I know generally alot about our cars. I have a 93 TA and am going to buy a set of used 985 springs. My question is...

1.) will these hold a lt4 hotcam in the future with 1.7's.
2.) which 1.7's do I need from flatlanderracing. Which model.
3.) what else will I need. I read the post on guideplates and stuff like that but I am not sure what these are, and if I am buying these springs,
4.) do I need anything machined on my heads, or will they just go right in.
5.) while I am in there. should I be replacing anything else, looking at anything else?

Thanks alot for your input as I want to order the stuff this weekend .

Right now I want to get springs and 1.7's. Later on get the hotcam and be flying down the road.

Tim

 

This post is borderline ancient, but I would be curious about this aswell

 

There's nothing borderline about the ancient part.

1.7's generally have valvetrain geometry issues without a lot of extra checking and possibly longer rocker studs. 1.6's work just fine, and the extra 6.25% lift generally isn't worth the headache. To put that into perspective, with an extra 6.25% lift, a .500 lift becomes a .531. However, if your valvetrain geometry isn't spot on, you might not see any additional power, or might even have a power loss.

 

I'm running two sets of Scorpions- NO, not on the same engine, LOL

I installed a set of 1.7s on my 388 three years ago and recently, installed another set of Scorpions on my son's 96 LT1 Vette. They're extremely quiet (when guys post about their noisey valve trains I just smile) and really good looking, high quality rockers.

I've lost count of all the posts I've read where guys were pulling out their hair trying to quiet down their noisely valve train. I mean they tried just about everything they could think of try to solve the noise issue. They've changed lifters (think about what's involved in doing that), pushrods, valve springs, valve covers (trying to muffle the sound) different weight oil, but their valve trains remained noisey.

Most were running Pro Magnums, but a few were running Crane Golds. One guy thought it was his lifter preload setting procedure and, after re-adjusting the preload a few times with no improvement, he figured it was something he was doing wrong, so took the car to a shop to have them re-adjusted yet again. When he paid and got the car back, after a long time at the shop, noise was still there.

I've run Crane Golds and CompCams Pro Magnums and, to me, and - advertising hype aside - Scorpions look and run a lot better. Once you hold one in your hand you'll see what I mean. Those suckas look and feel like they mean business. They're less expensive too; I bought mine for $222 a set and they come really nicely packaged.

I mistakenly order SCP 1072s for my son's engine (meant to order 1026s) which are 1.7/1.65s, but due to time constraints, I didn't return them for an exchange.

I went with NON Self-Aligning 7/16" of both engines because I'm a STRONG believer in NSA rockers, especially after reading all the posts of failures of Self-Aligning rockers, along with photos of the carnage they caused, one some Forums.

On my engine, with SCP 1026s and many thousands of miles of use since I installed them, I haven't a single issue. My son regularly pegs his tach and the Scorpions keep coming back for more. I HIGHLY recommend them.

Rememer, the correct pushrod length is the length that results in the correct geometry. So don't get locked in on a specific "number". There a several variables that effect pushrod length. Always check and verify what length pushrod is "RIGHT" for you specific combination. As an example, my 388 needed 7.500" but my son's needed 7.200" pushrods. Varibles at play.

Far too many guys don't bother to or even know how to check valve train geometry and they don't take the time to learn. Next comes the period of pulling out their hair when the mod doesn't perform as expected. It's one of the most ignored parts of engine mods, right along with degreeing-in the cam and custom gapping rings.

As far as the springs you're considering, I can't say without all the specs on the springs. You should post them here to save all of us the need of looking them up.

I just posted another response on the other thread you started on the same issue.

Hope some of this helps.

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

I emphatically recommend NON SELF ALIGNING rocker arms, which is re-inforced by the rash of recent posts of failed SELF ALIGNING rocker arms and the carnage they caused.

You'll need guide plates and hardened pushrods to make the swap complete.

For my money, they're the only way to go with the sole exception of a much more expensive shaft system.

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

what springs did you use for that cam.. i have seen your sig a billion times and never put two and two together that it might be a stretch using 918's with 1.7 rockers

 

I used Crane's 10308-1 Valve Spring Kit on my 388 engine. It comes with 1.460 doubles and I believe the springs are 99893.

My son's new Dart heads came with CompCams 987s, which came as doubles with a damper (which is in contrast to those I've found on the web which don't show them with the damper.)

I'm not a fan of a single spring setup, in spite of all the advertising hype. So, for me, beehives are not on my list. Also, because of the aggressive cam lobes I run, they're not well suited. As far as beehives, I've seen them advertised for only occasional drag race use.

When they were first released, they developed a bad rep for breaking. I've never been able to get over those failures even though some say the problem has been resolved by some company that nitride treats them.

Some guys blame their beehives for contributing to the excessive valve train noise they experience.

Just my view.

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

I have used scorpions 1.7s with patriot valve springs and they were fine on a stock engine with small cam and 7.2 p.r.