Thread: finned valve covers questions

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If any of you have experience or opinions about finned valve covers please post a reply here. Thanks.

After a few obligatory pics I want to take for Tri Star, I want to remove the valve covers with their name engraved on them. I always had a soft spot for "old style" finned valve covers. I don't want any with other names on them, like Edlebrock or M/T, etc.

If anyone has a lead on very good quality covers please let us know.

I found these two valve covers on Summit Racing that fit small block Chevy, perimeter bolt and tall enough to clear my roller rockers. One is by Cal Custom and costs $120/pair and the other is by Trans-Dapt and cost $176/pair.

Is there any advantage or quality difference that makes the Trans-Dapt worth more? I'm not positive, but from the pics it seems that the Trans-Dapt fins extend down the front and back sides while the Cal Custom don't; so on that point I prefer the Trans-Dapt.

Cal Custom:


Trans-Dapt:

I had a set of Trans-Dapt covers many moons ago. As I remember, they were a pretty nice cast cover. Mine did not have the hole as I was running them on an old Corvette 327 with a vent tube. If I remember correctly, the fins are a tad bit shorter on the Cal Custom covers and you are right--they do not extend all the way down the front and back.

Obviously, the idea is for the Valve covers to keep the Oil in and the Dirt out, and beyond that, it's generally aesthectics-did you TriStar Covers come with Drippers? If they did, then I would duplicate that, as the Builder deems them necessary.

After that, the problem I've most encountered most has been keeping the Oil in, and some of the Covers out there aren't very flat (which can certainly be rectified)-

I'm a "finned" guy myself, and I chose Moon mostly because of the looks and name-they appear to be flat (I've checked them), and, my only other criteria was that I didn't want PCV holes in them-

Either of the ones you've shown will certainly work (hopefully without modification or extra Gaskets), and I like the Felpro reusable Gaskets myself-this is gonna look good!

I'm very happy with the Billet Specialties valve covers on my SB Ford - Not fully finned like the Cal Customs and one other brand I had, but ball milled along with the matching air cleaner:

Hey guys, thanks for all your inputs. I'm going to go with the Trans-Dapt finned valve covers with matching oval air cleaner.

Dave,
Your yellow body with the Ford motor and MSD stuff looks real nice and reminds me of mine except for the Ford vs Chevy differences. I also looked at ball milled pieces and I like those too, but I've had my eye on finned valve covers since back in the late '60's so I can't not get them now that I actually have a motor they're suited to.

Good choice Nick, do you have to run a PVC on your engine as I found I had too on my SBC as it really pushed the oil out of the 3 filler caps on the engine until I had one fitted ?

No PCV yet, Whiplash. Just K&N vents on both valve covers. With the old ZZ4 only had slight vapors and a little oil to wipe off the shiney stuff once in a while so I hope it doesn't get worse than that. If it does I'll deal with it then. Maybe the "drippers" that 35WINDOW mentioned will be enough to keep much oil from escaping the valve cover vents and I'll keep an eye on the dip stick in case it starts blowing.


edit:
By the way, Whiplash, on my rice burner I have a pretty neat PCV setup and it works excellent. I have a line from each cam cover going to a sealed catch can. From the catch can I have a line going to my exhaust just past the downpipe from the turbos; right there I have a Moroso check valve and one of those venture tubes so that even at idle we measured a vacuum pull on the catch can, and at higher revs a little more pull on the catch can and any vapors or blowby or whatever gets sucked into the exhaust and out. My motor is built pretty well so it's not like I'm getting much blowby but whatever it is goes out the back.