Here's a question for any other hardy souls out there who build their own engines: one of the several ways in which my engines are suboptimal is that I don't try to grind the rocker pads to adjust valve lift. I've read Jake's description of the procedure but the thought of attacking my rockers with a Dremel tool is unnerving. Just how difficult is it, really? Should I just haul the engine to a builder for that?
I've sent a few batches to Jay over the past five years for regrinding and 'profiling' of them, then put them on the CFs here. No, they are not optimized to say, but the clean up alone is worth something compared to the stockers. Some may be a bit over limit and some under as I see it. I'm not splitting hairs on it, thus far it seems to work.
Profiling yourself is probably less work than removing/reinstalling the engine. I've only done it a couple of times, and each time took about 3-4 hours. It can be a bit tedious, as the rocker assembly goes on and off a lot of times to get it right.
I didn't use a Dremel, but chucked a stone disc into the drill press to remove the bulk of the material, then fine-tuned with a flat file. Magic Marker on the rocker tips shows where the contact is. Not so brutal as it sounds.
Like Bob says, it's not that hard but tedious. The first time I did it it took 7 hours! But I'm kind of a perfectionist (got them all to within .001") and like you I didn't want to over-do it with the grinding. You'll get the hang of it after the first couple valves. I use a dremel with the cylindrical stone and magic marker to see the contact pattern. Don't forget to take up the valve lash when measuring lift or you'll be illegal!
Thanks for the feedback... one more question, what size stone do you use? And do you finish the rocker surface in any way when the grinding is done?
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