Jeep Strokers

I talked to Harland Sharpe last week, they said that they would build a shaft style system, They wanted me to send them the head. I was planning on using the Hesco Aluminium head, and I don't have it yet . A shaft system would be able to go to 1.8 or more. Please let me know if anybody else is interested in a set, it would help reduce the price the more sets that are ordered. I will keep you posted.

I was the sales manager for T & D shaft rockers for 6 years. They will build a set of shaft rockers for the Hesco head if Hesco will send them a head w/2 valves and let them machine the pedastals for their stand. It will take a couple of months for the engineering and 1st articles so it would be best if Hesco sent them a head. They will aslo want a commitment for at least five sets so Hesco would be the best bet as they will set him up as a dealer and he can pre-sell sets while in engineering. They will want a block cam and lifter so they can use the correct fulcrum length rocker as they have 1.450", 1.520", 1.650", 1.750" and longer fulcrum lengths to choose from and will want to correctly place the pushrod in the hole as well as align the roller tip properly. I live in the same town and can get them a block and cam. A set of shaft rockers will likely go for between $700 and $1000 so they are not for the faint of heart. They are like the Jesel's as they use paired rockers on shafts mounted to a stand and they are of equal or better quality (they currently supply Hendrick, RCR, and Evernham). They are available in 1/2 ratio increments from 1.5 to maybe 1.8 depending on the fulcrum lenght they use to build the set.

One thing to bear in mind with ALL aluminum rockers is that depending on cylinder pressure, spring pressure, and RPM the exhaust rockers have a limited life span. With the engines you are talking about this would be in the 65K mile range and maybe a little better depending on actual usage. Blown or Turbo motors are going to be less due to the cylinder pressures the exhaust valve opens against.

Actual horsepower gains are going to be small on a ratio to ratio comparison with the primary gain being valvetrain stability, which honestly with the RPM's these engines are seeing should not be an issue. It's a lot of money for a little HP gain and some added Valve Train stability in an engine like this but if someone were to put a billet roller cam in one and try to buzz it 7K RPM it would be a different story.

Why not just make build the rockers to fit the Jeep head instead of just the hesco head. Probably more of a market for the standard head.

SilverXJ wrote:Why not just make build the rockers to fit the Jeep head instead of just the hesco head. Probably more of a market for the standard head.

True story......

I had a hard time swalling the cost of bolt on roller rockers, couldn't dream of dishing out the funds to include the Hesco head

while I was there we kicked around the idea of making rockers for the stock head but no one ever callled us and requested them so we never made them. We used to make sets for a very few stock heads because the managements view is that very few people that have not invested in an aftermarket head are going to invest in $1K set of rocker arms. The good news is that while the Hesco head was there they would also like to have a stock head for comparison and would have the information on file to build a set for a stocker as well. It's a matter of getting engineering to take on the project based on what the companies "mission statement" of is and then sliding the stock stuff in the back door but you are still talking about very expensive rockers and while I run them on my big motor (Mopar 540" B1) personally I would not buy them for my wife's driver.

I guess my requirement is not normal, we plan to run our engine in the 7,500 rpm range. We will be using a Hesco head, and maybe a roller cam. I agree that the average person would not need these rockers. One issue with the currently available rockers is that you cannot get a adjustable rocker over a 1.6 ratio. Yella Terra makes a 1.7, but you have to shim it to adjust it. To go to the higher ratio, you have to move to move the pivot, so you have to go to a shaft setup.

As people want more performance, they will want all the good stuff thats is available for the V8s.

You would be a good candidate for a shaft rocker....roller cam...high RPM

Knowing what I do about valvetrain I could never run a stud mount rocker, roller or otherwise, on a serious performance motor again as they have a series of design flaws that compromise correct valve action. Sure they get us down the road but even some of the production engines that came out of the big three chose to use shaft rockers to stabalize the valvetrain and a stud mount roller rocker is actually a step backwards from those designs.

Something that has baffled me for a long time is how people can spend 1K each on crank, rods, pistons and then a few grand on heads and try to top off the engine with $250 worth of rockers. The valvetrain in a pushrod engine is the most likely place to see failure and much of it can be catastrophic.

BTW It is not uncommon nor undesireable to shim rocker stands in a shaft rocker application to acheive proper roller tip position and motion across the valve...the key is to establish correct rocker geometry and then buy a pushrod that is the correct length for the application.

I would not want to run a solid lifter cam and have to shim the rockers, I think an adjustable rocker is a must.
I was talking to Harland Sharpe about Jeep shaft rockers, right now they are the only major company that is making a adjustable roller rocker for the Jeep I6. The rockers that Hesco sells are the Harland Sharpe. They said that 3 years ago they hardly sold any, but last year they sold quite a few, so it seems like the demand is increasing for performance parts for the 4.0 The price point is a killer, not many people are going to spend $1,000 on rockers. You can build a good reliable stroker for 3k easy, The performance increase you get by putting another 4 or 5 k into it could probably not be justified by most people.

Not interested in the Jesel setup?

FYI the Jesel rocker arm kits come with shims to correct the height of the rocker arms. There is nothing wrong with using shims to achieve the proper height, but I do agree with you on having a poly lock so that you can adjust the lash on a solid lifter.

I have never shimmed the rockers on my Jesel set up and they have been on three different heads. We just measured the difference from the valve tip to the rocker pedistal and milled accordingly. If it's done right the first time there should be no need for shims to correct geometry UNLESS valve length has been changed. Valve lash is adjusted on the rocker arm with the Jesel setup which is the norm for a shaft system.

Shims came with my Harland Sharps too. You shouldn't need them with a good valve job.

Harland Sharpe makes 3 different rockers for the AMC 6, the first is a studmount that uses a polylock to adjust it, and requires the head to be machined and guide plates be added. they cost about $320, but you have to add in the cost of the guide plates and the machining.

The second and third products are pedestal rockers, one is adjustable and one is not. the non adjustable one is about $380.00 and the adjustable one is $450. The non adjustable one would require shims, and the adjustable one would not. Both pedestal rockers have a rod between them so you do not have to use guide plates. I believe the adjustable pedestal rockers are the same one that Hesco sells.

Mine are the adjustable pedestal mount. They came with shims to adjust the valve stem to rocker alignment if necessary.v

BTW, its 'Sharp' not 'Sharpe'

Chris, any need for a valve cover spacer with those?