2.3L Ford "Pinto" Custom Finned Valve Cover

I'll mess around with mine, maybe something that looks cool will slip over it snugly?
Or.... how much meat is on a Ford Turbo aluminum cover? If they're thick enough, maybe they can be milled / cleaned up? Even TIG welded in places to add fins, etc....... I can visualize a cool finned original Ford/ Merkur cover.

Just thinking out loud here...................... who else has ideas?

 

I have contemplated this myself. I have several aluminum covers that need ot be "cut up"

 

call wal-mart maybe they can get it built in China should be worth 19.99 or so. lol

 

it might be moot at this point...but count me as one who'd be interested in anything resembling your vc design. ...and put me down for a nice timing cover too if one ever surfaces.

great ideas pikesan, obviously there is interest - let the search go on...both for casting resources and for other dress up stuff that we can find. let's keep an eye on this thread and continue to post as we find worthy components.

 

Presto Casting is in Glendale. but judging by your comment about not being Boeing or Honeywell, I'm guessing you already got a quote from them.

jw

 

JW,
If you know someone over there, please let me know.

 

Sorry, no. The new guy at work worked for them briefly before he came to our shop.

jw

 

Amazed this thread is still alive and even more amazed no one PMd Cyclone Kevin for his input.

 

The 2.3 is the motor of choice for the 2.5L Stock class hydroplanes. The only other legal motor is the 2000. I run a 2.3 and would certainly be interested in a couple of these valve covers. Pretty cool!

Dennis

 

I found someone to make the Valve Cover! It would be die cast, not sand cast, so the quality would be outstanding! The maker is trying to judge interest and market size now so he can fork over the BIG $$'s to make the diecast tooling (the major drawback vs. sand casting).

Please help me show him know who's interested and where else he should look to find potential customers.

Also, would you buy one? (looks like the picture attached, in general) How much would you be willing to pay?

Thank you,
pikesan

 

I'd hate to say what I'd be willing to pay, as less $$$ is more $$$ in my pocket. However, for a single valve cover, I'd say it'd be worth somewhere between $50 and $100

 

when i was little my dad had a pinto and i remember it having a finned valve cover with ford on it

 

I'd pay $150.00 for one with out blinking. Anymore than that I'd have to think about it.
Larry T

 

I'd pay up to a buck and a half also, if I needed one. which I currently don't.

 

Hey Guys, thanks for the input.

I'm guessing $150 would be the MINIMUM! These would already be polished and looking good. The last decent Valve Cover (like the one I have now) that sold on ebay was $174 bucks. It was used, not polished and not at all HOT ROD like.

Also any finned V/C you've seen is for a 2000 motor, not the 2300. Correct me if I'm wrong! I've been looking for a long time.
Thanks!

 

I'd buy one if you could cast "Oldsmobile Rocket" on it.

 

I would pay $150 just to have one on the shelf without much thought and might pay more if I had a project to put it on. Would it have to be polished? Could it be cheaper if not polished?

Also, where did you decide to put the vent/PCV?

 

id like to see it NON polished also..as i can do that myself if i wanted it. Hope this works out!

 

The way I understand the die casting, we'd have to purposefully ROUGH-UP the die to make it look sand cast and therefore, NOT polished. I probably would like mine that way too, so we'll see.

I think the way to go for the PCV/vent is just to put a breather with a baffle on the back. Pretty standard, regular way. It looks cleaner with nothing, but since engines need oil... that's not so practical, right?
pikesan

 

On the back or exhaust side would work. How many people have to be willing to buy for it to get a green light?

 

I think the guy I'm working with has already seen enough interest. (That's a guess though, not a promise.) He also asked about a design for a slick timing cover like someone asked for.

This is by far the closest I've come to seeing these made. Any other feedback on the design, now's the time!
pikesan

 

He could die cast them without the vent and elave that up to the discretion of the buyer. Less work to do the mold. Less work to prep for sale. Cheaper to sell.

 

I suggest asking over at turboford and other 2.3 turbo websites/forums. they will eat this up

 

I do not have a 2.3 at this time, but plan on getting one soon. At $150 I would definetly buy at least one.

 

Any news?

 

Sign me up also I would love one for an upcoming project

 

I would also be extremely interested in this for my roadster.

 

I'd be interested as well.

 

in my experience die casting is going to be significantly more expensive for the tooling.

If you have a stereolith master with the shrinkage built in already you should be able to get a pattern board made up for not that much. Even if you went with a 2-up aluminum match plate you're probably looking at $2000 for the foundry tooling. Expect to pay $60 to $90 for the castings in small quantities.

You'll probably need to have the gasket surfaces machined, which with the arch over the input shaft is going to be a pain. Maybe you can come up with a guide and use a router with a bearing to follow the pattern to clean this part up.

 

Investment casting might get away from needing to machine the gasket surfaces.

Gotta be less expensive than Die Casting.
The per unit cost would be higher, because of the added labor,
but the up front tooling costs would be much lower.