i am building a 383 stroker and i am to the point to measuring fro pushrods...i have a set of proform 1.5 roller rockers and edelbrock performer heads loaded with valves and springs...i had the engine machined. they told me that they barely took anything off the deck and i am using a thicker head gasket, so i assume the stock rods would be the right length but i do not know how to make sure...can someone please tell me how to check valve train geometry and finding the correct pushrod length...

Lots of info came up with a google search of "checking pushrod length"..

http://www.compcams.com/information/Products/Pushrods/

http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/ctrp_0609_pushrod_length/index.html

Here's how comp says to do it

http://www.compcams.com/Technical/FAQ/ValvetrainGeometry.asp

And here's how others do it
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209057

I'm all for checking it and trying to get it right. The first thing you need to know is if your valves are longer than stock. They will put .100 longer valves in heads to get you up over .600 lift capability. If yours are .100 longer, pretty safe bet your original pushrod length is too short.

Enjoy the read.:)

What's this about a thick head gasket?

I've been all over the net on that. I think I've finally got an understanding, though it's been a busy week and I have yet to accomplish the task. Tim, I see you found my thread on Team Chevelle? Ken Kirkwood's suggestions there are excellent, as are Mike's.

The missing diagram is here: http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3731&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
And a picture is for sure worth a thousand words.
I haven't even read the comp cams stuff, when Mike Lewis says it's crap, that's good enough for me.

What I'll try to do is hit that diagram as closely as possible, roller furthest across the valve tip at midlift, and coming back in to where it started at my cam's full lift.
I'll end up somewhat on the far side of the valvestem, according to the guys on the speedtalk post, that's not important, the narrow pattern is. Those guys are running an inch of lift at 9000 rpm, what they do should be good for .550" @ 6500.