valve covers

AMCenthusiast, yes you sound a bit harsh, but facts are, that one must understand proper cooling of the valve train. No matter how good your springs are, heat from friction and heat transfer from the valves can make them weak sooner than later.

Now for the performance guys pushing the limits on the track, we are talking short runs, so IMO heat may not play into the equation, as in dirt track or autocross. Even with street driven cars, that see above 4k RPM in rare occasions.

Now I did notice the same with my OEM valve covers, as for how oil is distributed by splash from the covers curved top. I had plans long ago to go with a girdle and had Offy tall ribbed covers set aside.

Once I realized the OEM covers fit well enough with quality springs, retainers, and studs, and I was not going all out in RPM use constantly... and keeping lift and valve stem height in check, I sold my Offy covers without any second thoughts.

Now which looks better on a built engine... obviously the taller ones. In some ways making a point about something that may not even be an issue, even if it is in design, can be taken as a wee bit of disregarded info to be noted with respect.

Fwew!

Edited by 74Bubblefender - Oct/24/2016 at 6:43pm

[QUOTE=amcenthusiast](that appears to be a nitrous solenoid on '74Hornet's engine?)

in my case i had the edelbrock cast on the engine before but the new valve train with 1.7 rockers hit on the ends and hit with metal ones too.i tryed the sce thicker very costly gaskets and they delaminated and started an oil fire

74hornet wrote: mopar440cu wrote: 74hornet wrote: </span> I have to ask, what us the blue and red lines in the front of your carb? Is it anodized fuel lines? Its hard to see it clearly with this old phone. Lol they are the fittings and lines for nitrous,i went with black look now when i changed the nitrous for a bigger system,the 175hp too small for the new motor

humorous that my extra long comment got quoted again or I would have deleted it now that Bubblefender edited his post (thanks and oops again!)

not to spotlight or call anyone stupid, I wanted to be polite and give my example of a 7000 rpm nodular iron bottom end AMV8 > to say 'yes, it can be done' -and give a nod to AM's book Performance American Style

because to me, I associate the tall valve cover look with a high rpm valvetrain, but my engine build with 6800 max rpm cam and kit (all the parts recommended by Erson) did not need the tall covers

and I'm willing to sacrifice some of my personal reputation with a long reply like that just so other AMCers know that the stock AMV8 valve covers are better than most other designs because the curved top definitely deflects oil back down onto the valve springs (not just for lube, but for using the oil as a coolant)

AM's Performance American Style sort of dodges the lack of 7000+ rpm high rpm potential of the nodular iron bottom end AMV8 by saying all AMV8s built for a higher level of performance should be internal balanced and consider getting a Moldex billet crank (even for the forged steel bottom end AMV8s)

so I think a nodular iron bottom end AM 304 can be built into a semi-serious performance engine but I don't think the original poster will need tall valve covers -assuming he's not going to use a billet crank and custom rods because he's going a low buck route possibly using the drilled head bolt 290 Typhoon 10 to 1 heads to get a tad more compression

the same money (mis-spent?) could go into buying mallory metal to have the crank internal balanced instead


Edited by amcenthusiast - Oct/25/2016 at 8:50am