The company rebuilding my engine insists that I must scrap my original valve covers or cut holes in them to ventilate. They say that todays intakes do not have holes for ventilation and it must come through the Valve covers. Any help? Paul
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Re: 59 Crankcase ventilation
Paul -
They have a point - your '59 crankcase was ventilated by outside air entering through the oil fill cap on the tube pressed into the front of the intake manifold, and vapors exited through the road draft tube attached to the rear of the block behind the intake manifold. If you use your original intake or any intake with an oil fill tube and the road draft tube, no problem. If you use a newer aftermarket intake without the hole at the front for the oil fill tube, you have to do one of two things; either 1) Have the manifold drilled (many aftermarket intakes have the pad, but no hole in it) and install an oil fill tube (press fit), or 2) Use valve cover-mounted breathers (the air has to enter the crankcase from somewhere).
John -
Re: 59 Crankcase ventilation
Paul----
If you use an aftermarket manifold without provisions for an oil fill tube and your original valve covers, you will have a problem in addition to your crankcase ventilation. That problem will be how to put oil in the engine. Without the oil fill tube and with the "hole-less" original valve covers you'll be without any practical way to do this.
As John previously mentioned, your best bet is to add an oil fill tube to the manifold that you use. In the "old days" most aftermarket aluminum manifolds used to come with the hole for the fill tube already installed. For 69+ engines a "freeze plug" was supplied which could be used to plug the filler tube opening. As time went on and the "population" of pre-69 engines with original valve covers dwindled, the manifold manufacturers began making the manifolds so that they were more convenient for the greatest number of customers. That meant that the oil fill opening was eliminated and replaced by a boss which could be opened up by a machine shop, if an oil fill was required. More recently, even the boss has been eliminated from many manifolds since there are so few engines that require the fill tube anymore. The Edelbrock Model 2101 Performer is one that still has the boss. I suggest you only consider that one or another make/model with an oil fill tube boss. The majority of manifolds, today, though, including all GM supplied over-the-counter manifolds, don't have provisions for the oil fill tube. The last small block that GM made that required such provisions was made 32 years ago. That's a long time.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 59 Crankcase ventilation
Maybe we can take Joe's idea one step further! Why not have the machine shop open a hole up in the rear of the new manifold as well. The material "should be there and the draft tube can be held with the original bolt. Don't forget to make sure the baffle is put back in place.Comment
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Rebuild?
Advice given by Joe/Paul is, in my book, faultless. Now, we come to the 'better' question(s).
Who are these guys 'rebuilding' your engine? What specs are they 'rebuilding' too? If they're using proper factory original components (road draft tube, oil cap, etc.) that would give you full concours credit, why is there any controversy at all? Something tells me you might be asking about their experience or looking in the mirror and asking what degree of factory original parts you gave 'em or agreed to let 'em charge you for as missing items....Comment
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