pushrod length

[mayhem148]

just asking because i am offshore and would like to order the parts before i get home for a motor i am building for a guy. it is a 87 roller cam block with dart 215 heads. the cam is a comp roller cam with 288/294 dur. 520/540 lift. it will run lunati 1.5 roller rockers. the problem i ran into is that the pushrods were to short and older model p rods are to long. has anyone had experience with this combo. pop hotrodding is building a cheap 350 that is pretty much based on my build and they ran +.200 p rods. do you think i should follow. it doesnt need much change, like an in between older and newer model rod length. also does anyone know some number the engine might push. 10.5 -11.0 comp.

[Fast01]

just asking because i am offshore and would like to order the parts before i get home for a motor i am building for a guy. it is a 87 roller cam block with dart 215 heads. the cam is a comp roller cam with 288/294 dur. 520/540 lift. it will run lunati 1.5 roller rockers. the problem i ran into is that the pushrods were to short and older model p rods are to long. has anyone had experience with this combo. pop hotrodding is building a cheap 350 that is pretty much based on my build and they ran +.200 p rods. do you think i should follow. it doesnt need much change, like an in between older and newer model rod length. also does anyone know some number the engine might push. 10.5 -11.0 comp.

I wish I could just spit out a number for you, but it's not that easy. There are too many factors that come into play when selecting proper pushrod length and two identical combos could use two different lengths. This is something that really needs to be measured to ensure you have proper valvetrain geometry and sometimes may require a custom set. Some of the factors that will affect the length are deck height of the block (has the block been milled?), cam base circle, deck thickness of the head (have they been milled?, are they after market? etc.), valve stem length, rocker design, and even gasket thickness. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you really should wait until it's been checked before you order new pushrods.

Now onto your combo. You didn't give too much info on the set-up, but assuming 355cid, 10.5:1 compression, 750 carb on a good dual plane intake and 1 3/4" headers I'm gonna guess 450-460hp (at the flywheel) with torque in the low 400's. I know you're not going to want to hear this, but I think your Dart 215's are a bad choice for this combo. Too big. I think you'll actually gain power with a smaller head like an AFR 195 or the Trick Flow 23* heads. Anyway, good luck with your build!