rudedawg

I have a base L-48 in a '77 with A.I.R. I am just going through the car and getting leak areas addressed. I have been looking at replacing the stock stamped valve covers with aluminum, but prefer not to drop $225-$250 on a new pair of L-82 type aluminum covers.

After looking at several styles, I really wanted to get these classic style Chevy finned covers. However, it appears I will have clearance issues (EGR valve, A/C brackets, PCV hoses, etc.) judging by the measurements listed.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cal-196187/overview/

So, does anyone have this type of cover on a similar setup as mine that will be close in height to stock covers?? The height of the stock stamped covers looks to be about 2.5"

I may just have to strip down and paint my stamped covers if I can't find anything to fit.

Alan 71

Hi rd,
Doesn't a 77 still require that one of the valve covers have 2 holes in it?
(pvc and oil fill?).
Regards,
Alan

rudedawg

Hi Alan,

The driver's side does indeed have oil fill and PCV. I had planned to do oil fills through the PCV hole on these type of covers. With baffles in the covers, it would just take longer to fill.

Alan 71

Hi rd,
Well o.k.!
Regards,
Alan

Dynra Rockets

My base 69 had factory stamped covers. I replaced with good used L46 finned aluminum units from ebay. I had to watch for a while but after about 6 weeks a nice set came up for $60.

They were very dirty from the ebay pics so I assume that is why no one else bid on them. A few minutes with some carb cleaner, an old toothbrush and a little time with some fine steel wool they were presentable.

sunflower 1972

For amount of time it will take dumping new oil thru the PVC hole, you could remove a valve cover to change the oil.

lars

This is the engine in my '64. This engine has a complete PCV/breather system installed, hidden at the rear of the valve covers. Oil fill is through the breather hole, and is no problem.

aussiejohn

LArs, I don't believe you, you'll have to show us a photo of the oil fill/breather set-up.

Regards from Down Under.

aussiejohn

Barrist

$60.00 Off of E Bay, And a Little time with two hole saws.......



Works Fine.

Have a Great Day,

Bill

Rescue Rogers

Lars, what intake is that and what kid of performance are you getting from it
Thanks
Scott

rudedawg

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.........

I should have posted a pic first to show what I've got. My primary concern is clearance with new finned covers. On the pass. side, I have the EGR, A/C bracket and one of the A/C hoses.

The covers that I linked have an outside height of over 3.5 inches and my preliminary measurements make it appear they won't fit. So, I didn't know if anyone had covers like this with a shorter height and a similar engine setup like mine.

Barrist- Is your setup like mine (EGR, A/C, etc.)???

The more I look at it, I may just strip and repaint my current covers and see if I can pick up a cheaper set of finned L-82/L-46 covers down the road like DynaRockets did. There are so many danged hoses covering things up anyway.

Urge to perform A.I.R. delete........rising

lars

Scott -
That's the Victor Junior single plane. The engine dyno'd at 500/500 with massive low-rpm torque. Last summer, I thought I'd try the advice that everybody dishes out and buy a Performer RPM Airgap. What a mistake... the RPM Airgap lost torque and power at every point in the power curve, including off idle. I yanked that stupid thing back off, sold it on FleaBay at a 50% loss, and put the Victor back on. Now I have my smokin' performance back, and I'll never consider running a dual plane on a real performance engine again!

Lars

Jebbysan

I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment......

Jebby

lars

Jeff -
You must not read Hot Rod Magazine... single plane intakes are for race engines, and cannot be used on the street without killing streetable torque...! Don't do it!

Lars

Jebbysan

Lol....all you have to do is make the carb signal and it is as good as any other intake.....
The Air Gap is good to about 500 horse and even then can be a cork depending on what you are doing....

Jebby

USAFVeteran

Wow, 500/500 from a small block. I'm interested what is in that motor, heads, cam, rods, pistons, etc, if you're willing to share that info that is....

lars

It’s not hard to do by paying attention to the things that matter: “The more flow, the more go.” The engine I built for myself is based on a 400, and measures out at 407 inches now. I have also built 420 small blocks that consistently dyno at over 530 horse. Here are the key ingredients:

Build for reliability so you can get some rpm out of it. You don’t get high horsepower in small engines by running rpm under 5500. Main cap studs, main cap bars, and cylinder head studs allow using rpm to make power:




Oil windage is a major power loss. Run a custom, tight-wrapped windage system:


Good heads are absolutely critical. Buy the best flowing heads your wallet can afford:


Then port match the heads and do some careful porting using a flow bench to verify results and consistency:


Run the lightest reciprocating parts you can afford. Top-quality pistons and rods are essential, with some good rings with low drag:


I run custom-ground solid-roller cams with a revised firing order with full roller rockers. This all means very good flow through the engine with resulting power:


I like single plane intakes and “oversized” carbs to top it off. I have found that big headers make big power – don’t believe the crap that you need small-tube headers to make mid-range torque. I run 1-7/8” headers on small blocks with dyno-proven numbers to back it up.

Don’t be afraid to go “big.”

Lars

GUSTO14

I installed a set of aluminum covers on my then new '77 Corvette within a year because the "tin" L-48 covers were leaking. Like you, not wanting to shell out the money for a set of L-82 covers, I found a set of Mickey Thompson's about the same height as the ones you are looking at. Because they are taller, they were a pain to install in the cramped engine compartment and I ended up having to change belts because the A/C compressor was pushed out further to clear the taller covers. The EGR valve may also have been an issue, I can't recall now.

Cal Custom has been making good quality, polished aluminum accessories for the after market for decades. From a quality standpoint I wouldn't be concerned.

A few years later I found a nice used set of the L-82 covers and after polishing them, replace the M/T's with the L-82 covers. They fit perfectly and looked good! Check the "Bay" occasionally. Used covers clean up and polish pretty easily.

Good luck... GUSTO

theandies

I see you're running the same readers I am. I must be doing something right!

lars

That just means you're as cheap as I am...!

Lars