History The Mystery Of The RPM Valve Covers

How are those ribs anyway???

 

As I understand, MT used local SoCal foundries.
Apparently Mickey's projects evolved quickly and many were DOA before they really took off, as a result castings were never used or paid for.

 

I can't resist. How often do you get the opportunity?

 

@Ryan @hansboomer .
I am not trying to be a smart ass here, but just for the record, Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Cowboy Copas were all killed in a 1960, Piper PA-24 Comanche that crashed on 3/5/63. So that rules out those mystery RPM valve covers, ever being used on a SBC in that time period, in any aircraft !
YMMV.
From Dennis.

 

The fact that someone went to the effort to make 2 seperate molds (staggered & straight) for RPM valve covers, would indicate to me that someone was serious about getting these out there...and it wasn't just a short run for his buddies.

 

They could have been in the luggage.

 

This doesn't help with ID'ing them,but you'd think by 63 MT would be using 461 or later non staggered heads on a max effort Indy engine.Was RPM brand oil and gas still around in the late 50's,maybe something sold thru their gas stations?

 

Woke up a 4:45, AM, First thing I thought of.... Did someone A) have another pair, B) solve Ryan's Part's Mystery. (RPM)

Now, Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 

.................A true hot-rodder.

 

Those were just a one off set. They were ordered by the late entreneur { Robert Paxton Mc Culloch } He was best known for his chainsaws, and buying the london bridge. He then had it moved to Arizona. He had them made for his custom Corvette. It's now under restoration in Missouri.

 

I would like to help , I have almost every issue of Hot Rod Magazine including multiple special issues released , (Yearly year books) I believe my Collection starts right around 50ish (maybe 49) to around 1974 , I have not flipped threw in 20 years. they are in multiple boxes and plastic containers,
( almost lost them all in a fire a few years ago ) NOT making Excuses, dealing with Elderly parents and other personal issues,
( few on HAMB know this to be true)
These mags to me are the history what were they doing in the early years such in such year or who did what!! Seeing Hod Rod moving out side of Callie
(reporting and writing about to other parts of USA ,seeing different things people were doing outside of California.
I have something to help just unable to provide it right now maybe someone else has a collection as big as mine that they can easily put their hands on.

 

LOL!!!

I had a music theory professor in college who would say ummmm or uhhhhhh in between ALMOST EVERY ONE OF HIS WORDS!!!

Will never forget the day the lights went out in the middle of class. Even with a room full of students, there was so little movement (out of sheer boredom) that the motion sensors shut the lights off (inside room, no windows). In the midst of the darkness, Dr. Epstein muttered, "Ummmm this has, uhhhh happened before, so, ummmmmm get up and and, uhhhh flap your arms".

 

Early/mid 1960's Indy cars had a max displacement of 255 cubic inches for naturally aspirated engines. That's the reason for the "destroked" comment in the Hot Rod Magazine photo caption. The limit was decreased from 270 to 255 sometime in the 1950's.

MT's Chevys were a one year only thing. In 1962 they ran aluminum Buicks. 1963 was the Chevys in the "roller skate" cars that had 12" diameter wheels. For 1964, the "roller skate" chassis were rebuilt with 15" wheels and ran DOHC Fords.

 

Ryan , Maybe drop a Email to Ray Evernham. Different circle of people with alot of connections to experimental Golden years of Indy.

 

Dont have any solid leads, just an idea. Look at the overall valve cover shape and ribs, see what other valve covers are similar or match. The valve cover main mold is the expensive part, changing out an insert in the mold to make brand specific parts is not a big change. Inserts are common on molds for branding and date codes.
I suspect these were a small run of RPM valve covers on an existing mold that matches other brands or blank valve covers.

 

We might have to get all CSI, If this keeps up... There's gotta be sand/alloy DNA

 

Am I a fool to say I believe this?
No one has commented on this?
Maybe no one other than locals know that London bridge is in Lake Havasu?

 

Yeah it was my HAMB April Fools day joke. Before coffee

 

Adding a "Ryan's Part Mystery" sign (Trademark @Hollywood-East ) to the static display would add memorial to the current discussion.

You could do up a neat logo and print us some tee shirts with the covers on them. I would be down for a couple just for the conversation starter.

 

Maybe list them on eBay with a starting bid of $1500 and see what happens. And send Mr. Deep Pockets a message with a link to your ad. If he really wants them he will place a bid. If you really don't want to sell them just cancel the ad before the timer runs out.

 

That's it! valve covers in the luggage made the plane too heavy so it crashed. Just like that episode of I love Lucy were she puts too many rocks in the trailer so the car can't pull it up the hill.

 

@indyjps @Ryan
More grist for the mill and another rabbit hole to potentially fall into. I think indyjps is onto the right track, as you can see from this set of EDMUNDS valve covers.



As a side note, Paxton did make one concept car, the Paxton Phoenix, it never went into production.

All of that being said, wishing you all a very happy April Fools Day, the mystery hunt continues!
From Dennis.

 

Sorry guys I wish I had some more info on these.I do remember them languishing in the Hamb classifieds for a while before Ryan grabbed them,kinda wish I would have bought them.