Can anyone share with me the difference,if any, between a 62 stamped valve cover and a 63 to 66 stamped valve cover? Did either ever appear on chevy passenger cars or trucks? Thanks in advance.
Regards, Jon
Regards, Jon
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Re: c-1 c-2 valve cover contrast
'62 and '63 stamped steel valve covers are the same.... It's '64 and later where the difference begins. The difference is discussed in the Judging Guide books, but seeing the two versions side by side will indell the difference in your mind's eye.
Difference deals with the relative height of the center pad where the engine ID decal was placed. The early valve covers were stamped 'low' while later covers had a greater height. This, in turn, caused a distinct visual difference in the transition at the small ends of these rectangular pads. Low pads have almost no 'residual' tails/trails while later/higher pads have a distinct triangular residual tail/trail off the short sides of the pads.
There is no difference between Corvette stamped steel valve covers and Chevy passenger car/truck equivalents. The problem is FINDING a set of original valve covers that aren't rusted/rotted, bent, from this 2-year interval. They used to be VERY common at the scrap yards, but they're getting HARD to find now.
This particular style of stamped steel covers (had a square-boxy shape vs. earlier 283 stamped steel covers with their smooth/rounded geometry) became a 'target' for home mechanics.... Guys would 'soup up' their engines during rebuild and add solid lifters. The script Corvette aluminum valve covers looked 'cool' so these were frequently added.
Then, when it came time to adjust the solid lifters, some found it was easy to do the job if you went out and grabbed a pair of the 327 'boxy' stamped steel valve covers, cut out the top side, and used them as a 'shield' to keep oil from splattering during solid lifter adjust. Bottom line, walk the scrap yards and a good clean set of early stamped steel covers is getting hard to come by these days.... -
Re: c-1 c-2 valve cover contrast
Thanks Jack! Very informative! I have one complete set for a 62 and an extra LH for a 62. I guess I've never looked close enough at any on a mid-year. But I'll look for that triangle that you,ve mentioned. I became curious while looking them up in paragon with the intentions of posting them in the next driveline. Maybe, I ought to hang on to them in case I develope a need. Thanks again, JonComment
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