LT1 valvetrain question.....possible 1.6 rocker install

[RED89GTAWSU]

Long story short I've had some lifter tick when I first start up my car for a month or so. I've also had some weird rattleing noise coming from the cat and loss of power. It was never horrible till last week when I was on the freeway and started to loose speed in 6th gear......ended up getting hot so I had to pull over before it overheated. Right as I pulled off I started getting a weird valvetrain noise that I can only decribe as a tick that turns into a chirp at higher RPMs (2500+). Got it home and pinpointed the noise to my driverside valve cover. I haven't opened it up yet so I'm not sure if it's a lifter, pushrod, rocker, or spring that is broke.

Assuming nothing broke apart and put metal in my engine......I have a couple options I need to figure out. If it's just a lifter I'm just gonna replace those. If it's a spring....I want to upgrade my springs, put 1.6 roller rockers in.

Question is what's needed for a mild cam LT1 with 1.6 rockers? I think I've confidently found that LT4/ZZ4 springs will work.....if so, are they just a direct replacement? or do I need to check spring height? change spring seat? get certain pushrods?

Thanks for the input!

 

[beertestr]

hard to say unless you know what the lift is on the cam to start. Also need to know if you are running iron or aluminum heads, as the iron heads had smaller spring pockets than the aluminums.