Joachim,
I've been fooling with the 289/302 since 1964 (and even the 260 before that)
and rocker arm galling is not a problem that I can say is a "normal" type of
situation in these engines. You didn't go into detail about installed spring
heights and tension, and what length push rod you're using.
You did say this was a new motor, how about the oil pressure or volume up the
pushrods. If the pressure is good, are there per chance restricters in the
motor from the previous set-up? The Performer cam profiles are not, in
themselves, violent or aggressive enough to cause this kind of problem. Don't
forget, Chevrolet had this problem in the late 60"s and found the only way to
solve it was to groove the bottom of the rocker to allow for extra oiling.
Maybe a phone call to Crane would be in order. Over the years I've always
found them to be more than helpful. If you do decide to call them, I'd
suggest having all the facts on hand before you make the call:
Cam specs
Pushrod length
Installed valve spring height and tension
Whether of not the heads have ever been machined and by how much (that
could be a toughy)
Overall lift at the valve side of the rocker tip
The model (ratio) rocker arm
Oil pressure at operating temp from idle on up
Good luck.
Fred
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