I'm going through a set of 041 SBC heads to go on a somewhat mild street engine for my 57. I'm thinking I should upgrade the stock valves. Engine has a Howards hydraulic roller cam, .510/.530 lift. Won't see more than around 6k rpm. Spring pressures are 120lb on the seat and a little under 350lbs max. Single springs with dampers. I'm looking at 1pc stainless valves and don't want to go too cheap and have it drop a valve but I also don't want to spend $500 on 1.94/1.50 valves. I'll spend that money when I do a set of 2.02s. So what is a good budget valve that would maybe run me around $200 and not break in a 6k rpm hydraulic roller street engine? I'm looking at Compe***ion Products severe duty house brand valves, they are $14 a piece but can't find many reviews on them. Seems like Manley is questionable quality unless you buy the $35/ea. race valves. Anyone use these CP valves before? Or what's your recommendation?
I’ve had good luck with the Manley severe duty valves in both my Ford and Mopars. I only turn them 6500 or so, all have mechanical cams.
I’d get the best 1.94/1.60 I can afford. 2.02’s will have more shrouding eventho not much over the 1.94’s. A good cylinder head machinist knowing how to correctly work the bowl area just under the valve seat can get higher flow out of slightly smaller valves until you reach the higher rpm (over 6000) How often are you planning on 6K? . As for Completion Products I have found everthing with the exception of their red valve seals to be very good products.
I always tell myself it's not going to be a race engine but then five seconds later there I am powershifting it at 7k. So eventually I'd like to build a nice set of 2.02s to go on my 327. But...The idea with this current roller engine and 1.94/1.50 valves is a dead reliable highway driving engine to take me on cross-country road trips. I never end up going to the track, just the occasional romp when I happen to be away from any traffic. I'm thinking I'm going to pull the trigger on the Compe***ion Products valves for these heads and then go with the Manley severe duty valves later on when I build the real 'race engine' with the bigger valves and machine work.
https://www.compe***ionproducts.com...SB-194-150-Valves-Hyd-FT/productinfo/CMP8511/ A friend gave me a pair of bare 462 heads and I used this kit on them, I think. So far, so good. I probably have over 10K miles on them now. Gary
120 on seat not enough , Hyd roller sbc requires / recommends 160-180 on seat , even @ 6k on that mild roller. Stock GM 5.7 Vortec heads , 95-2001 ish Roller head , would have to check guide Clarence and Coil bind , close to max on stock head .515 ish lift
Springs are what Howards recommended, came with the cam... These are 69-70 model versions of the hump heads not late model junk
Vortec will out flow a set of 2.02 , double humps , I probably have 6 or so sets , you drop the $ in the double hump, only good for restoration or cl*** rules Can get a nice set of 190 cfm head same or less , severe duty valves are not needed unless you plan on 7000 RPMs plus majority the time, The spring pressure is a Hyd pressure, I do not know why there spring recommendations are so low in the catalog , when I talk to tech-support about a camshaft I was told 160- 180 on seat for R Hyd under .550 , By Howard's Crower , C C , Lunati
I'm with Eddy - on my AFR SBC 195 heads I have a hydraulic roller that lifts .585 with HS 1.6 rockers and I'm running springs that are 155lbs on the seat, open - about 400lbs at .600 with a spring rate of 428 lbs.
Actually it'll have a little more than 120lbs on the seat, they are 120lbs at 1.800" and I was having a Ford moment, think SBC is around 1.700" installed height. Will verify all this when I mock it up of course, still collecting parts right now. I'm a period correct kinda guy so none of the main parts will be newer than '60s on this car. Won't be able to see the roller cam and rockers so I'm upgrading that stuff for durability. If I saw center bolt valve covers on a 57 I'd have to puke.
I think the CP house brand 'severe application' valves should be a good compromise for what I'm going for, I'm not hearing of any issues so they should give me peace of mind when it's running 3500 down the highway for long hours. Just want something a little more durable than stock. Thanks guys
I'm not an expert on these early heads, but you'll want to know if the valve lengths will give you enough room for the springs you're running - so you don't get coil bind. Also, the rockers need to support whatever valve lengths you'll be running. I imagine you'll be running roller rockers. I wonder what valve covers will clear them? (No clue on my end).
I'm going to mock up the stock valves and make sure that stock length will work without running into the guides or coil bind. If it all has room I'll order stock length valves or whatever I need from that point. I would ***ume I can order longer valves and then shim the springs if needed. I have a set of original Harland Sharp roller rockers on longer ARP screw in studs so I'll be able to set everything where I want it then order the right length pushrods. I have a set of old M/T valve covers that should clear but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.
I ran the valves I purchased over the Chevy dealer's parts counter in my race engines for years. Never had a failure.
With the lift you stated in your original post,,,,,the stock length will work fine . I had several friends that back in the day,,ran Comp .525-.525 cams with no problem at all . You should go with better springs because of the hyd. roller deal,,,,,and good stainless valves are a plus to be safe . But you don’t need high dollar valves,,,,the normal ones will be more than adequate . If you will check the valve height after ***embly with the checking tool Squirrel posted,,,,you might even get away with normal pushrods for a roller . This isn’t a racing combo,,,,,,it’s actually a very nice build,,,,but you really don’t need the extravagant parts . If you have done this before,,,,you don’t have anything to worry about,,,these engines run very well with what they have mostly. Tommy
Thanks, I just wanted to be sure what the 'good budget' SS valves were. I spend days researching brands before I ever buy parts anymore, you never know when a company will start cheaping out and things change every day it seems. China has gotten good at making a lot of their junk look just like the real deal so I get nervous about picking "budget friendly" parts anymore.
Yes , 95% of center bolts are Ugly and not all are made equal,, for eye appearance you really have to shop around and not look for the cheapest part " " Valve Covers """ On Open hood engine I have took time to buy , make , fabricate to install traditional valve covers to the center bolt heads, Aluminum and steel , 1987 heads & 1998 , Vortec Big bang for Free or few hundred, D -H heads you can rap 1k to 1,500 easy Especially if you cannot do the work yourself,, you can easily pick up a set of good used 200 cfm for 700-1k
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