Just purchased a 1968 400/400 take out from a '68 442 for my '68 442. Prior owner put a 350 chevy in it. The valve covers have indents toward the rear of them and this is strange to me. I thought all olds valve covers where flat all the way down. Does anybody have any information about this? BTW the motor and trans are numbers matching.

 

BBO in the 68 - 72 A bodies got notched valve covers to clear the brake booster and air box.

 

Actually, 1967 A-body cars with BBO got one notched cover on the driver side since 67 was the first year for the larger 11" power brake booster (64-66 cars got the 9" booster). 68 was the first year for the larger HVAC box, thus the addition of the notched passenger side cover on the 68-72 cars. About half the cars you see on the web incorrectly have the notches oriented to the front.

 

I knew you guys would know the answer. Thanks

 

Joe, may I ask if all 68 BBO cars had the notched valve covers installed? What about non-AC cars that do not have the large HVAC box on the firewall? I ask because I would like to install the correct valve covers on my 68 442 convertible (non-AC). At some point, someone installed the 73-74 Olds script valve covers which look nice but aren't correct for this car. Thanks in advance!

-Steve

 

All BBOs installed in 1968-72 A-body cars came with two notched covers from the factory, no matter what equipment was ordered on that car. This is documented in the Engine Assembly portion of the Product Information Manual (aka the Assembly Manual), but unfortunately the reprinted versions sold by most vendors don't have that chapter in them.

FYI, Olds used engine series designations for their engines. For the 1968-69 model years, the 350 motors were 654 series. The 400 motors were 658 series. The RWD 455s were 657 series. The Toro motors were 664 series. The Engine Assembly Manual includes a detailed tabulation of part numbers used for every engine assembly, and the 400 motors all got unique RH/LH valve covers with notches. BBOs for full size cars got two P/N 392323 valve covers. 400s got 395447 on the driver side and 399668 on the passenger side. There is another interesting piece of data in those numbers. Olds P/Ns are somewhat sequential by year. The lower the P/N, the earlier that part was first used. 392xxx part numbers were first used in the 1965-66 time frame. The 395xxx part number for the driver side valve cover reflects the fact that the LH notched cover was first used (by itself) in the 1967 model year due to the new for '67 11" power booster. The 399xxx part number for the RH notched cover reflects the fact that it was first used in the 1968 model year due to the larger HVAC box.

 

Thanks Joe. Your depth of Olds knowledge is mind boggling! Now to find the best repop notched valve covers. Probably will go with Fusick or Inline Tube.