Thread: Fake Ardun valve covers for SBC

Tweet

Gusaroo....You're way too sensitive. Guys are always going to have thoughts, opinions, and comments that you may not like or prefer. Just take the info that works for you and blow off the rest of it. Lots of great folks on here who share a ton of talent and experience with dummies like me. They like to jab a little at times, but it's almost always without intent to hurt ones feelings.

I have the info you are looking for on the sbc/hemi valve covers I will find it and list the company making them.

I want a set of valve covers that make my Ardun look like a Chevy! :-)

This isn't trash talking, just my own opinion. I think things like Olds (and Ardun) valve covers on Chevy engines, fake QC rear ends, fake blowers, etc are ok as long as you are going down the road, but as soon as you stop and people walk up to look at your car things change. People don't like to be deceived, and when I look at a car that I think has an Olds in it, only to learn it is a Chevy hiding under there, I lose interest in the rest of the car and walk away. I feel let down a little.

Hot rods are supposed to be real and I would much rather see a "boring" sbc staring back at me than a fake Olds. Not only that, but as the owner of the car you are forever going to be making excuses when someone says "Oh, you have an Ardun in there." Then you have to fess up to the ones who really think it IS an Ardun and don't know better.

It's kinda like the guys who put 409 flags on their 283 powered Chevies.........sooner or later you have to open the hood and admit you were not being honest. JMO.

Don

Let me go off in another direction. I think that even a smallblock Chevy, which is my favorite choice of power, would be interesting if it is not done the same way we have seen it for several decades!

Would it be so boring if it had 6 deuces?......or how about using the Corvette valve covers we all ran in the '60s?......or painted something besides orange or black?... or equipped with Rochester fuel injection?.......or street-modified port injection?......or with unusual headers? I think the real problem is that it needs something that is rarely, or never seen, to become interesting to us again. ...and it would "honest", too.

Well, I've read this thread twice now, and I haven't seen any trash talking, just the accusation of trash talking by the person who posted the question to begin with.

I also saw no reason why someone should have been called anybody a "crybaby", because no one was acting that way from the posts that I read.

As for putting another marque's valve covers on your engine, if you want to then just do it, it's your money and you should do as you like. I personally don't like it, but I would be nice enough not to tell you about it, whereas I am sure others very well might. Although possibly overdone, I have always liked early Corvette covers or original Cal Custom covers on SBC's. No need to go the Mopar or Ford route to make the engine pretty (or ugly). But if that is what you should choose to do, it might be best if you don't open the hood at some events, especially if you are truly thin skinned.

And if you are thin skinned as some one here suggested, then I would avoid posting the question over at the HAMB. They most likely would not be as nice or generous in their comments. Not a lot of hard core traditionalists here, so in reality you got off lucky.

Thx Bob, got my question answered.

Just to set the record straight, I have a big block car, not a SBC so I am not even interested in masking my motor nor would ever want to. After reading the article about the rod with those valve covers in a magazine, I was just wondering about what something like that goes for or who sells such an item.

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

This isn't trash talking, just my own opinion. I think things like Olds (and Ardun) valve covers on Chevy engines, fake QC rear ends, fake blowers, etc are ok as long as you are going down the road, but as soon as you stop and people walk up to look at your car things change. People don't like to be deceived, and when I look at a car that I think has an Olds in it, only to learn it is a Chevy hiding under there, I lose interest in the rest of the car and walk away. I feel let down a little.

Hot rods are supposed to be real and I would much rather see a "boring" sbc staring back at me than a fake Olds. Not only that, but as the owner of the car you are forever going to be making excuses when someone says "Oh, you have an Ardun in there." Then you have to fess up to the ones who really think it IS an Ardun and don't know better.

It's kinda like the guys who put 409 flags on their 283 powered Chevies.........sooner or later you have to open the hood and admit you were not being honest. JMO.

Don

Don, that brought back a long forgotten episode. Back about 1979, we were Sat. night cruising the strip in my 1966 442. I got beside a real shiny Camero with a blower. I went for several red lights trying to get the neatly coiffed little dude to jump and he finally turned right on a red and fled. Later I saw the car in a car show and the blower was fake. That was the first time I ever saw fake speed parts and I lost all respect for the whole car. Six deuces with 4 blocked off isn't a whole lot different, or electronic fuel injection hid inside a Hilborn. Not really the same thing as dressing an engine in different valve covers, anyone who cares can tell its a chevy anyway.

Originally Posted by Gusaroo

I am literally blown away from the comments I received from my simple question about the valve covers. You guys are a bunch of crybabies. Go re-read my original post and tell me where I trash talked anyone or any motor, NOTHING was deleted.

Why don't you guys save your comments for the HAMB.

BTW, here is a clip from the article I was refering to, hope this pic doesn't make you burst into tears...

nope but laughter comes to mind!

Gusaroo - The price for the fake Olds covers are kind of pricey (about $200), so I suspect the fake Ardun's aren't going to be cheap, especially if they are aluminum. Actually the first time I ever saw them was when you posted the photo. Good luck finding them.


BTW, had a cat named Gusaroo! A red tabby with white markings. Unfortunately for him, he is no longer with us. Got laid out by a teenager in a Mazda one night last year. We still miss him.

Hope you fair better in life than he did.

This can go on and on bouncing back and forth between clever innovation and peer pressure. In my case I was disappointed that my '76 Corvette 350 block came with cheezy plain tin valve covers painted orange representing a low period in Corvette detuned engines. Interestingly I have located a source of the earlier aluminum covers (not cheap) and to my surprise the same sort of argument occurs there since there was a casting error in the originals with one of the letters messed up in "Corvette" and hard core restorers want copies with the casting error in them! So should I get the casting error covers or the perfectly spelled version? This is not high on my list to getting the car running but just think, I can get the "authentic" repos with the error in them if I want? This is sort of like collecting stamps with errors in them. Actually at the moment I am not clear on which I prefer the "authentic reproductions" or the "cleaned up reproductions", Gee what a decision and who would notice anyway? This is sort of like the good old days in the fifties when you knew if a flathead had acorn covers on the head bolts it was a show car while any car that was raced probably did not have acorn covers because the owner maybe wanted retorque the heads frequently.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I think the valve covers are a cool idea. A lot less expensive than hemi. haha How much are the Arden valve covers??? anybody know.