I love copper. Lemme put that out there. I once built a copper scooter. It was an Italjet, and I took the original body parts off the frame, some 18ga sheets of copper, and made a few new parts that were hammered copper. That project was never finished because I crashed the scooter. That being said, and as a completely unnecessary backstory, what engine components can be made from copper? I'm talking about damn near every part. I want to start making my own, and I can find the melting point of copper, but I'm wondering about actual real world applications. People who have made parts out of copper. tolerances and facts are great on paper, but I'm looking for HAMB'ers who have copper on their engines. Manifolds/headers, intakes, fuel lines, radiator hoses, valve covers, etc. Thanks!!!
My oil pressure gauge line is copper. I'm going to make copper fuel lines and maybe the tranny cooler lines as well.
The wife used copper pipe to run her wiring harnesses in the Flower Roadster, it looks cool under the dash and along the backside of the firewall, a nice contrast and much better than regular plastic shielding. The low melting point and comparative strength of copper will keep you from making any critical engine parts.
Spark plug gaskets were copper for many wears. They look great if you can get fairly wide ones (AC are nice) that will show between the head and plug.
Here's a little debate we had about copper headers: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79214 I'm not sure if there's too much firsthand experience in that thread but its still interesting.
Thanks for the chuckle. For those of you that are wondering what he's talking about, see this post: BLOG BETTER PICTURES OF MY PERFORMANCE That is me. The one on fire, missing skin. Call it an inherent risk of being a sideshow performer. -Lucky
It depends on if you insist on using real copper but I'd suggest visiting your local plater. They copper plate everything before chrome plating. Last time I was there, I though it was cool to see all those copper plated brand new pickup bumpers. You could copper plate everything that people chrome plate on an engine.
I'm a union Pipefitter, and we work with copper everyday. It doesn't melt as low as people think. When we braze it, we're doing it with a oxy/acet. torch. Unless you REALLY lay into it with the torch, it will hold up, but you'll burn the hell out of it and discolor it....but its nothing you can't clean back up with some sandpaper and a rattle can of clear coat. With that said, we use copper pipe, tubing and annealed copper tubing for all kinds of high heat and refrigeration applications. It will hold up to a point. For a while, I bent up some copper fuel lines for my tripower fuel lines. I dig it. It adds a really cool contrast to any chrome parts you have in there. As far as valve covers or engine parts, that was a great idea about the chrome plating. They copper plate everything first, but copper will oxydize in about 1 day if its left untreated. Just clear over it to make it last. When you get copper pipe fittings at a store, they're always really shiny, but that's because they run them through a tumbler with a bar of soap before they're sent out for sale. Once you touch them, the oil from your skin.....or any kind of dirt for that matter....will make them turn green. Hope any of this helps out.
Their right lucky, one of the steps of chroming is to dip it in copper. Clear will probably not hold up for very long. I used copper for my fuel lines oil lines on the chevy. They held up... BTW. You know copper costs an arm and a leg today...
Wacky idea: Since it goes on so thin, Chrome is actually clear. The silver you see is the polished nickle under the chrome. So, what if you have the parts copper plated, then chromed, just without the nickle? shouldn't that give you the copper look with the chrome durability?
lucky if you come over tomorrow we decided that you are the one thats going to light the few hundred $$ in fireworks my dad got.
Google for "Chevy Copper Cooled". Chevrolet in 1923 experimented with fusing copper fins to a 4 banger in place of the waterjacket. There is one in the Henry ford Museum in MI.
coppers to soft for any structor and melts at 'bout 1700 fer. exhaust gets to that so its out. im sure alloy whould be different. but its a ball park be cool for pluming covers heat shield i've fixed a few copper tins for old boat motors oilpan vavle covers ect. but making one from scratch........ that whould suck.
The Jalopy Journal
