Thanks Bruce,
Glad you like the design!
The oil filler cap will screw in. The filler cap will also have an
o-ring for a positive seal. "I'm stealing from Toyota on this one", it's
easy to make and it works well.
At this point the base of the valve cover, (the area that must be sealed
with a gasket), is causing some commotion amongst the foundry as well as
the machine shop.
Large, relatively thin, castings tend to vary dimensionally. Due to this
they can be difficult to properly jig for machining operations, such as
the groove for the rubber gasket. The base could of course be machined
flat, and a little adhesive will solve the assembly problem. I would
rather not do that if I don't have to. I personally would like having a
positive lock for the rubber gasket...which will be square in cross
sectional shape.
I will not make these unless they can be first class pieces. I will
never produce junk. It cost "too" much in many different ways! With that
said the aluminum will not have voids as some of you have commented as
being a flaw with other available products. This is easy to prevent! The
guys at the foundry know what I want and they tell me there will not be
a problem with voids.
A fancy cast valve cover is exactly that...it offers very little in the
way of performance.
I will probably make these in small batches based on confirmed, (paid
for), orders at near cost.
BTW, I am open to suggestions on the graphical design of the top
surface. The cross flags, and firing order are just one scenario.
How about club logos? I don't know...just a thought :>).
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/tr6tech
Best regards,
Jim Swarthout
-----Original Message-----
Subject: Aluminum Valve Covers
One of our regular contributors, Jim Swarthout, has a picture of a real
sharp looking valve cover in his website. Not sure whether Jim's design
incorporates provisions for rubber o-ring and screw in breather. I
purchased one from Rimmer last year that takes a cork gasket, looks
nice,
solid, and doesn't leak like my original. The mating surface was not
without fault, but I can live with it. The 0-ring would be sweet.
Bruce Simms
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