This kit includes the following parts:

(4) 10mm x 3/8-24 studs

(4) 3/8-24 thin wall barrel nuts

(2) Assembled rocker arm sets, each consisting of four rocker arms, one center

shaft, 2 end shafts with integral pedestals, thrust shims and snap rings.

(Not included in kit, but recommended: 1 adjustable pushrod, set of lash caps)

Before beginning any rocker installation, check your cam timing tag and compute the total valve lift by multiplying the rocker arm ratio by LOBE lift (not gross valve lift.) You should know the maximum amount of valve lift your heads will accept before they coil bind and also the amount of lift that will cause retainer/keeper to guide contact and of course valve to piston clearance. If any of these amounts are less than the lift you have computed for your cam/rocker combination, you will need to correct the condition before you install the rockers. Considerable damage to your engine could result if you fail to obtain adequate clearance in these areas.

WARNING! Pulling the rockers down unevenly against severe spring tension can prove to be a serious mistake, damaging the pushrods, adjusters and in some cases, break rocker shafts.  

It goes without saying that you should clean everything before proceeding, but we're saying it anyway. Remove the stock VW pedestal studs by jam-nutting the studs and unscrewing them from the heads. Screw in the replacement studs and slip the rocker assemblies over the new studs. The new rockers have been pre-assembled on stock heads and should sit flat on the pedestal bosses without hang up.  Check for any interference - rocker body to retainer, spring O.D., head casting and valve cover. Check shaft/pedestal assembly clearance and rocker arm body clearance near the cylinder head studs and nuts. Last, make sure the pedestal block bases are flat and tight against the cast pedestal boss pads of the heads. Any movement here during operation can loosen pedestal nuts, which can snap the studs holding the rockers to the heads or damage shafts. Be certain each rocker arm can pivot freely and does not bind against the springs, retainers or any part of the head casting. It is NOT necessary to laterally (sideways) center the roller tip to the valve tip.

After you have set up the proper roller tip to valve tip contact, you can then begin to figure pushrod length needed to complete rocker arm geometry. We like to start this procedure with the adjusting screws turned out about 2 turns from bottoming in the rocker arm body (at the cup end). An adjustable push rod is then used to establish the required finished tip to tip length. The correct length places the adjusting screw and the push rod in line with each other when the valve is positioned at half lift.

Be certain that whichever pushrods you use are capable of passing oil through tip-to-tip, our method of lubrication to the rockers, springs and guides depends on this. While on the subject of lubrication, during normal use, be it daily driver, off-roader or all-out racing, the entire valve-train (rockers, springs, valves and guides) is bathed with oil to the extent that some customers have requested "blind" adjuster screws (with no through holes) to restrict the flow of oil in this area. Keep in mind, nearly 60 years of small-block Chevys as well as all 9 years of Corvair (horizontally opposed 6 cyl) products use this method to this day with great success. Blind adjusters can be installed upon request or purchased separately.

Lube all pushrod wear points with a good moly lube. Install barrel nuts with hex head against rocker stand, round barrel out. Torque the rockers to the heads at 28-30 ft/lbs. Set your valve lash according to your camshaft spec card. Set aluminum pushrods to use factory specs. Steel pushrods should be set COLD at .000"-.001"; operating clearance will be achieved through thermal expansion.  Set valves starting at TDC # 1 and progressing one cylinder at a time rotating the engine clockwise using the 1-4-3-2 firing order or by the more popular counterclockwise 1-2-3-4 method. Caution: setting valves when hot may cause them to held open when cold.   

Regarding valve adjustment (solid lifter w/ steel pushrod) we are often asked about setting valves at other than TDC as previously outlined. Customers cite various methods they have found offered up by internet experts, for example, setting clearance by hunting for a lower point of the base circle or working side to side, setting one valve while opposite another on a fully-opened shared lobe. There are a number of these “inventive” methods that claim to be the best, but you will not find them supported here. Keep in mind that although additional clearance can be detected at other than TDC on nearly every cam profile sold, the fact remains that if the adjuster is moved in at any point beyond that of TDC, it will not allow the valve to rest on the seat at TDC. There are a number of reasons this is not in your best interest and though it may be satisfactory in some situations the real danger lies in cold start up where a backfire can result in a carburetor fire and/or intake manifold explosion. In effect, you have advanced the ignition timing in relation to valve timing consequently The more initial timing you use and the colder the climate, the greater the threat. I have personally witnessed a number of serious incidents in both street and off-road situations; burned up air cleaners and blackened paint jobs are the most common result even watched one poor fellow destroy a very expensive manifold/intercooler setup by following his partners favorite valve setting method. If you choose to ignore this warning at least carry an adequate fire extinguisher close by.

If valve train noise is a major concern to your program and you can be certain of their strength and compatibility with your engine, you might consider H/D aluminum pushrods as an option, these materials act to suppress noise and their increased thermal expansion rates allow for more initial cold setting clearance without gaining additional clearance common to steel units at normal operating temps.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to call our technical department at 619 422-5384.

 Roller tip to valve contact at valve fully closed.                              Roller tip to valve contact at valve fully open

Pushrod/adjuster, valve closed                             Pushrod/adjuster, half lift                             Pushrod/adjuster, full lift

Comments regarding methods of lubrication

A great deal of discussion has been brought forth concerning the method of oil delivery to the A/C Type 1 valve train.  Typical ideas are divided between two factions: “self oil” and “splash oil”.

    A basic comparison between the venerable, and evidently the primary, “self oil” Type 1 and the typical “splash oil” system  (those types whose only path of lubrication passes through the pushrod /adjuster screw) shows the original Type 1 pressure fed rockers as a steel on steel shaft arrangement which requires the forced feed of oil to the area to lubricate and cool it, an absolute necessity with this contact surface design.   However the free flow of oil pretty much ends at this point and any directed path of oil flow from here is only minimal at best.  The oil hole to the adjuster screw is in most cases deadheaded by the screw itself and most are welded shut.  Actually about 15% of stock rockers don't even have this 2nd hole. The rockers that do offer this passage to the tip may allow a very minimal amount of oil to weep by the threads onto the valve tip and perhaps the guide, however there is by no means a sufficient volume to effect the adequate cooling of valve springs. In reality most of the oil force-fed to the shaft exits through the thrust surfaces on either side of the rocker and some factory rockers even have notches machined in them in this area. There is also a slot cut in the stand, which allows oil to escape rather than be pressure fed to the tip. In reality the majority of oil that reaches the spring and guide comes from the splash that takes place when oil pressure between the pushrod and rocker cup is released during the clearance cycle and sprays the surrounding area with a spattering of oil which is aided in its purpose when mixed with turbulence from internal pulsating air pressures rising through the pushrod tubes (windage). As stated previously, the only path of lubrication in the “splash oil” system is through the adjuster screw itself.   This path is largely unobstructed other than a partial restriction in the cup at full lift and closed valve, even so, the volume of oil thrown into suspension is far greater than its factory engineered Type 1 counterpart and the afore mentioned windage also aids its dispersion throughout the enclosed valve cover. The only major difference between the “self oil” units and the “splash oil” type is the pressure feed to the rocker shaft itself, which is not required where a roller bearing is involved.

   With regard to questions of loss of spring tensions through “splash” delivery, it's very doubtful that either system will have much of an impact on preventing these losses especially when dampeners and inner springs are forced together to control harmonics inherent to higher valve lifts and speeds. First-hand experience with spray bar systems directed at cooling the valve springs has shown minimal gains in high performance environs such as off-road and midgets, very little advantage was noted in extreme pressure/ lift /valve speed applications, it probably should be mentioned here that the original intent of these added valve train spray bar oil setups was to offset loss of lubrication by suspended, transient oil in engines equipped with high vacuuming pumps and/or dry sump systems with similar capabilities. In virtually all cases I've found the quality of part and it's correct implementation to be the most significant factor in the valve spring’s cycle life.

    DM Pauter