I noticed that Comp Cams has a set of rail type ford rocker arms with small roller tips that apparently bolt right in place of the stock ones. Has anyone used them?
Yup..I used them on my old 302 when I rebuilt it. I also used the Comp Cams adustable valvetrain kit, which was bascially hardend washers and a lock nut...but it allowed me to adjust the rockers as opposed to just torquing them down. With a stock refresh, a 4 barrel carb and a Comp Cam 268 camshaft the car ran 13.77 in the quarter. This was with 3:50 gears in the rear. So the rockers work good..but if you redo your heads..I would suggest to go to guide plates and then use the non-rail type. My worry with the rails was if at any point the rocker was loose enough to place the rail portion onto the vavle tip..I would seriously bind and destroy sometime..which in my case would be the most expensive thing it could find.
I used them for a number of years, since they don't rub across the top of the valve they prevent side loading the valve stem and wearing the valve guide. For about $60 more you can get full roller rockers, Crane Energizers. The fulcrum area is where the most friction is developed.
