Ok I finally broke down and went to Koffels in Walled LK and put my B1's on account(as they call it)..$3100 for the kit didnt come with valve springs,retainers, or locks but Ill talk to Rich when its time to set all that up.. Had a chance to talk with him (about 1 1/2 hours) about the Original style rocker arms and why my friend Bill was haveing problems with them coming "unglued".. He says the most common problems are upside down shafts and incorrect geometry like pushrod length and pushrod deflection.. He has had people break all kinds of rockers of all brands.. Something to do with the heat treatment process and overheating the rockers and loseing the strength..Something along that line which actually made some sence.. So Bill was happy and I was convinced that if setup properly the Original rockers should hold up just fine.. Rich even added since you guys are from around here bring the car/motor whatever the case might be and he will slap on a fixture he has for setting them up to operate properly.. But in any event thats what I call Customer Service!
We talked more about applications and the heads more than price or downpayments.. Now at Muscle Motors both times they were more worried about how much money I was looking to spend! But when I called today and had mentioned that I had Roger and Son do my 4.25 crank (after they wanted to sell me another) they wanted to know all about Roger and his crew.. (maybe they want to get ahold of them to do some cranks
)....Ill still have another grand or so into cam,lifters, springs etc. but Rich will still beat MM by about a grand.. They even have an engine dyno at a reasonable price.. Now since we are such Good Buddies I wonder if he would let me slap it on there once I bring it to setup the rockers! LOL..
Dont mean to blab but being a budget racer who pretty much trys to build or fabricate anything he can (usually with good results) this is a big step in the right direction not the mention a great X-mas gift for myself!
Thanks Ken for the words of encouragement..
Not bad 800 HP from a out of the box head..