Thinking about casting some valve covers...

[Gregwill16]

That does look good Jay nice work! Those may end up being the best seller after the durability test as you can partially diagnose issues with little effort.

[machoneman]

Jay, how's about some more pics of the '68, all shiny and polished up? I'm sure other would like a current look-see as well. 

[Stangman]

Jay so who's covers are they in the picture is that something you made up also. And yes some pis of the stang would be nice. Ok just went back and read it like I should have in the first place so forget about the first question how about some pics.

[jayb]

Go to the first page of this thread for some pics of the car in 2015, right before I tore it apart:

http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=2725.msg26923#msg26923

[Royce]

Jay whatever happened to the LED lights you had on the prototype clear cover.. I would think that would really be appealing to the gotta have bling crowd. plus it could be like a strobe light to check valve train motion....

[scott foxwell]

I know you have it some where, but what's the pricing going to be on these?

[jayb]

Jay whatever happened to the LED lights you had on the prototype clear cover.. I would think that would really be appealing to the gotta have bling crowd. plus it could be like a strobe light to check valve train motion....

Royce, I have one set with the LED lights built in, but the set I put on the car doesn't have them.  I may swap to the LED set sometime this summer.  I was going to do a strobe circuit to flash them with a potentiometer under the hood to adjust the speed, but haven't gotten around to that yet.

[jayb]

I know you have it some where, but what's the pricing going to be on these?

$295/set, I think.  I haven't done all the production pricing checks yet.  Bear in mind that these covers won't fit on every application.  For example, I think a valve spring diameter of about 1.55" is about max; I had a friend try them on an engine with 1.61" diameter springs and they wouldn't fit.  They also won't fit on some rocker setups, and they just barely clear the Precision Oil Pump end stands.  On the other hand, the valve covers with the cast aluminum base and the flat clear top should fit on anything; it remains to be seen on that set if they will seal properly over the long haul, though...

[scott foxwell]

I know you have it some where, but what's the pricing going to be on these?

$295/set, I think.  I haven't done all the production pricing checks yet.  Bear in mind that these covers won't fit on every application.  For example, I think a valve spring diameter of about 1.55" is about max; I had a friend try them on an engine with 1.61" diameter springs and they wouldn't fit.  They also won't fit on some rocker setups, and they just barely clear the Precision Oil Pump end stands.  On the other hand, the valve covers with the cast aluminum base and the flat clear top should fit on anything; it remains to be seen on that set if they will seal properly over the long haul, though...

Thank you. That's a really reasonable price.
Why can't -or why wouldn't- you make the one piece covers with the same internal dimensions as the two piece? Draft issues?

[Royce]

was going to do a strobe circuit to flash them with a potentiometer under the hood to adjust the speed, but haven't gotten around to that yet.

Better yet, wire it in to the bass channel of your stereo.

[FElony]

was going to do a strobe circuit to flash them with a potentiometer under the hood to adjust the speed, but haven't gotten around to that yet.

Better yet, wire it in to the bass channel of your stereo.

Best tech idea yet!! Imagine the hood up at the cruise-in, and your rockers flashing to some classic MC Hammer. Don't Touch This! 'Cuz that's how I roll, er, hop. I can paint my stock rockers in neon colors to show my class and fine breeding.

Seriously, I really like these clear covers. Keeping fingers crossed that they stay clear under use. Not really of course; I can't type with my fingers crossed. Seriously.

[jayb]

Thank you. That's a really reasonable price.
Why can't -or why wouldn't- you make the one piece covers with the same internal dimensions as the two piece? Draft issues?

It's more about how they are constructed, although draft does enter into it.  I do need more draft when vacuum forming the clear top than I need when designing the sand cast covers.

The valve cover rail sandwiches the polycarbonate with 3/8" aluminum on either side.  That area of the polycarbonate has to be flat to get a decent seal.  Once inside of the valve cover rail, the polycarbonate has to make a somewhat gradual turn to go vertical; the polycarbonate I'm using is 0.090" wall and it just won't suck down all that well in the corners of the plug, to make a nice sharp edge.  So, that gradual turn once the polycarbonate is inside the valve cover rails eats up some area, and can cause some interference issues.

[Yellow Truck]

Well, they do a lot of other parts besides FE stuff, and I have my own plan for heads and intakes, that wouldn't really mesh with what Blue Thunder makes.  So that's not really a good option for me.  Besides, I don't think they're for sale 

Time to ask a stupid question. Been reading another thread that has degenerated into some uncivil discourse and the limitations of the FE head/intake configuration was mentioned. If you can make an intake adapter, and BBM and Survival have made new heads, and you are thinking about blocks and heads, is there a reason that the FE head must have the intake sit over top of the block? Is it not possible to make a head and intake adapter into one and the same?

Would it not open up additional options for runner routing and chamber shape?

[jayb]

I don't think it would open up any runner routing or chamber shape options, but it would make the FE a little bit more conventional.  The problem will be the area under the extended head and the block rail.  The SOHC has that feature, and has little triangularly shaped cork pieces that go in to seal that area.  You could do the same thing if you extended the wedge FE head out. 

Of course, if you did that, no standard FE intake would fit, because of the design.  So, you'd be stuck with a custom intake, or making the head fit an intake from another engine, like the 351C.  And if you are going to design a new head and require an intake that wouldn't fit previous head designs, you could just leave the basic configuration the same.

[BattlestarGalactic]

Maybe 10 yrs back, Rick Smith(trick flow) was telling me that he could build me a set of heads that would really wake my car up.  Great, just need that winning lottery ticket .  I told him the only problem was it would not be an "FE" anymore because I'm sure it would be a custom billet whatever with a custom intake, blah, blah, blah.   I'm sure it would fly, but again, it would not be an "FE" anymore.

Rick worked with a local truck pulling guy on a SBF, so he was around the shop occasionally.

Lucky for me(and my pocket book) I like it just the way it is.