Technical Removing Valve Covers Big Block Chevy

Yeah, someone or somewhere I read to not tighten the nuts much at all. The ones on it right now are barely snug.


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Yeah, the bolts I think have the star shaped hole to remove. I think removing them would be good before trying to pry the covers off. Lots of good tips, thank you.




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I ordered the Fel-Pro Cork rubber with non-steel core.


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I think using more of that existing color is going to start taking away from the traditional coolness that's going on now. Everything is cool as hell, but the frame color. But to each their own. A dark silver or charcoal in the ribs of the valve covers would be a nice complement to the rest of the bare metal build. Love seeing the bbc in between those narrow (cool) hood sides.

 

I'm surprised that no one mentioned that those covers could have been put on with silicone or " right stuff" without gaskets , either of which would make them a bugger to get off

 

that's not a good sign....

 

Hmmmmm. So painting the covers is like making it fancy? I think my father in law (whom we inherited this car from) was going for a all metal, boneville racer look a bit. The interior is all aluminum, unpainted. Bomber seats are exposed with some cushions. Cushions suck so we’re getting nicer ones made but still show off the metal work of the seats. You got me thinking. I like the idea of a darker silver just as an accent. Hmmm.


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Ha ha!!! Totally. Got me there.


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I’m his son in law. I sent you a detailed direct message about it.


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Love the BBC in that machine!

 

It barely fits.


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That is such a no nonsense T tub, I would leave the valve covers alone and change the frame color to red oxide primer. I really like it...

 

Or paint it orange like my all time favorite 1/8 model kit...

 

They look fine the way they are ,just my opinion.

 

Gaskets are intact on the covers. They must be recent. I’m thinking I won’t even remove/replace. No cracks. I’ll clean.





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Got one in my stash....

 

Finished the job and put the covers on today. Cleaned the head and the cover gasket really well. Tapped covers in. Put bolts back in and tightened nuts in a cross pattern for fun. Snug but not tight. Ran the car for a minute and no obvious leaks. Thanks for the help.


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You did a good job...how do you like the look, now?

 

@zz29 Looks like you did a nice job on the paint. Did you mask off the fins and lettering, or paint it all and then remove paint from the Edelbrock logo and top of the fins?

Did you ever get the supercharged flathead car figured out?

 

I will never buy a cork gasket again. I love the FelPro one piece oil pan gaskets and the rubber valve cover gaskets with the steel insert. No more leaks and they are reusable. Not sure why you would use anything else honestly. I know I’m a little late to the party.....that’s the way I roll.

 

Leaks are traditional....and they give you something to do, fixing them on a quiet Saturday afternoon.

 

Good job on the valve covers and very good job on asking your questions. That's how you learn the right way. A lot of guys won't ask what they consider to be 'stupid' questions. Instead, they show up asking how to fix the mess they created by doing everything wrong.
Keep going!

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That they are. My driveway can attest to that.

 

I like the rubber and steel but only if you have a machined flat surface on the bottom of your valve cover. I put a set on a stamped steel set and they leaked, had to go to cork.

 

They rubber/steel gaskets work with some stamped valve covers...they came on the LS-7 I bought in 1989, and they're still working after almost 30 years, no leaks.

 

Cork gaskets don't leak, and are reusable indefinitely, I don't know why cork gaskets get a bad rap.

 

I do t know. I’m torn. Part of me likes the scrappy all grey look; part of me likes the more colorful look. Talking to my brother in law who was working for my father in law at the time of the build, the car was never totally finished. The silver color is zinc primer. I don’t think we’ll ever paint the car. It looks sharp and I look at it as an evolution.


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I masked it all off, used cherry lip balm on the letters. Pain to do. The wiping might’ve been easier but seemed too risky.

The supercharged is still at the mechanics and they haven’t had a chance to really look into it. They think it might be the newly rebuilt distributor misfiring. Their plan is put in another distributor and if that takes care of it, I’ll send the distributor back to Bubba for a check up.


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Your valve cover job came out excellent. You're learning fast. I remember the first time I removed a pair from a 53 DeSoto Hemi I owned. I was petrified. Had no clue what I was getting into. There was no HAMB back then to guide me through my questions.