Ive heard that certain brands of roller rocker arms for our cars were prone to breakage. I would like to convert my stock set-up to a reliable roller set up. Any info from the quire?
Chris
I have a very similar question about my 87 olds with a buick 3.8, apparently post 86 some models had roller rockers and some had flat tappet rockers.
VIN B with flat lifters
VIN 3 with roller lifters
My car's VIN is:1G3HY5135HW339038
since there aren't ANY "B"'s I'm guessing I have roller lifters, but which 3 denotes this?
Does this engine have roller rockers? If not where can I find quality higher lift roller rockers?
The eight digit is the engine vin code. Yours is #3, but I don't know if your engine has roller or not.
I was told by Lunati and Comp Cams that it IS a roller Cam. Will it have roller rockers too? This model had 200HP from the factory and definitely has a lot more go than the 3800 series I (1994).
Where can I get a bigger cam? I would like to add slightly more cam and high ratio roller rockers. Comp quoted 150 to re-grind my cam and 1000 for a custom grind. How much can they usually get from a re-grind? (duration and lift)
Hey Zenon!
If you're not married to a V6, you're far better off dropping in a SBC. In my case, '87 Salon T-tops, I chose the 502 BBC, built it up a teeny bit and have never looked back.
Good luck with whatever choice you make. They are really beautiful cars.
Ron
I've got a Delta 88 4 door FWD... converting a 4-wheel independent suspension to RWD, AND swapping in a V8 is a little bit too big of a piece for me to chew at this point... But thanks for the suggestion ;)
Being that this is the car I learned to drive in I have a certain gravity towards it... I think I'll keep this one, and if I ever go for the big #'s I'll do an AWD setup... You say BBC eh?...... :D
Alas, for now I'll try to find some high-lift roller rockers and try to convince my dad to let me port the heads.
This is reply to zenon.yes your car with vin code 3-rpo LG3 has roller lifters but conventional rockers. unfortunetly they are the pedistal type and are different than the LC2 turbo type. I have looked through every catalog and source I have and it seems nobody offers anything hi-po as far as the heads go. To bad you dont have to B code rpo LG2 engine because its short block is very simular to the LC2. Also did not find any camshafts kits either. Looks like if you want to make some power you are on your own.
This is a reply to Chris on his original post. I assume you are talking about rockers for the turbo motors. I personally dont have any experience with roller rockers but from what i have seen all the rollers appear to be quality parts. I think the problem is some rockers need some extra clearance were they pivot by the valve guides. Sometimes a cam with high lift or worn valve seats can cause a rocker arm to bottom out against the guide causing them to bind making the arm break. Hope this helps.
Thanks for all of the feedback gentlemen. I broke down and boueht roller rockers, rollercam, pushrods, springs etc... I have heard that with the way my car was set up, I could expect up to an .8 reduction in my ET's. We'll see about that as I will be taking it to the local track soon. So far my best ET was 11.33 on street radials.
Chris
Ah! Thanks Eric, now I you have reconfirmed what I’ve been hearing... and I also have an engine code now, LG3. By pedestal rockers, do you mean they look like a SBC?
My heads are Iron, do you know what casting they are... Or have any sources for a porting guide for them?
Thanks immensely for your help.
Yes they do look like sbc but actually I think they are closer to what an Olds v-8 uses. I was just looking through my parts catalog and your cylinder head is almost the same as a TTA. Dont know what casting number yours is but it uses the same rockers, valve covers and valves so I would think that finding some one to port them would be no big deal. Oh and by the way the B-code LG2 was only used in 1986 Buick Century and Olds Cierra.
Would something like this work?
http://www.compcams.com/information/Products/RockerArms/MagnumRoller.asp
>>>>> 1442-16G Oldsmobile V8 260-455 3/8" 1.6 <<<
What is my stock ratio? the idea was to up the ratio AND add the rollers.
Where are you getting all this NFO from? Finding NEthing out about this engine has been like pulling teeth.
oh, are they adjustable from the factory? Or will I need non-bottoming studs?
Hey there, I work at a Chevrolet dealer so I sometimes have the information for this stuff. I've done lots of weird projects in my life so this is nothing out of the ordinary. The Olds rocker arms will not work, totally different animal. I dont know what the ratio is but if I had to guess I would say 1.6 and they are non-adjustable. Have you tried to see if anybody has the information on the Turbo TA heads, roller rockers?
So you think I should start asking around for roller rockers for a turbo V6 Trans AM.
I realize they're non-adjustable now, the vortecs are the same way... But when gearheads want to make them non-adjustable they replace the studs with non-bottoming ones. That way I could also preload them the way David Vizard does or go to a bigger cam more easily.
Are you sure that they are that different (now that I know they're not shaft)? All that really matters is the dist bet the stud and the valve... Even if the threads are different I can always look for a stud with a diff thread... Or retapp if not.
Thanks so much for your help, you've been indispensable.