Hey guys, I have a 64 Ninety Eight with a 394. The passenger side valve cover was leaking when i bought the car, and the seller said the original owner overtightened them when he noticed a leak. One side was fixed, but the passenger side was too difficult to get to.

Well, I'm rebuilding the fuel pump and decided to hit the valve cover while I'm at it.

Here is a pic of how dimpled the screw holes are now:

2012-04-29_18-29-54_734.jpg


This one I took a stab at fixing;
- Do you think this is enough to get a seal, or do I need these to be completely straight again?

- Any DIY suggestions for getting them tighter?
(I'm using a C-clamp and squared-off pieces of wood to flatten them out)

2012-04-29_18-30-15_629.jpg

Thanks!

 

At the risk of offending olds folks, here's an old Chevy trick.


Corvair valve cover hold downs

 

I always used a bench vise and a hammer, and eyeballed them straight!
Then clean the cover well, and use weatherstrip adhesive and cork gaskets!
Then smear some wheel bearing grease on the head surface - tighten in a criss-cross pattern - done!!
Never a comeback!

 

Thanks for the tips guys!
It looks like someone used a rubber gasket recently, cork will seal better?

 

Cork doesn't soften up when hot, as rubber does!

Used this way on a SBC with solid lifters, that I adjusted every couple weeks!
Foolproof!

 

Just straighten them out carefully, put another gasket on in what ever manner your comfy with, and move on to your next project.

 

Couldn't find cork, ended up using Rubber.
They turned out well. No more leak!

c-Clamp worked well to flatten the metal back.

 

Couldn't help but notice your avatar pic. Mazda or Wankel?

 

I thought Mazda was the co that introduced the Wankel in the RX7.

EDIT: Sheesh, I'm noticing today just how many peoples we have from TX!!

 

My covers looked about like your "after" shots and they sealed well with the thicker rubber gaskets with only nutdriver torque.

 

Wankel also licensed several other companies to build a rotary engine. I have a 75 Hercules motorcycle with a 250cc Wankel rotary. But thats a story for another thread/website!

 

Now there's a bike I have never seen nor heard of! Would be a great post in the thread about "show us your motorcycles" or something like that - its in the clubhouse somewhere...

 

I just did a quick search on Wankel and it appears that Mazda is still using them today! Just never heard anything more in their promo stuff. Interesting technology though

 

Ya, it's a Wankel motor. The last car I built was a 500hp rotary powered Mazda RX-7 TII.
It had a huge turbo and methanol injection. So fun to drive, but always needed something.

Mazda still uses the rotary in their RX-8, but there are also small Cessna's powered by rotary engines, and in the 70's i believe Dodge had a rotary powered car.

That avatar is a pic I took of one of the rotors I had Polydyne coated for heat resistance and lubrication.
Here is some light reading of my build.
http://87rx7.blogspot.com/