The only valve cover change out I’ve ever liked or considered using myself was not to fake anyone out but more as an improvement in appearance. I was originally going to use a SBF in my RPU and have never really liked the appearance of the SBF engines. Another member @dirtbag13 came up with an adapter to mount FE valve covers with the Thunderbird or Mercury script making the SBF look much better I thought. He was selling them for a little while. I decided to go with the Y Block instead of the SBF so never ordered a set.
FANTASTIC...I'm gonna do it. Nicely painted, beat it up a little and a stream of fake oil coming out around the push rod. Pull into a show, get out and say "This thing is running like shit" and pop the hood.
A friend of mine used to cast two piece valve covers for sbc that he would put what ever you wanted in the top piece. His whole setup looked like something you would see in a third world country. A propane powered burner with a pot to melt scrap aluminum in and some pretty simple molds.
Nothing says poser like the "faux" valve covers. In Re: slick36 and Three Widow's efforts, I'm always amazed at the level of skill and talent shown by members on here. There's a Plymouth coupe around these parts with DeSoto hemi covers on a SBC, and I've seen the Flathead ones at a swap meet for the astounding price of $2800. Originating from feelings of inadequacy that they didn't /couldn't put anything but a SBC between the rails.
It was mentioned several posts back, about the HAMBr who made some stamps for his Hemi VCs and put Plymouth in them. That would be cool, I/e take plain Jane SBC VCs and stamp mouse, etc. lots of possibilities if you have the skills. Putting Hemi in a set of non Hemi VCs would be pretty lame, IMO.
1978, I had my '27 Hiboy 'ready to go'...according to my witless brother. My 274" flathead had four 97s, Evans heads, all the cool stuff. But I went to work on my 354" Chrysler hemi. The M/T valve covers got the M/T milled off, and aluminum strap fitted into milled slots, making them just finned covers, and the Horne intake with four 97s resembled a giant flathead. Two Ford 6 water pumps got fitted to the front of the hemi block, and an Algon cover was converted by Bonneville Butch to mount a cam driven Mallory distributor, with Marine crab cap. An adapter to the Cad-LaSalle box, '50 Olds tailshaft/short housing made it open drive, same slip yoke as my '37 Lincoln box...Both sticks fit the right hand hole in the floor, (5" oblong, but close enough, carpet boot finished it off) The Hemi was a 'ringer' for the flathead, I used 2 upper radiator hoses from the Horne intake to the radiator. Idea was to cruise '50s nite early, then haul ass back to the shop and switch engines. Wiring was loomed to a multi plug on the firewall, so 'Zip-Snap!' Fast switching. Problem was the coolant. It took 20++ minutes to fill and bleed... Onlooking knowledgable posers argued the engine was a "Lincoln flathead...Giant Flathead! He changes engines sometimes..." Other story was, "Nah, he's got 2 cars...One with the hemi, that's a Chrysler there." When super builder Tom Prufer had dropped by, Johnny Lyons (R.I.P.) was milling the M/T covers...Tom had some displeasure with my 'defacing M/T covers'... The other V/C sin I committed was with my present Poliform bodied '27 Hiboy on repro '32 rails. My son Rich ("rich son") gifted me a healthy 455 Olds mill with 10.5:1 comp. TRW forged pistons, cam, alum intake... but 455 Oldses have the ugliest covers known to man...especially HAMBERS! So, I took some Cal Custom 324 Olds finned covers, had son Rich CNC me a pair of 3/8" flange adapters to circumvent the valve valleys, sealing the perimeters, then simply bolt the early covers onto 2 'roll bar brackets' ('hoops') on top of the brackets. Improved the looks 100%! Headers finished the 'look', albeit there were 4 on each side, not the classic 3. '37 LaSalle box behind a B.O.P. bellhousing, then a small cast adapter (Wilcap) that turned the optional Jeep (small Ford pattern) footprint to Cad-LaSalle. Everything was hunky-dory, then I got news my friend, Dick Powell had passed. Dick willed me a 354" Chrysler Hemi... Long story short, '27 hiboy NOW has a Chrysler hemi, with 2 stacked adapters to the LaSalle box... Short story about valve covers? Ha... Then there's my Marty Strode type '23 T track car with the 2 liter BMW with cast cover to disguise it...
We've all sneaked out to the garage some sort of kitchen vessel to soak parts in. Well, just don't stop there.
When I had the straight 6 in The Peter Beater, I put an old KAISER fender emblem on the valve cover. Faked a few ppl out.
I am not familiar with the operating temperatures of fibreglass, but I suspect that the fibreglass and bondo may not like the temperatures. My valve covers were reading 80* - 85* C last week - after a few minutes of warming up, (that’s - 176-185 farenheit). At those temperatures they may get a little soft as you pull into your local car show?
If you want sumthin “special”... you could wait a lifetime (or longer) waiting for someone else to make it for you... or you can make it yur damn self!!! I saw this thread when it first started... and there was a bunch of judgmental opinions offered up about the acceptability of disguising a motor as something else. But I’m glad to see that the conversation has turned to a more productive discussion about the different methods of modification and construction to create something that qualifies as “special”. For the record... here is a valve cover I machined and welded for an early head that never had a cover...
I milled the M/T off an Olds set and added an Oldsmobile body script with a couple speed nuts and some epoxy to the banner section
Don’t take it personal... nobody recognizes this head! This is an “Akron-Hed” overhead valve conversion for a Model T. An early Harry (Hal) Hosterman design. Here’s a peek at what I made to go under under the cover (the little tubes full of ball bearings just plain ol didn’t work)...
At least it had an Olds engine under it, When the faux cover craze was at its peak I was going to get a 50s era OLDS rocket decal for the firewall and add the word "Actual" above it. Fortunatley this fad seems to have died out, leave pretentiousness to the wine and cafe latte crowd.
"ugliest valve covers known to man" ? seriously? I guess if you're putting it in "tupperware" it don't matter
A few years back, I had a set of Offy covers on the engine. At a cruise night, this goof with holes in his earlobes big enough to put a hyd. lifter through tells his girfriend " That's an Offenhauser V-8! those are super rare engines."
To me the name on the valve cover reflects the design, engineering, manufacturing, pride and reputation that went into the engine by the OEM. Aftermarket covers sure of course, but putting another OEM's cover on flies in the face of all that. Just a sentimental old fool I guess..
Some of you guys sure get worked up over people trying to do things different, or individualize their valve covers.
The Jalopy Journal
