When we got the engine fresh from the dyno, the first thing I had to do was look at the rocker arms, check the lash with the engine cold so I would have a reference off what they set them at with it hot on the dyno. The valve lash was .014-.015" cold. They set them at .026-.028" with the oil warmed up and engine heat-soaked for about 20 minutes. WOW! the lash loosens up about .012-.014 when the engine warms up. I had no idea the valve lash moved that much. While I am mentioning the rocker arms and setting lash I have to mention the Curtisbilt Rocker Arms. Very unique the way they look and function. The first thing you notice is there is "no adjuster". No roller tip and they look a lot different. Bill Curtis, a toolmaker by trade and a damn good bracket racer by the way, makes these from scratch in his shop. They appear very durable and adjustment is done by loosening one end of the cap that holds the shaft in place and putting a 7/16" wrench on the eccentric that raises and lowers the rocker arm, creating the lash you want. Super easy to do and deadly accurate. The guys at Ohio Crankshaft were impressed by both the design and what looks to be a better rocker arm as far as durability goes.
We never got the Milodon oil pan we had ordered, even though we waited over five weeks. I guess a lot of you are ordering them! I called a couple good friends of MaxChevy Magazine: Bob Sanders at Titan Speed Engineering for an oil pump and Jeff Johnston at Billet Fabrications, and they agreed to get us one of their billet oil pumps and an aluminum oil pan on a couple days notice. That was the last part we needed.