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i just received a set of supposedly N.O.S GM staggered hole aluminum valve covers #3726086. the finish appears coarse as if sandblasted. i seem to remember them being smooth aluminum. do these sound like repros and if so can real N.O.S. still be found? the vendor says i can return them but that they are genuine GM. any help?
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Re: 1959 valve covers
Finish is usually pretty smooth, they come up on E-Bay alot.
terry -
Re: 1959 valve covers
James,
They sound like repro's. I bought a set from CC a few years ago and the surface was a very rough texture, later I bought a set of real GM valve covers. The difference is very evident, the GM units were very smooth.Comment
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My experience...
with NOS, in-GM box, aluminum valve covers is the natural, as-cast, 'skin' can be reasonably 'rough'. I've had maybe 12 over the years with about six being taken from factory sealed boxes (NEVER opened) and you could actually feel the skin texture with your fingers...
Media blasting generally opens the 'pores' in the cast aluminum surface texture that you can visually detect with under magnification (20x or so). The fact that the supplier is willing to take them back, no questions asked, makes me believe he's right and they ARE actually NOS parts. But, why not take a close look at the surface structure under magnification to see if discrete edges of the skin's geometry appear 'chewed' from random media blast hits vs. smooth and continuous with a bona fide 'as cast' configuration?Comment
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