Olds valve covers on a Chevy

i'm guilty.

 

Eh,, I've probably seen this topic pop up a dozen times here... But,, now I have a 303 of my very own, so I see the need to dump my share of poop on the shit-heap... Or maybe I'm just bored....

Olds Rocket valve covers on a SBC is straight-up 'turd-polishing'... Not saying one engine is better than another, but the whole point is to make something appear to be of a certain vintage when it actually isn't.... There's a reason why the muscle car guys aren't pants-shitting to put 'Rocket" covers on their Camaros..... It's like those 30-footer finned Buick drum-esque disk brake things... Camoflage...

We call it 'farb' in another hobby, but I doubt that there will be many people here that have any idea what the Hell I'm talking about..... If you know the term it explains it all quite well...

I think I'm going to put SBC covers on my 'rocket' on occasion, just to fuck with people....

If I can find a cheap pair,, I'll probably make some early mopar 'poly' valve covers fit just to be a jack ass (Ok, that one probably won't come to fruition).....

Talk about a bad-assed valve cover right there, and an overall head-turning engine... If you are willing to sacrifice a few performance points for looks (early hemi heads are a direct bolt-on), the early "Poly" motor is the way to go....!!!

Or maybe I'll keep the hood on and tell people it's an American Motors 327 under there......

It's kind of a moot point... Most guys that 'sort of know their engines' (at best) can tell that it's not a "Rocket" (2 tubes in the center of the header instead of one is the easiest giveaway at a glance)... Most that can't tell the difference have no idea what the Hell an 'Oldsmobille Rocket" is in the first place..... You're really only tricking a small percentage who will realise that they have been 'duped' in due time,, if they keep on-track with learning about the 'old shit'.....

I guess it's one of those common,, easy,, and popular swaps that we just have to deal with...

 

what if I used Olds covers but put Chevrolet script on 'em?

 

Ok, a serious observation...

there's new blood in our craft. Some haven't been there since the begining. They have magazines, places like this, and while some may not know what the vibe is like having lived it, they still have an idea of what they want to see. In the big picture it's the look that turns one's crank. It's not so bad that a person who does such things may not have the knowledge of what it takes to get a truely vintage engine running and reliable. There's sounds and smells and vibrations that the old grey bastards are familiar with and have a sense of nostagia for. I truely don't think it makes one less of a hot rodder if they disguise their motor to have a selectied look. I've personally "disguised" a few but not with parts. I've done it with paint. Painted a 500inch Caddy all Ford blue cuz it was in a Ford pickup. Also painted one Mopar orange because it found it's way into a 38 Dodge pickup. That one was a 429 Caddy, and just for fun I painted another Caddy a bright screamin yellow. It was fun. We liked it. Even more fun when some woud ask what it is w/out looking at the valve covers (they still said Cadillac). It might not be for me, clearly not for many of you, but the old "live and let live" idea should apply. When I see a car done that doesn't really float my boat, I usually remind myself of the fact that that guy's having a little more fun than I. Mine aren't done yet. Better to tip one's hat and think "...thanks for letting me see your car today..." or something similar. Never forget that we are in this together. My smart ass comment earlier, well, we are that too. Goes with the territory. I still don't tip my hat to garbage builds. There's a limit...

 

This is about as significant a global discussion as moving ones part on your head a quarter of an inch to the left. In the end the same face is still under that flop of hair.

 

I was thinking the same thing...

 

How many guys have wide white radial tires.. It's kinda a disguise too, yet I don't here any shit about those..........

 

x2............

 

I sure don't have a problem with custom anything. I love to change things, and I don't think I've ever owned a car that was stock; just too boring.
But there's a difference (to me) from changing something and trying to make it look like another brand. I just don't see the point of trying to make a Chevy look like anything else. No shame in owning a SBC to me.

 

IMO, scottybaccus and TheHIGHLANDER have there heads on straight.......too bad such reasoning is in so short supply on the HAMB and in the world in general. And, they can spell, punctuate and use correct grammar all at the same time.

Ray

 

I think the ELECTROLUX is the best valvecover too. At first I thought that the use of different vc.s was a pretty neat idea, and kinda humorous, but now its going commercial and everybody is getting on the bandwagon. Oldsmobiles entry with an OHV V8 was one of the biggest jumps in muscle car history, even bigger than the small block chevy. It was a surprise, it was big news, and it changed things a lot. If you were there you know how it was. there were no hemi,s no ohdcams,s etc. it was the first lower cost car with big V8 car power,it was there along with the Caddy which was even bigger. In actuality the first Chevy V8,s far supecede the 50 Olds in design, but us old farts kinda see it with 1949 eyes. So I will still try putting an ARDUN vc on my Desoto, a chevy 235 cover on my Jeep motor, and think my 39 Century was a muscle car before the Olds. so just have fun guys . in the end ---'its all relative' gggggg

 

Well, I guess part of my problem is my background is more "racer" than "street rodder". To me, non-functional, bogus crap is, well, crap. The fake plastic injector stacks are a really good example, and to my way of thinking fall into the same category as trying to make a chevy look like an olds by putting valve covers on it. I guess if you want to impress a bunch of bozos who clearly dont know thier ass from a hole in the ground, its great. Or maybe its a method of weeding those bozos out(hah! That dumbass actually thinks my 305 is an olds motor). Thing is, anyone with half a clue is going to look at it, and know its not an olds anyway. Then its you that looks like the bozo. I have been around for a while, we always thought stuff like that was cheezy, hot wheels, poser crap. I guess it just depends on WHO you are trying to impress. And dont give me that "I aint trying to impress anyone but myself BS" trying to make a chevy look like an olds is trying to impress the onlooker, the builder already knows what it is.

Oh yea, and two thumbs WAY UP on the "electrolux". Humour is another matter entirely.

 

Bullshit.

 

I wish they would make some 'vertical' valve covers to make my smallblock look like a nailhead!

 

exactly- ive got a 53 olds rocket-to me those valve covers rank right alongside fake kickstarts, fake jockey shifts, and fake panhead valve covers on harley evolution motors.

 

I agree with the guys who say it's about style. I think the Olds covers look really slick when they are painted the same color as the engine with no script. They make the plug wires look neat and organized. I'm sure some guys use them as a disguise, and that's fine for them, but if I were to run them it would be for no other reason than the clean look. In a kustom that's been shaved and molded, why wouldn't you want a cleaner, more smooth look under the hood as well? To each their own though.

 

So, let me see if I have this straight. You cant find any nice looking valve covers for a small-block chevy, so you have to use Olds valve covers, right? Thats the central argument here? This is the same small-block chevy that has been the mainstay of the hot rod industry since the late fifties, right? The one engine that has had more aftermarket parts produced for it, by more manufacturers, than all other engines combined, correct? But there are no nice looking valve covers available, so you have to use Olds parts?? Am I getting this right?? I have read some outlandish bullshit on the internet, but this has to set some kind of record.

 

They are something to look at. Like fake boobs. I like to look.
Fake spotlights look good, too.
Are you saying if someone put a '49 Plymouth bumper on a car of different make, that it looks bad?
How about the Caddie/Olds aircleaners that are now popular? They look OK. I can tell by looking at the car that it is not a Caddie.
Live and let live.
To each his own, blah, blah......

 

I THINK they are using the old's VC's on the newer style SBC heads that use the center bolt style VC's. Not on the older SBC heads. I do agree the olds VC's do look a lot nicer then anything I have seen for the center bolt VC heads...

 

Best looking center bolt valve cover for a chevy I have seen.
I will probably through them away because some of you don't like them and think I am a "poser". Some of you guys are a little high stung, whew, man its their shit!

 

Why?<O</O
It's easy...because I had them, just sitting under the bench or hanging on the wall.<O</O
<O</O
I don't know about you guys but I've always brought stuff home. I go to the bone yard back in the late 70's looking for a clutch pedal or rearend and bring home a couple Caddy air cleaners 'cause their laying there and cheap. Or go to the Olds dealer back in the '80's for rearend bearings and grab two cast aluminum "corporate" Olds valve covers because they're cheap.
<O</OHUH, I'll be damned, never mind I guess I'm just cheap!!<O</O

 

I've seen plenty of OLD valve covers on SBC's... usually on OLD engines from OLD cars.. whatcha talkin about

 

Anyone who is running a Small Block Chevy should be proud of it.If you were proud then you wouldn't run valve covers with another name on em. Be proud of that "Dependable cheap horsepower you purchased".I dont say that as insult either,thats what I hear a lot of people say that you get plenty of power for a cheap price.It makes no sense to disguise it.

 

Clueless

 

Yeah.. Sucks on one side and blows from the other!!!
LOL

 

Your absolutely correct, and if these SOB's start leaking I'll dump them for the other ones under the bench!

 

This is like watchin a cat fight to a Ford guy.

 

I have been thinking about developing a kit to make a Harley Sportster look and sound like a Yamaha 750. I was afraid that investors would be hard to find and there might not be a market. I have decided, after reading this thread, that my worries are not justified and this project will be a success.

 

NICE DOG...in your av.

 

Starting in 1955, smallblock chevys were used in hot rods for their superior power output of the day and happen to have become the most popular engine ever used for a reason. Flatheads are cool, but not practical. I drive my cars every day. Inexpensive, reliable power is my objective. A sbc is a tried and true way to get that. If you are wealthy enough to use any other engine, good for you. If you feel the need to sneer at every hotrodder since 1955 who has used a smallblock chevy, you have serious issues.
If you are so ignorant of traditional hotrods that you can only take a pot shot ..., crawl back in your hole.

Yep, plagarised and bastardized from ScottyBaccus' post.
Thanks Scotty!