who makes/has em? mooneyes claim theirs is for fuel inject, why? will it still work? thanx for the help.
Most were cast with a provision for mounting the fuel injection pump to drive off the cam gear. It should come with a block off plate to cover it. You might have to watch the water pump clearance though, it is going to be thicker than a stamped steel cover. jerry
most finned covers do not clear a short water pump. i have used them with spacing the pump off 1/4 inch along with spacing the crank pulley. a harley points cover also works well as a block off plate for the injector pump.
Another issue to watch for is the clearance against the harmonic balancer. I had to change from a stock 70s to some skinny race type balancer. Instead of spacing out the water pump to clear the cover, I just cut a sheetmetal piece out and used some gasket sealer. hasn't leaked, and you really don't see it behind the water pump.
The timing covers are available from Glen-L , Eddie Marine and almost any performance boat dealer. I bought one for my Crackerbox, 15' SBC powered flatbottom. In the boat, the cam drives the waterpump. They also show up on ebay in the boat parts section. I paid $ 95.00 new from Eddie Marine. Bob
ruralrod, I have a brand new, never used finned ProComp aluminum timing cover that I won't be using. PM me if you're interested in it. -Bob
sounds like i better look into it more. i just got excited with my new finned stacks and finned valve covers. gonna find the right water pump now. thanks boys, damn good help.
I know this is an older thread, but I am trying to figure out the real deal with these covers..some guys say there are no clearance problems using a hilborn or moon cover others say there is. I see the moon not only has the cover, but an additional cover over the cam area. the hilborn I know needs a block off plate made but the whole hilborn cover appears thinner maybe?? Honestly I don't have measurements of ANY cover, even stock as to how thick they are (how far the stick out from the block) I would really like to use a finned cover for nostalgia looking purposes (it won't be functional). I don't know what to think right now. I can get a thinner balancer like a powerbond to help clearance, but as some say I am worried about the waterpump area and don't want to use spacers on things..who has used these and what should I expect? thanks
Someting to consider if you want to use one of those covers without the injection pump: you'll need some kind of provision to prevent 'cam walk' & lots of those covers take a special front main seal that is based on the big block chevy, not the normal sbc. The above cover on the right looks like it has the BBC seal and snout size - sbc blower motor cranks have bbc snout to support and drive the lower pulley.
I would really like to use a finned cover for nostalgia looking purposes Key word here is "looking" You want to use it for the looks but you can't see it.
If you must have the bling then go with a regular polished Aluminum or chromed steel cover. It isn't worth the trouble trying to get the finned cover adapted.
Most finned covers wont fit under a water pump, plus you can't see them anyway. I'd just go for a chrome cover. Stay away from some of the cheap polished aluminum timing covers! They have fitment issues that can cause leaks at the oil pan or worse! A frined put one on his SBC, and when he tightened the pan bolts on his finned aluminum oil pan the "too thick" timing cover lower mating surface split wide open!
well, thanks, I hear more negative issues than positive with these things so I guess I will just use a stock cover..no use trying to get around problems for something that won't be seen a lot of..I'll appease myself with finned valve covers
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