 thread size. Make sure ya torque the studs to at least 50 ftlb's.

 

This is true, however these Comp cams studs have a slight flare at the top of the threads. Maybe that helps to center things up. I will definitely check them several times in the near future.

I will also be yanking the head to replace that slightly beveled valve stem. I am really thinking about swapping in a CC503 cam while I have the intake off. I would really like to just have the heads ported but thats out of my budget right now.

Again thanks all

 

how did you get them case hardend???

 

I have a question in this same field. I bought some Scorpion 1.7 RR and havent installed them yet. I got new valve springs and retainers and also GP my car is a 93 so it came with hardened PR's. Should I measuer something to see if I need other PR's? I noticed in this post about 7.1 and 7.1 length PR's and want to make sure I am OK. It was my understanding my PR's were the correct ones (whatever length they are) but better safe than sorry.

 

Using a 1.7 rocker will put alot of stress on the whole valve train. If you are going 1.7 you dont want to skimp anywhere.

Get good guideplates, either GM or ISKY adjustables. And get the best pushrods you can afford. Whats an extra $100 if you dont have to deal with the same problems the starter of this thread had to ? Buy comp Hi Techs or equivilent pushrods. I personally wouldnt use the stock pushrods, hardened or not, for any kind of performance valve train set up. Or, at least not on a NSA rocker.

 

What size do I want though? I thought the GM hardened pushrods where decnet quality. I also have to GM guideplates

 

We have some stuff in a can that looks like grey powder iron particles. I heat the plate up to cherry red with an oxy/acetylene torch and dip it in the mystery powder. This is repeated 3 times. When the part is in the powder it puts off an odor that smells exactly like cat **** and ammonia. This forces more carbon into the surface of the guide plate.

Then it is heated again and dipped in water to quench it.

Wait a while then heat it again, put it in the powder. Heat a last time and dip it in the water.

When a file is drawn over the face it wont cut at all. Before the process the file would easily cut the face. I cant say how much harder the plate is, but I am guess it is quite a bit harder than before.

Also if you try to scratch the two plates like with a punch awl, the non treated plates easily scratches deep and the treated plate does not leave a scratch or blemish.

The process is normally done to harden tooling.

 

still won't help if they aren't aligned. Good luck though, let us know how they work for ya.

 

Update,
I have inspected my in house "hardened" GM pushrod guideplates for wear.

There is absolutely no wear or indentations period to any of the guideplates including the one I am still using on that rounded over valve stem. If any of the slots were going to show wear it would have been this particular one.

The hardening process appears to be a total success.