Mudbone Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Has anyone replaced their 1955 rocker arm assemblies with complete new units? I have found some new units for $200.00. They claim they are made in the US. I was concerned about the quality. Mine have a lot of wear. I will have to find good used ones or try the new ones. Mud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 What's worn? Shaft? Arms? Both?..............Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthbob Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I hear Russ Martin is tops with Nailheads...He has the rocker assy's here:Buick PartsConsiderably more that the 2 bills you posted tough....he also has the "correct" oil plugs for the Nailheads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudbone Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 What's worn? Shaft? Arms? Both?..............BobSome of the rockers are worn beyond resurfacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 MudI have not used the new ones you are looking at, but have had a set of rebuilt ones on my main driver for 70,000 miles with good service. I bought them from (now closed) Buick Specialists and they had the tip and socket refinished and the bore resleeved with brass(?). When I first installed there was a shower of oil (they had cut a groove from the bottom to the hole over the arm)...anyhow I ended up installing valve guide seals. My point is if you end up with those new arms look for that; it appears to be a good idea to get more oil spray than stock, but with no valve guide seals you will have a smoker.Two of my other nailheads have just new rocker shafts (TRW 42,000) with the best used rockers I could find to make a set. The ones you show are not that bad and if the bore was serviceable (good grooves showing) I would resurface the tip using a bench grinder and my 'calibrated eyeball' and smooth out the socket with grinding compound on and old pushrod. I installed a 56 cam, 56 lifters with 56 pushrods to give the same overall length as 55 parts. (I used 56 lifters because they are cheaper than 55, I needed new pushrods anyhow, and the currently available cams are a compromise (same part for 53-56 322 and 264) and are probably cast iron like the 56 (55 used steel with compatible lifters and distributor drive gear, which should be changed also). Also be aware that the new pushrods are constructed differently: a tube with balls attached at the ends ending up with a thicker rod that might contact casting remnants in the holes in the head. The only other trouble I have had with the new pushrods was a (larger than stock) ball came loose from the rod and lodged in the socket of the rocker ( never did get it out ), so now I drill the socket if needed to match the size of the ball.Another pitfall to look for: If the machine shop that does your heads needs to shim the valve springs, be sure that they do not put generic shims under the outer valve springs that cover the recess for the inner valve springs. This happed to me twice; I caught it the second time, but the first time it caused valve bind that resulted in bent pushrods, broken rockers, bent and broken rocker shafts, bent cam and broken webbing in the block.More later when you get to other parts of the engine...Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudbone Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Wow, that’s a lot that can go wrong. I hope to get the block and heads over to the machine shop tomorrow. They specialize in vintage engines and said they do a lot of nail heads. We will see if they are familiar with these problems. Thanks, Mud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudbone Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Here is a link to the ones I found on E-bay. MudeBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I thought you were indicating ones sold previously by this company: 2 Buick 264 322 rocker arm shafts 1953-56 all shaft | eBay...not a bad price on shafts unless your machine shop can find some cheaper (Hint: always let the machine shop see what they can get...it is usually cheaper, it is a part they trust, and easier to get help if trouble with the part.)Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Good points Old Tank! Yes by all means, I would contact Russ Martin. He has helped me out more than once and really knows his P's & Q's on the nail head engine. I would not consider taking my rocker arms and lifters out to a machine shop without first talking to Russ Martin. His shop is in Grass Valley, California. He sells parts on ebay as well and can tell you all you will need to know about parts and fitment issues and what to ask and check for when utilizing the services of a local machine shop as many have little or absolutely no experience with nail head engines. These as you know are not your everyday Ford or Chevy engines and need specialized attention to details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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