Technical anyone using a stud girdle with Corvette valve covers?

Anyone using a stud girdle with 7 fin Corvette valve covers? How big a spacer are you using? Pics? Also, what kind of girdle are you running? Single bar with u-bolts, two bar?

 

George,,All the stud girdles are not the same,,,be best if you post a photo of your set-up

 

Bobby, haven't even got one yet, but I have the Corvette valve covers, and really want to run them on this. I got a line on a pretty serious cam, 262/266 .645 lift roller, it would work really good with what I have, but I gotta figure out if I can run the accompanying valve train stuff with the Corvette valve covers and a spacer.
I am planning on a two-bar girdle if that helps. I could try to round up a single bar Jomar with the u-bolts. I will edit the first post, good point!

 

something like this...

 

The tallest spacer as near as I can see is 1.150" tall. Cut 4 pieces of tubing that length then bolt the cover on and take a look-see then turn the engine by hand and look for witness marks.

 

I know guys were doing it in the late sixties/early seventies, but I haven't seen it done in decades, and I didn't really take note of how big a spacer they were running. I had no idea when I was 15 years old that I would be wanting to do this 40 years later! back then I was "why the hell would someone want to run those out-dated valve covers??"

 

Same here. Do you remember how to stack Lego's in case more height is required ?

 

I'd like to run the shortest possible spacer, I was hoping some of the racer types here would be doing it. I may as well just pull the trigger on the cam and a girdle, then put it together, set the valve covers on top, measure to the valve cover mating surface, and try to get one that size, by the time I add a couple gaskets to the sandwich, I should be golden. Was kind of hoping to see some pics. If I paint the spacers engine colour, I guess it would probably look ok.

 

Here's an old school spacer that's .350" taller than what's available today. This may get you closer to an answer to your original question. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-60s-MIC...ash=item5d5ab06e65:g:q-8AAOSwMmBVnSdO&vxp=mtr

 

Those are awesome, but $500 smackers??!! MOTHER OF GAWD!
fel-pro makes a gasket that's like .300 thick, that might help. I will dig through some late sixties magazines, and see what I can find, it doesn't look like anyone here is doing this.

 

I didn't say buy them !!!!!! Lol

 

You know George, real studs don't wear girdles. But seriously, by the time you add roller rockers to the equation, that kind of lift, and the "roundness" to the tops of the Corvette covers, I don't think you'll find any spacers thick enough TODAY that will work. Not a lot of guys doing what you're proposing (can't make any $$$ just selling to a few guys). I've seen a few "older" type builds using spacers and Corvette covers, but I think even then, it was being done for "looks". But, here's another idea, and it might be cheaper too; cut, stack, and weld a couple pairs of Corvette valve covers to make a "tall" pair of Corvette valve covers. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Its tempting, vintage sixties M/T goodness, but GEEZ!!

 

I think the 1.5" ones with a pair of the .300 thick fel-pros would probably do it. Its gonna look a bit odd, but man, I tell you what, when I plugged that cam into the combo on engine ****yzer, it walked away from the other cams I was looking at from 3500 up, and it was a solid 25 hp up at 6700, and I think I can get a real deal on it. Pretty hard to ignore a gain like THAT!

 

Look here what I found George.
Not much help but this was a car my bud in Bakersfield had some years back.
More than likely just had roller rockers, was about a .500 lift cam is all IIRC.

 

CLEAN LQQK

 

Manny__ MQQN's __ago, __( race car days ) _we ran ( 1 )"ers at least, and ran out of space with some different girdles, so we gave in and got the TALL V-Covers, and stopped foolin with SPACERS.

 

George,I think HenryJ1951 has the best solution for you..Corvette covers are ugly anyway

 

That's the way id think about it too.
Depends on the taper of the cover.

But- I dont have a mill so by the time I get 2 sets of covers, have 4 pieces milled then welded, cleaned and polished ,,, them MT spacers don't look so bad. If I had to pay for the weld job on top of machine work the MT spacers just got real cheap.

If I had a mill I'd do it that way.

 

We ran spacers back in the day. They were a pain checking valve clearance and for broken valve springs several times a day on race day. Went to tall covers when they came out. One less spot for a leak. Only one set of valve cover gaskets to buy and worry about.

 

I have stud girdles and this setup works great! I think I got them from Compe***ion Products in Wisconsin. They are priced at about 80 bucks.

 

Is this a HAMB "ta-daa" moment?

http://www.jegs.com/i/B&B/128/63900...W5HMBByb3m0ctZuYvRQYnEleNJAQ_WPmU7hoCqPrw_wcB

 

I LIKED the Vette Covers, still do, but at the moment i'm out of inventory....
depends purely on application , or the car, or the LQQK one is going for...
GO for it George

 

I met this guy at Carlisle a few years ago. Very nice product and I believe he does custom ones as well. http://www.medicemfg.com/

 

AAAAAAHH!!! I slept on it, I'm pulling the trigger on that cam, so I have to figure something out, one way or the other.

I saw this pic in my searching, I think it would probably work

TaaDAA!!! I am not above grinding a little on the inside of the valve covers or whittling on the girdle a little. Redline, I ***ume this is them?
http://www.compe***ionproducts.com/...v-SB-55-86/productinfo/PVT57664/#.WL7do7QiyM8
are you running a single bar or two bar girdle?

 

I want a sixties look, so I am really determined to keep the corvette covers. I do know the spacers are a PITA, but hey, if I wanted easy, I wouldn't be putting Hilborns on it either!

 

Not trying to go off thread. What size girdle and rockers have you squeezed under?

 

In my street race days I ran a set of those B&Bs on a BBC. The engine was all satin black and I wanted the Dart Domniator intake to look lower. Air cleaner adapter, stock Chevy chrome valve covers, I put the spacers on upside down to fit the Merlin iron heads perfect. A nice layer of black silicone later it looked like a "deep" head. The wide side of the adapter fit the stock covers perfect. I set the whole gig overnight with long studs, Loc***e, the silicone mentioned, done. I even sprayed semi-flat Krylon on the silicone that was smeared around and blotted with a rag to look like iron. You know those spacers were on that engine for something over 250 rounds of racing and never leaked a drop! The looks I got about the stock valve covers was priceless. "How can you fit that **** under stock covers?" "I dunno, it just all fit. Rare marine parts maybe? Never cared."

There was more to the intended deception but I didn't want to bore y'all with too much detail.

 

I am going to go with the B&B's I think. They have been around forever and look the part, and I have used other products of theirs before. I will ***emble the valvetrain and measure before I make a final decision. Redline looks like he has AFR's the valve cover rails are taller than my 461's, so I better measure. I have a set of AFR's here I am putting on my truck, aftermarket heads is a "period" line I don't want to cross here, if I am going to do that, I may as well build a bigger motor, then the ch***is gets more sophisticated, where does it stop?
We used to run the tall black plastic Kid Prestos with the smooth tops on BBC's. Nice, light, stiff, sealed good, lots of room. On a black motor in a black engine compartment in a dark parking lot or a road out in the boonies no on could see ****** all anyway.
But word spreads fast anyway. I remember showing up down at Latimore road, a bunch of the turbo buick guys were hanging around. I recognized a couple of cars from Friday track nights. No one even asked to see under the hood, "No, no thanks, we know who you are we saw you guys run" "ok, so just for fun, cmon man" "nope, no way in hell". Buncha kill-joys....Man, I miss that stuff

 

If you haven't bought the roller rockers yet look into the T&D Sportsman shaft rocker system. They eliminate the guide plates, the tall locks, and stud girdles. I believe they fit under stock covers. They hold a valve lash and work great. 1.5 and 1.6 available for SBC. We sold off all our single roller rockers and related parts...good luck.