Rocker arms (here we go again)

[fekbmax]

Ok, which is the best, strongest, most durable standard sized shaft rocker arms for the FE . ?
Dove h/d ?
Harland sharp ?
PoP ?
Crane gold ?
Shelby stainless ?
T/D Street/sportsman ?
Something else?
Bushed, non bushed, or bearings ?
Small roller tips or larger ?

[fryedaddy]

im no expert,i would like to know too.i dont know if its true or a bunch of bull, but i heard somewhere that there has been no reported dove rocker arm failures. i didnt know there were that many different companies made fe rockers. pretty good list you got there.

[cammerfe]

I asked that question of Ray Paquet several years ago. His answer was, "Dove HD. Put 'em in and forget 'em."

They are available from Dove.

KS

[Nightmist66]

A couple more for the list:
FPP- the pre- POP style rocker
Erson
Rocker Arms Unlimited- http://www.rockerarms.com/pages/rollerrockerarms4.html
PRW/Speedmaster- Not a fan of the cheap Chinese stuff

I'm no expert either, but from what I've gathered, it seems like the T&D "race" setup is the best. For conventional FE stand/single shaft setup, I couldn't say which would handle the most abuse. The biggest problem would probably be the four stand fasteners pulling from the heads with heavy spring pressures.

[fekbmax]

I forgot about the RAU's, thanks for the reminder..  The only reason I didn't include FPP or PSE is because of availability.
I'm a big fan of the erson rockers, id love to have another set but they use the smaller shaft and sadly they are no longer available. The TnD race is a given, no question. I'm talking standard shaft dia rockers,useing standard oiling, no pushrod oiling.

[jholmes217]

Oregon Cam Grinding has a system also, and you can still use the drain-back tins with his system.  Link to a couple pictures of it here.  http://www.oregoncamshaft.com/428-FE.html

[jayb]

I've had the standard Dove rockers fail with high spring pressures, but have never heard of the HD Dove rockers failing.  Can you still get the HD Dove parts?  The other ones to keep your eyes peeled for are the Iskenderian ductile iron  rockers; they are nearly indestructible.  They are not roller tip rockers though.

[fryedaddy]

i have a set of isky rockers from back in the 70s,is that the ones your talking about,or are the good ones newer than that?

[TorinoBP88]

I dont know how well they work on supper big roller cams, but the harland sharps are really nice, and i have never seen one break that i can recall.

[fekbmax]

I think the HD Dove are still available, or kinda lol. I have 9 brand new h/d rockers , I think sets can be had but I'm if I can get them separately. I like the looks of the bushed pop's but wonder about the strengths. I have 5 or 6 Harland sharp rockers from the late 90's that have broken or cracked at the roller tip. I'm working on a mounting system for both standard size shafts and the smaller erson setup. I'm thinking that erson must be pretty decent cause no one wants to part with any pieces or half or full sets of them. How about the TnD sportsman setup, do they use he standard dia shafts ? I'm guessing those rockers are as good a quality as there are rockers. Although I have seen a couple TnD rockers broke just like the one on Jays older speed weeks post. I also like the looks of the Oregon support, would be a good starting point for a 9 point mounting system. I'm more concerned now though with the rockers themselves, standard size shafts. Has anyone ever seen or chewed on a set of the 'rocker arms unlimited' rockers?
Come on guys, which is it, Dove, PoP, Harland sharp, TnD, RAU, . looks like the Harland sharp and PoP are the only ones you can put your hands on in a day or two.

[KMcCullah]

For flat tappet situations, Harland-Sharp gets my vote.   

[manofmerc]

Sometimes I believe I am the only person running the crane gold rocker assembly .When they first come out pricing was inexpensive .I paid around $500 for mine about 2005 .Now I believe they cost closer to $900 Mine have been trouble free .BUT when I started setting them up I ran into problems .I had to have the stands milled to center my valve stem to rocker arm contact pattern.I believe I had .100 milled off my stands which are steel by the way.Afterwards Crane supposedly took care of this issue .I guess that is when the price went up.This is on a street car sft cam so no roll cam valve spring pressures .But still my spring pressures are 365-385 open .At the time I didn't have any rocker assemblies and wanted to use arp studs for my edelbrock heads .The crane kit worked for me .Doug

[My427stang]

Sometimes I believe I am the only person running the crane gold rocker assembly .When they first come out pricing was inexpensive .I paid around $500 for mine about 2005 .Now I believe they cost closer to $900 Mine have been trouble free .BUT when I started setting them up I ran into problems .I had to have the stands milled to center my valve stem to rocker arm contact pattern.I believe I had .100 milled off my stands which are steel by the way.Afterwards Crane supposedly took care of this issue .I guess that is when the price went up.This is on a street car sft cam so no roll cam valve spring pressures .But still my spring pressures are 365-385 open .At the time I didn't have any rocker assemblies and wanted to use arp studs for my edelbrock heads .The crane kit worked for me .Doug

I bet if you searched the FE forum, my challenges with those in 2005/2006 come up.  I had the same fight as you, except Crane was trying to make it good since they had just came out.  In the end, they told me they wanted to work with me, but couldn't give me a timeline, but if I cut them myself, I owned them. Unfortunately mine seemed to have more issues than just a cut, they also pushed the push rods into the intake, even in a closed position.  I needed a set of rockers and bought Ersons instead

Do they even sell them anymore?  Crane went out of business for a while, I don't pay much attention to them, easier and just as cheap to go Bullet cams

[fekbmax]

Idk if they still make them or not. I know I have seen a couple sets of NOS ones on e bay. From my understanding crane is going strong and more focused on there roots, camshafts and components.

[thatdarncat]

Keep in mind that if you use the Dove end stand system it limits your valve cover choices.