Hey all;
I'm looking to have my engine finally finished over christmas and there is a couple things left to pick up, one being the valve covers. I have my originals taken off, since I can't back spending 500 bucks on rechroming just yet. I was looking at the valve cover kits from ground up, and it comes with all the grommets and things, but I have a question about the elbow for the tube that goes to the air cleaner. Mine is a closed 325 hp version, and from the pictures I can find, the tube goes straight into the valve cover, while all the elbows I see are L shaped, as if they're for the open cleaner where the tube goes underneath it. Is there a speacial 'elbow' and tube for the closed cleaner, or am I simply looking at it wrong? Every place I look at only has the one, and makes no distinction between them. As well there are valve covers with slants and no slants on the driver's side. The reproduction company's say the slanted ones are for any ones with power brakes. The problem I have is my originals do not have a slant, but they have some kind of beveled edge, does this mean the unslanted ones will fit? Thanks for your help, as always.
Oh yeah, my car is a 69 SS. Thanks.

Phil. If you look at the pic, the covers have the bevel in the left cover for the brake booster. The elbow goes into the cover and the hose runs straight from that to the side of the air cleaner. Here is the seperate hose. click (http://www.ss396.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=chevellecamino&Product_Code=APH-3961&Category_Code=ENGINEDETAILINGAIRCLEANER)
http://www.ss396.com/mm5/graphics/00000009/XA-101.jpg

If your looking for the correct valve covers for a 69 BB, you don't want the ones with the "slant" ... Those are for vettes or Camaro's or something. Chevelles don't need the slant because the power brake booster is far enough away, that it doesn't need the additional room.

This is what the 69 vc's should look like. The rear portion of the left cover is slanted a bit, but the whole corner shouldn't be hacked off like the pic above
These are actually for a 68, but they are the same as the 69 except for the temp wire bracket which is not there for a 68...
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/vc_s.jpg

Who quoted you 5 bills to rechrome them? There is a place in town that does excellent chromework at a fair price, if you want their number let me know. Where is NL?

Who quoted you 5 bills to rechrome them? There is a place in town that does excellent chromework at a fair price, if you want their number let me know. Where is NL?

Newfoundland, Canada

Mike

Great thanks, yeah NL is newfoundland. I sent them over to zeenith (spelling?) in Halifax a while ago and the quote was near a little under 5 CDN for rechroming. One cover isn't bad at all, but the drivers one has alot of the chrome on the rear half mangeled pretty bad. So there isn't a difference in the elbow on the valve cover regardless if it leads to an open or closed air cleaner? From what I can see the hose leads straight from the elbow under the cleaner on the open ones, but for a closed one, the hose would have to make almost another 90degree bend to go up to where it leads into the air cleaner's side, if you can picture what I am saying. From the pictures I've looked at, where people still use the closed air cleaner on the 325 hp engine, it looks as if they dont use an elbow, but almost a straight section of plastic, and the longer tube that ground up sells seperately.

Phil,

I have used the Ground Up Valve covers with drippers and for the price, they are just fine. You will not have the small clip on the driver's side valve cover that holds the temp sending wire, but you can easily buy a small clip to put on a valve cover bolt to serve the same purpose.

And, as Bill R. mentioned, you do not need the slanted valve cover, just ask for one without the slant, they have them. If you want to go nuts, Crane Corvettes in California makes an exact, and I mean exact, reproduction of the 69 BB valve cover, but it will set you back $500. These are the same as shown in Bill Rose's previous post with the addition of the temp sending wire clip.

I personally do not recommend rechroming original covers unless they are absolutely rust and pit free. The metal is so thin that it leaves very little metal to work with. You will also lose all the detail and when grinding or polishing, you also risk wheeling off one of the towers or clips.

As for your breather elbow, the 69 SS closed element air cleaner has a straight metal piece coming out of the valve cover that goes to a curved/moulded rubber hose that then connects to the breather element in the aircleaner. I have sent you a picture of what I am talking about.

Woj.

Thanks, That's exactly what I was getting at. I searched ground up's site for the other version of the elbow, but never found anything. I'll have ot ask about it when I call about the kit. Thanks again for your help,
Phil

FYI all repro covers rub the intake rockers!
Next time you have the engine running,put your hand on the covers,you'll see what I mean.
You actually need to clearance the covers a little on the inside with a small hammer.

Heard you can get exact US made covers from www.oldmusclescars.com but they will cost you around $450.

Hi Phill,

I believe you can get an exact set from www.cranescorvette.com. I'd call them and talk to someone for specifics on your year and model.

Al

I bought a set for my 70 from Cranes...nice product. Before I bought them I purchased a set from GU and did not like them. The lip around the sides were to long and hit on the motor so they wouldn't seat properly, the dimples from the drippers didn't show up as I would have liked and the holes for the elbow made it o so hard to get it in. Plus no clips. The Cranes cost me, but a nice American made product.

I would rechrome the originals, I think the repo's look like crap. The GM fit better and have the correct dimples from the spot welds, the ground up china charlie jobs don't fit very well and do not look original at all, and the temp sending unit wire will be swinging in the breeze.

Another vote for Crane's. Very, very close to OE. GU/Tawian's repro's are very poor. Re-chroming has it challenges, like warping and durability, so be careful (went down this route once before).

Make sure the rechroming shop knows what they are doing and set expectations.

Cranes cost around 500 for new covers? I know its kinda expensive, but thats what the chrome shop quoted me just to rechrome the ones I had. Well there is the currency issue but less of a factor than it ever was. Does anyone have an idea what an average rechrome cost will usually run? Thanks

Had a set done at Cambridge Custom Chrome and it was $400.00 Cdn. You get what you pay for.

Does anyone have an idea what an average rechrome cost will usually run? Thanks

I got a below average job done in Texas for $200 + shipping. :sad:
BillL

Phil,

If you are on the fence on this one, buy the repops from Crane's. It is one of those deals that you will be grateful for doing, unless you are going to flip the car. You can rechrome, but as I said earlier, you are taking a chance. I bought the Cranes for my car and it was a great buy in my opinion. NOS ones are 99.9999% if the time service replacements and far from exact.

Repops aren't perfect, but will look fine.

I saw a 69 Camaro SS, BB car at the West Palm Barret Jackson that had repop valve covers, with the Taiwan sticker still on them; sold for over $45K.

Good luck on your decision.

Woj.

Jim,
your link wasn't working,
http://www.oldmusclecars.com/
they list the same part # for the 66 application as cranes does and they're $40 less ;)

I had a set chromed several years ago by a place in Fla. that's done some Corvette bumpers for me in the past, and they turned out TOO GOOD. The detail of the dripper spot welds went away, and the uprights for the sparkplug wire looms were so thick that they wouldn't go on without splitting the plastic on one end, which of course made em where they wouldn't stay on.

There are repops available from a number of repop houses that are pretty good, but the temp wire clips are too thin so they're noticeably incorrect.

Personally, I don't care for Dave Crane, thinking he's a windbag/slick talkin' used car salesman type (just my opinion which probably ain't worth much) but the one set of his covers that I saw on a Corvette looked dead right. It DOES make one wonder why his cost 4 to 500 bucks while other repops that are so close can be sold for about a hundred at full retail.:confused:

I may have to give the ones on the other link listed a whirl on the El Camino because the original ones on it probably aren't salvageable.

Sorry, spelled muscle with an extra s on the link. Think the ones from Classic Muscle are the same as from Crane?

The ones from Classic Muscle are from Crane's. You can actually buy them cheaper from CM than from Cranes.

Woj

Sorry, spelled muscle with an extra s on the link. Think the ones from Classic Muscle are the same as from Crane?
Cranes site describes the "unique" small slant on the drivers side rear corner for the 66's which is correct, Classic Muscles description is exact reproduction,flash chromed etc; The part #'s are the same -V656C and if you type in the part # at classics site it looks like there is a slight dent on the passenger side cover... a little hard to tell though.... they're facing wrong way, you'd think they would take the pic showing the dent.

I had forgotten about Cranes...They are the best thing to original. There are a few differences in the late 60's early 70's and Cranes covers them all.