A finite temperature version of body-centered solid-on-solid growth models involving attachment and detachment of dimers is discussed in 1+1 dimensions. The dynamic exponent of the growing interface is studied numerically via the spectrum gap of the underlying evolution operator. The finite size scaling of the latter is found to be affected by a standard surface tension term on which the growth rates depend. This nonuniversal aspect is also corroborated by the growth behavior observed in large scale simulations. By contrast, the roughening exponent remains robust over wide temperature ranges.Facultad de Ciencias Exactas