More Power Through Improved Rocker Arm Geometry 

Ralph was my dad's best friend. When my dad passed after fighting cancer for months. Ralph was there for me. When I would get a break from carrying for my dad.I would head over to Crane Cams and Ralph would share stories and help me deal with my emotional times. Thank you Ralph.

Holy cow that man was Smokey's right hand man.

That old man has forgot more than I will ever know! well done sir what a resume you have.

GREAT JOB! RJ is one of the founders of American Speed! THE INVENTOR of the Holley 4150 racing carb! Thank you RJ! Thanks for getting him on video!

It's amazing how you can learn from the old timers that have been around since the 40s. Awesome

Absolute genius! It makes perfect sense the way that this gentleman explains it! I am a master mechanic from the military I worked on jet engines and for a time I even taught physics. This gentleman no surprise with his experience is an absolute genius.! He even worked on the Chevy small block development! What an honor to have instruction from such a caliber of Man! Perfect explanation for me!

Wow.. that man helped design the 283 small block !!!!!

Ralph, Thanks for passing along some of your years of information very helpful to many that will view. Mike Caruso

Outstanding! It's hard to find true, reliable, expert info like this.

Now that’s some history to be proud of for sure

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I get it. It's an honor sir.

Knowledge is power 👍love watching these video

wow, yes! Great info. Very interesting.

Wow, great info! Thanks.

Very Informative. At CRANE CAMS Ralph was known as "The Big Johnson Bumpstick"

This guy is a true legend 🇺🇸👍

this,man.is a genius

I’ve learned to listen to these Wylie Veterans. These guys are the salt of our earth in my views.

great info

I got Johnson hi-lift rockers on my -54 Ford Six,when did they first apear?

How does changing rocker ratio or shorter push rods alter valve spring pressure?

Help me understand please. If I have an engine with a rocker arm ratio of 1.5 and a valve spring with an open pressure of 300lbs. Does this mean the pounds of pressure needed at the cam would be 450lbs since there is NO mechanical advantage when opening the valve?

I'm no expert but I do know that when the pushrod is the correct length for the application, the tip of the rocker arm will be centered on the tip of the valve stem when the cam is at 50 percent lift. If the pushrod is too long or too short, the tip of the rocker will be offset towards the outside or inside of the valve stem rather than centered over it. This can create side loads on the valve stem that increases friction, stem and guide wear. Catastrophic failure is next, just my opinion.

This is a great series but why do we need the background music!

what is that little spring your using

Is rocker arm ratio the same as mechanical advantage? If no, how are they different?

Cut that darn music off when the man is talking!!!

Great video, thanks a lot! I just have one question, did the lift at the valve increase with a a longer or shorter pushrod?

My question is. Why didnt they design the engine so that the rocker arms are longer on the push rod side to have more leverage to reduce the amount of power required to push the valves in? It should free up some horsepower. How many horse does it take to push them valves down?

So colonel sanders built engines too?

this only works for the most part on stamped steel rockers Im assuming

I have a brand new 1914 motor I built all the goodies whistles and Bells the same rocker or elephant foot has broken twice once at 5:00 miles again now at a 1000 miles I haven't gone near 3000 rpms yet I'm doubting my mechecin I've got nearly 6000 dollars in the motor any advise

👍👍👍👍👍

Kids today have no idea what in the hell he is talking about, or the patience for it.

What did the lifter valley get painted with

I've never understood why Ford used a lower profile cam with better rocker ratio than Chevy with higher profile and less ratio?

Colonel Sanders does engines! Cool!

so colonel sanders worked for gm ?

So stamped rockers are bullet proof. Thanks

wow I never knew Ernest Hemingway was an engine builder, I always thought he wrote WW1 novels.

You NEVER want to worry about where the wear pattern is at on the valve to set rocker geometry. The wear pattern has NOTHING to do with "geometry." Because none of the manufacturers have any "accurate" standards for stud and stand mount dimensions from the valve, and because the stud leans into the valve, and because engine builders use varying length valves, and lastly, because every custom engine has a different NET valve lift, no rocker arm is going to be able to have the exact length required (on a mass produced basis) to accommodate all these variables. That is why you shouldn't worry about where the witness mark on the valve tip is at. Just worry about the angles. The BEST way to assure you are measuring ANGLES correctly with HARD measurements, is to use the VALVE SPRING RETAINER, because it is perfectly mounted at a 90 degree angle to the valve, and that is the principle of MID-LIFT precision. > You NEVER want to use "checking springs" to set rocker geometry. You need to check for NET valve lift with ACTUAL springs. Once you know what your NET valve lift is, then EVERYTHING after that is done with a CLOSED valve, no tension on the valve train; not even necessary to have an adjuster in place. Just an adjustable push-rod; dial calipers and KNOWLEDGE. > With all the tools I've made; and all the engines I've built; and all the tricks I've learned (many from other creative engine builders), to this day when I still occasionally help an old friend out on setting up his rocker geometry, I do it in less than 5 minutes with the following technique. It's all done in the CLOSED VALVE position, because you don't need to worry about hydraulic lifter valve compression or flex. You don't even need to have the adjuster on the rocker arm; it is all laying loose. And obviously, unlike this video, you are not rotating the whole thing over under valve spring pressure. Once you know what your NET valve lift is, everything after that is math, and setup; and this can all be done with the rocker laying loose on the stud, and an adjustable push-rod lifting or lower it as needed. > It's not complicated: A. Know your NET valve lift; divide in two; that is your MID-LIFT "motion" (MLM). B. Measure the height of your valve tip above the retainer. C. Measure the diameter of the roller; divide in half (this precisely gets you from the bottom of the roller to the AXIS). D. ADD "B" and "C" together, to get the STACK HEIGHT. An illustration can be found at: www.mid-lift.com/TECH/TECH-Installed-G1.htm E. Now, use a straight edge like the little machinist square shown in this video, and lay it across the valve spring retainer and alongside the trunnion. F. SUBTRACT or ADD (as needed) the STACK HEIGHT to or from your MID-LIFT MOTION, by raising or lowering the rocker arm on the stud. > EXAMPLE: * NET VALVE LIFT IS .700", so MID-LIFT MOTION is .350". That's cut in stone, now forget it for the moment (you've written it down). * Valve tip is .050" above the top of the retainer; and the .500" rocker arm roller diameter tells you its radius is .250", so the STACK HEIGHT is .300".

350 small block on gass re sserch

Great info! Too bad about the music

But incorrect loading of the valve creates more problems and guide where, so isn't it better to change the rocker arm and stick with the correct valve geometry?

Monotone

Very Basic and Misleading information , if you shorten your pushrods , you also increase your rocker angle that increases load in the stud and valve stem.

cant hear you..... my comp sucks

The music is to keep u from falling asleep. 💤

good video but I can hardly here the man talking over that dam music turn off the music

This is smoke and mirrors..... just get a 1.65 rocker and the correct length push rod to center the rub mark on the valve stem tip , in other words this guy is simply making a 1.6 of a rocker act like a 1.65 rocker at the cost of off centering the rub mark on the tip of the valve... this is very bad for valve guide to valve stem wear ! ( I bet if you call Crane cams and talk to a tech guy he will tell you the correct length pushrod will center the rub mark on valve tip )

Great info but that music sucks!