PRI 2010: Jesel Custom Shop Turns Dreams Into Hardware

Rule #34 of Motorsports: If it exists, somebody is racing it. Chances are that if somebody is racing it, there’s somebody else making speed parts for it. But even wildly popular engines like Chevy’s LS family have some adherents at the outer limits of sanity, for whom off-the-shelf hardware just won’t cut it. Jesel is the kind of company that goes above and beyond in their catalog offerings, so you can just imagine what the output from their Custom Shop looks like.

Actually, you don’t have to imagine it, because we can show you. In this case, it’s a total rethinking of the LS head valvetrain design. Jesel started out by addressing the issue of valvespring diameter and angular loads on the stem. To run bigger springs and better geometry, you need a longer rocker arm, but with the physical limits of the stock valve cover dimensions, you’re stuck. Unless, of course, you do what Jesel did and angle-mill the valve cover rail, creating a cover to match. The net result is room for a 1.650″ spring and close to an inch of lift.

Then again, big springs and big lift don’t do you a whole lot of good if the rocker mounts work their way out of their own threads, so the Jesel Custom Shop rethought that whole situation as well. New steel stands using 7/16″ mounting hardware replace the OEM 8mm bolts, and new valve cover locators provide a third point of strength for each stand for extra rigidity.

The LS valvetrain redesign is just one example of the capabilities of Jesel’s Custom Shop. If you can dream it up, they can make it a reality.

About the author

Paul Huizenga

After some close calls on the street in his late teens and early twenties, Paul Huizenga discovered organized drag racing and never looked back, becoming a SFI-Certified tech inspector and avid bracket racer. Formerly the editor of OverRev and Race Pages magazines, Huizenga set out on his own in 2009 to become a freelance writer and editor.
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