Hey guys,

We're preparing a street/strip 440 for my friend's '69 Charger and I would need your recommendations for roller rocker arms choice

The 440 is currently as follows

Block: .055 overbored
Pistons: forged, measured CR about 9.8
Crank, rods & pistons precision balanced
Hydraulic cam: Comp Cams 21-225-4
Duration int/exh: 284/296, duration @ .050" Lift: 240/286, Valve Lift: 0.507/0.510, Cam Lobe-Center Angle: 110, but it was set at 106
Heads: 440Source, almost stock
Valve springs: Comp Cams 924-16, Seat load 112 @ 1.900, open load 355 @ 1.200
Intake: Eddy RPM
Headers: Hedman 1-3/4" primaries

We already bought a set of Proform rockers, but their quality was poor. Bushing machining was very very rough and the arm was a little bit too short to align perfectly with the valve tip.

What would you recommend to use with this setup 1.5 or 1.6 rockers and what brand???

I was looking for a set from ebag, PRW Rockers, but had never before heard from them. They looked nice in the picture, but I would not like to try them without any recommendations. The Proform set already was a disappointment, but it was rather cheap. Yes, I can ask myself, can you get good stuff with bottom low price



I would also like to have your opinion about the carb. We have a 750 cfm AVS Carter, but should I leave it on the shelf and buy a bigger carb?

All comments are more than wellcome



Here's link to PRW rockers and a picture PRW Rockers link

How much do you want to spend? Harland sharp would be a good choice, but not cheep! Crane Golds would be ok, if you can find them. Oh and leave the AVS on the shelf

I would look for a set of Isky or Crane iron rockers.I'm using the Crane iron rockers on my 440 that is almost the same combo as yours.

750 Holley is what I'd use.

Been running Crane gold rollers for 15 years now on my 340 with 1000s of miles so far. Also put them on my 440 in 2005, so far so good. I also used Crane gold roller rockers on 572 chevy with dart 360 heads. They held up great and never broke and I ran that engine close to 8K RPM.
I think they are a good middle of the road rocker priced fairly. I can't believe HS rockers are so high, but I'm sure there's a reason.

Roller rockers are one of the worst possible places to try to save money. That deserves repeating, Roller rockers are one of the worst possible places to try to save money.

I would use Isky or Crane Iron rockers instead of cheap roller rockers, every time. If you want/need rollers then you need to spend a lot more to get decent ones. Hughes, Crane Gold, Rockerarm Specialist & Harland Sharp come to mind for a mid range rocker. But honestly I think any roller rocker is unnecessary overkill with your cam. I have seen plenty of MP 509 cams run fine with stock stamped rockers but the rocker ratio is a little low with them and will likely cost a little power. I use Isky iron with a cam that has slightly less duration and slightly more lift than yours. The same set of rockers were used with .590 lift for several years with no problems but at that point one of the rollers mentioned above may be more appropriate.

If you really want a decent set of true aluminumm roller rockers , not a set of extruded roller tip rockers then buy a set of Harland Sharps or T&D. Niether set will be cheap, another option, especially for wht your doing is to buy a used set of ductile iron rockers and send them to R.A.S. (Rocker Arm Specialitys) and have them blueprint, bushed and change the ratio to 1.6
Way better way to go than buy a cheap set of aluminum non rolle rockers

I didn't even mention T&D and Jessel rockers for 2 reasons.
1. you seem to be looking for a budget solution and they aren't it
2. Horrendous overkill for your engine.

IMHO even the Sharps are overkill for this engine. I have Sharps on the shelf and Iskys in the motor.

Cab: How much $$ does RAS want to fixup the iron rockers like you described? How does the tip alignment and scrub look after changing the ratio?

You could probably get by with the stock rockers for that build. I got a set of Scat rollers at Carlise a few years ago for $150 new.

check out CV products in NC, got the best price for T&D rockers ask for the online discount that's 5% more savings

Yea, lets put $900 rocker arms on a .510 lift hydraulic cam.

Hughes makes a good rocker and not as expensive as harland sharp here is the link
http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/produ...mp;partid=22770
I run the 1.6:1 on my 505 13.1 comp 700+hp solid roller car.

Just use stock rocker arms on that cam.

if you really want adjustable rockers for that setup i'd look around for a clean used set of isky's or cranes as even these are expensive or harder to find new. shame there was a guy had a set of iskys in the moparts parts section for $100 but i'll bet they're gone now

Hi guys, thanx a lot for your answers

I have now much more ideas.

We have had some kind of budget and already have exceeded it , but the target is to make it right at once. Aim is to have such combo that will deliver many many years of care-free miles.

And first of all, BEAT the buddy's neighbour's FORD that is running high 12's. The FORD guy been burning sooo much tire at the front of our MOPAR garage that now it must come to an end.
Don't take this too seriously, but half true


OK, enough for joking, now back to the facts of this topic.

T&D, Jesel and Sharps are out of the budget.

Nobody was suggesting the 440 Source rockers, I guess why
I was looking at them at an other buddy's garage and I didn't like the tiny needle bearings they have. Some other brands seem to have alike too, like Cat. I have earlier heard that the fulcrum needle bearings have caused excessive wear on the rocker shaft?

I was also comparing the prices of ductile iron Isky and Crane, but they seem to more pricey than the Crane Gold set, even at shop list prices without any discounts.

Locally I could have a set of 1.6 Crane Gold rockers at an attactive price.

Most of the BB Mopar roller rocker sets seem to have offset rockers, left and right, but the PRW's look like they all are identical. Has anyone experience from them?

Would you prefer 1.5 or 1.6 ratio?

I forgot from the first mail some important specs of the car:
Converter: 2800 stall
Rear end: 3.73 or 3.91

What do you experts say, could this combo be enough to run high or mid 12's?

I know Charger is heavy, so should we break the piggy bank to increase the budget

Look in the engines and race parts for sale sections on this site.I'm sure there was a set of iron Crane's or Isky's for sale.

If that Charger doesn't run 12.40's at least,something is dead wrong.I think it will run faster.

We had a similar combo in a 64 Plymouth with steel heads and just ran the HD stamped rockers from Mopar Performance. With 3.91's the car weighed 3350 w/o driver and ran 11.70's in good air through a 3" exhaust. Get an 850 DP if you plan to race it alot. Smoke that Ford!