Since i upgraded the valve train on my C5, i hated that my engine looked like this:



The Corvette engine covers are very nice, but with tall valve covers the clips will not be able to reach the fuel rails, or if you fit the clips on the rails then the bottom clips will not reach the coil screws so your options are to keep the covers in there just held from one side and rattling all over or get rid of them. I my case i don't have tall valve covers but instead a valve cover spacer which at the end gives the same height as a tall valve cover.



I took a close look below the cover and the clip was not that far away from the rail cover:



So i thought that attaching a replicated clip to the actual clip might solve the problem. I've been working with 3d printed parts recently so i decided to give it as shot. But first i investigated a little about materials because PLA which is the most common filament melts just by drilling holes so my supplier suggested to use ABS. But the temperature in there can be serious so i ended up going for NYLON mixed with carbon fiber which is supposed to withstand peak temps of around 140°C (280°F). It is a very expensive material, but the parts are so small that the price difference is irrelevant. The first step was to take a template of the clip form just pressing a paper on it.



Then i scanned the paper and tweeked a little the scan on photoshop to give it a better contrast:



After that, i used the picture as a template to replicate the clip in a 3D model using Rhinoceros 3D.



I shaped the clip so it was able to reach the fuel rail and also can be held to the original cover clip, hence the two holes. This is the result:



The fitting on the rail was perfect. So here is how it looks on the engine cover. It can be slightly adjusted and just a couple of screws are required to attach "the clip to the clip".



So if anyone is interested on the .stl file, just PM me and i'll send it and you can print the clips on your side.
Cheers!

 

Really cool. I love seeing innovation. I wish I had the equipment to accomplish things like this. Thanks for sharing.

 

Good job dude! These kinds of projects are fun, make ya use the noggin!