Chevy LS / Small Block Mopar Hybrid - Is It Viable? The Pros And Cons Of This Unlikely Combo.

It seems like the latest thing is the adaption of pedestal mount Chevy LS rocker arms to the normally shaft rocker LA Chrysler.
On the surface there looks to be a rocker ratio advantage to the swap, but if you dig a little deeper there are many issues that make this conversion questionable at best.
Here's a rundown of each component and factors involved and how they relate and integrate into the overall package.
Is it worthwhile? You decide.
#engine #classiccar #mopar #musclecar
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[jerrysingleton]

Derrick from Vice Grip just did 1 of these hybrid 318 in a Duster he's working on now for a give away. Put in a mild cam & sounds nice.

[darwincapwill]

Uncle Tony, check out Vice Grip Garage he is currently building a 318 with LS heads and valvetrain. He is in your neck of the woods in Tennessee. Check out Derek I think you to would get along.

[stevenbean]

paragon engines already put Ls heads on a 318 i dont even want to think of what that thing is gonna build for power if they put turbos on it

[genehart]

Seems like a solution in search of a problem.

[censored]

Vice Grip Garage is building some LS/Mopar Small Block combo in a Duster I think

[garyb.]

Paragon built a 318 with LS heads, you should go to VVG he’s putting in in a Duster now. Paragon did a three video series on building it. Really pretty interesting, used junk Viper parts, seems to move a lot of air, go check it out!

[larrybeussink]

The engine I saw this combination assembled on used aftermarket heads that were able to flow more air than the stock Mopar heads. They also had more room to machine clearance for the push rods.

[jacobl.mcc.]

Hey Uncle tony, great video! I'd never heard of this for a LA engine but over in AMC land we figured out that the LS rockers are a DIRECT REPLACEMENT for the AMC bridged/ pedestal mount rockers used on post '72 V8s and 6s. The valve spacing is the same between the 2 engines, the mounting hardware is near identical 5/16 bolts, the geometry is almost perfect and if you use taller chevy valves it is PERFECT, the LS rockers are lighter and 1.7 ratio. The way you do the swap is to cut the single cast LS pedestal mount into four pieces, one for each cylinder. The AMC forum has a few great threads about the swap. Since the Magnum rockers are very similar, some say identical, could it be that people are swapping out the Magnum bridged rockers for the LS units? That would make way more sense.

[rong]

I don’t know where this idea came from, but VGG is doing this on a giveaway Duster right now, that’s probably why all the news about it lately. Pshhh

[drewswanson]

Derek from vice grip garage did this on his engine set up in his duster build, he used aluminum head and ls rocker and Chevy pushrods which apparently allow a lot more oil to get to the valve train.

[RaiderX]

This is James E. Halleran, the rockers remind me of Dulcich's chompers except they don't glow in a blinding luminescent pearly white.

[billfioretti]

Various engine manufacturers have been cross-pollinating ideas and components for decades. I've been a Ford enthusiast ever since I knew what a car was. I'm 70 now. The LS series Chevrolet and Ford Windsor Small-block similarities are often the topic of debate. Same for the Big Mopar and F.E. Ford, etc. Tony, you have stated, "Ford has done some crazy things over the years." I agree. They certainly are not known for having long-term attention spans in the engineering department. Great ideas have come out of Ford but the follow-through, refinement (development) of certain ideas and platforms are either cut short or diminished. However, Ford V-8 engines of the 1960s and later feature equi-spaced (symmetric) intake and exhaust runners and other features that other manufacturers have since copied. And Ford has done its share of copying also. Your video here deals with valvetrain, rocker arms and stability. I've had experience building V-8 engines from Windsor and Cleveland Fords, Small-block Chevrolets, Small and Big-block Mopars (including 426 Hemis) and Big-block Fords including Boss 429s. The Boss engines feature individual shaft rocker arms, the shaft and rocker being retained by two bolts and the assembly mounted on a pedestal. Virtually no instability or deflection here. Ford began using this system in late 1968. It has been adapted as the system of choice for many domestic race engines and as an upgrade for street engines of various manufacturers. Thank you, Tony. Always informative and entertaining content.

[bobbybelcher]

I iove the factory shaft type rocker arms. I like to keep everything simple, less problems and less money !

[noahmercy-mann]

Some GM parts may make sense, but not the rockers. I put Chevy 2.02 valves in my 360 build many moons ago, because it was an economical way to increase flow over the Mopar valves available at the time when you were using stock cast iron heads. Combined with my amateur porting, worth probably an additional 30 HP on my old-school 9.5:1 built on a 1974 cop engine. I just used a set of roller tip 1.6 shaft-mount rocker arms and a Purple Shaft. Couldn't afford to have it dynoed, but based on my 1/4 times, I was getting +/- 320 HP at the tires, which wasn't bad in 1988. Wish I still had it...😕

[thisisyourcaptainspeaking]

I once installed a chevy alternator on a ford.

[patrickradcliffe]

The other disadvantage is flex in the plate that the rockers are mounted to. Looking at the LS rocker if it was me I'd knock out the shaft out the rocker is riding on machine rocker rail that fits this size and use them that way.

[keithroute]

Wow, I never really knew what was involved but heard a few people talking about it. Way to explain it Tony, now I understand it better. Vice grip garage guy was installing a hybrid in his Duster to give away. He didn’t explain the conversion real well and I was left intrigued but confused. Interesting hot rodding, not sure I would do that but it would be nice to see someone do some before and after dyno pulls to see the amount of power gain from just doing that. I wonder how much that mod would cost. There used to be a dollar per horsepower ratio that guys would use to justify any power adder or modification. More lift plus a power adder like a cheap turbo could make a screamer that hopefully would win races but not grenade on the first run down the track.

[WalksInThunder]

Check with Derek at Vicegrip Garage. He's dropped one in a Duster.

[The_R-n-I_Guy]

I'm not an engine builder. But I always thought the shaft mounted rockers were the best part of the small block Mopar. I don't see why anyone would want to get rid of it. But like I said, I'm not an engine builder

[MoreBollocks-uizs]

"There is no easy or simple way to do this". Seems to sum up the MOPAR philosophy for decades :)