dove-c heads

ok i dont know about heads much and i have dove heads and they have the studs on them for the rockers and was wondering if i can put on guide plates and roller rockers or if i need to mill the heads for that or how much lift can you put with stock rockers but was thinking of putting rollers on i have the heads off now so if i need to mill them now would be the time and i am not sure if i want to do alluminum or stainless rocker of if it dont mater with a basic stock motor with just cam intake and header upgrades any help would be great thanks

the motor is a 71 d1ve block if this maters the heads cam off the same motor

If you intend to do it the right way have .220" milled off the rocker stud mounts. Reason for this is to compensate for the thickness of the guide plate. It also puts the guide plate in the right placesince the pushrods are angled. If you don't do this the rocker tip may not be centered side to side on the valve.

As for rocker arms, best ones are Crane gold, FRRP (blue ones),or one of the clones.

don't go over .540 on ther cam lift or you will have to have the guides cut down for the extra lift.

the guides have been milled for the cam but i didnt have them do anything with the studs as i didnt know i had to to put on rollers i have the heads off yet and thinking about running them back to him if i need to before i put them on unless i can run with stock rockers but from what i have found is that roller tips are recomended and i am on a tight budget with this one right now the extra 500 bucks to put rollers on would set me back a few weeks but if it would save me in the long run i guess i do what needs to be done

on my dove-c heads i didn't cut any off the stud mount and I ran a .649 lift with roller rockers and guide plates without any problems I just pulled them off and put A429 heads on.

did you have any port work with th e 649 lift

Yes I ported the exhaust ports and match ported the intake ports to a a victor intake I have ran the best of 6.78 in the 1/8 at 99.80 mph the truck with me in it is 3265 the engine is a 460 stock crank and rods with flat top speed pro pistons Rany M designed the cam for it.

If you want to do it correctly then they should be milled down. The guide plates are made for the CJ head which had the pads lower and the alignment of the guide plate is spaced accordingly.

That all said what matters is that the rocker is centered side to side. If it is then no problem. Many times if you don't mill the mounting pads you will see that the rockers are a little off to one side on the valve stem. A lot of guys don't even notice this or pay attention. You can cut the guide plates in half and adjust each one so the rocker is centered side to side then weld them back together.

As for rocker arms, the stock ones are what is called a "rail rocker" as it is located by the valve stem. They tend to chew up the stem and can wear to the point of contacting the valve retainer causing a dropped valve. I also would not use one over about .550" lift. A roller rocker is a better way to go if you are anything much more than stock.

There are many different rocker arms out there and some work a lot better than others on a BBF. Guys end up with all kinds of problems using the wrong rocker arms.

Best is to stick to the ones that work which is the 1.73 ratio Crane gold, FRRP blue, or clones of them. You will also have to get proper pushrods. Best way is to use an adjustable pushrod to determine proper lengths for intake and exhaust.

I would use a 7/16" stud, and 3/8" guide plates and 3/8" .080" wall hardened pushrods. If using a solid roller cam I'd use thicker wall pushrods and a stud girdle too.

All this is the proper way and will pay off in a more stable valvetrain. Some of what I wrote may not apply to you, but better you have more information than not.

Now lots of guys screw on some guide plates and studs, get god knows what rocker, and make it all work, but if you look close you will see it is not done right and sometime it gets by ok, other times not...

Steve

is there a way to make sure that the mill work has not been done already but i think that since i have them off i mar as well do it right so i dont have to do it again and the rollers would be better anyway

cturk1010 wrote:ok i dont know about heads much and i have dove heads and they have the studs on them for the rockers and was wondering if i can put on guide plates and roller rockers or if i need to mill the heads for that or how much lift can you put with stock rockers but was thinking of putting rollers on i have the heads off now so if i need to mill them now would be the time and i am not sure if i want to do alluminum or stainless rocker of if it dont mater with a basic stock motor with just cam intake and header upgrades any help would be great thanks

if you all ready have screw in studs you only have to mill .110 or the thickness of the guideplate you are using, and chamfer the hole for the tapper the the back side of some studs have,DONE


JUST MAKE SURE NOONE ELSE HAS MESSED WITH THEM ALREADY

cturk1010 wrote:is there a way to make sure that the mill work has not been done already but i think that since i have them off i mar as well do it right so i dont have to do it again and the rollers would be better anyway

YES,look at the threads if not done they wont come to the top of the boss


feel free to call me
815-712-8738

I have seen some head bosses not milled and the Lunati blue rockers rub the fillet on the top side of the stud nut on the bottom of the rocker and gauld and break a push rod and flatten a cam lobe.

Check everything close if you don't mill them. You can also buy a cutter tool from Comp Cams and several other company's that allow you to mill them down yourself with a good hand drill. You just need to make sure you take the same amount off all of them.

The tool is about 45.00 bucks

BOSS 429 wrote:


if you all ready have screw in studs you only have to mill .110 or the thickness of the guideplate you are using, and champfer the hole for the tapper the the back side of some studs have,DONE


JUST MAKE SURE NOONE ELSE HAS MESSED WITH THEM ALREADY

Not if you want the heads to match the Ford Motor Company blueprints for a guideplate & stud, adjustable valve train to get that guideplate in the correct height location.
The heads will require .220"/.230" removed from the pedestals to match the Ford prints for a 68-72 adjustable valve train head.

It will probably WORK with less milled from the stud pedestals.

rmcomprandy wrote:

BOSS 429 wrote:


if you all ready have screw in studs you only have to mill .110 or the thickness of the guideplate you are using, and champfer the hole for the tapper the the back side of some studs have,DONE


JUST MAKE SURE NOONE ELSE HAS MESSED WITH THEM ALREADY

Not if you want the heads to match the Ford Motor Company blueprints for a guideplate & stud, adjustable valve train to get that guideplate in the correct height location.
The heads will require .220"/.230" removed from the pedestals to match the Ford prints for a 68-72 adjustable valve train head.

It will probably WORK with less milled from the stud pedestals.

lol lol , you better recheck the TSB FOR THAT, I'm looking at mine right now

I know what a TSB is ...but...what Randy is refering to was in the FRPP/SVO/FMS catalog for over a decade. Like Blake said....

"I have seen some head bosses not milled and the Lunati blue rockers rub the fillet on the top side of the stud nut on the bottom of the rocker and gauld and break a push rod and flatten a cam lobe"

I.m.o. mill the boss at least 3/16".

Does this info go for C9 heads as well? I have a set at a shop right now getting hardened seats put in the exh. side and springs installed, this would be the perfect time to get the stud bosses cut down. If I have followed this correctly, 3/16 would be the correct amount?

Thanks,
Dave S.

wvmudder wrote:Does this info go for C9 heads as well? I have a set at a shop right now getting hardened seats put in the exh. side and springs installed, this would be the perfect time to get the stud bosses cut down. If I have followed this correctly, 3/16 would be the correct amount?

Thanks,
Dave S.

Yes C8-C9-D0 mill them all about .230 but as Lem said .1875 will work, if your doing it with a hand drill, it won't be near the work.

But everything looks and works better at about .230. Go on and do it.

at the risk of sounding stupid, I didnt think that you needed guide plates on iron heads... I am about to build up some dove heads now to run with a mild cam and I didnt but any.

you need something to hold the rocker on the valve and rollers dont have anything to do that so the guide plates keep them in line stock rockers dont need guide plates cause they have the sides that cradel the valve stem and keep them in the correct spot

cturk1010 wrote:you need something to hold the rocker on the valve and rollers dont have anything to do that so the guide plates keep them in line stock rockers dont need guide plates cause they have the sides that cradel the valve stem and keep them in the correct spot

good to know

Stock Dove c head,700 lift cam, 2'' installed height, aint sure about spring dia. What all has to be done to this head?
I seen where the rocker stud boss has to be milled down .230. What about the guid boss and the spring pocket dia? And do a longer rocker stud have to be used?
Thanks

stud boss has to be milled down for the guide plates the spring base has to be milled for the bigger springs and when you get to that size lift you have to mill the valve guides down so you don't push them with the rocker make sure you mill enough to still get the seal in without contact to spring retainer longer studs will be needed

Got to watch the tip length and valve length going to 2" installed height.

Im sure it posted somewhere but im gonna ask like this. Hell some times i confuse myself. What's to be done to a dove c head to get it race ready? i mean how much to have milled off the,
Stud boss
Guid boss
And what's to be done to the spring pocket?
The cam is gonna be a solid flat tappet with the direct oiling In the 630-650 lift range.
Not sure on spring dia nor installed height.
Thanks