buzzbomb

I am building a 66 toro 425 for my 70 cutlass that now has a 355 in it. I have a/c and power brakes and have bought the 455 frame pads and will use the 455 mounts.
I have the M/T covers on it now and would like to know if i will have clearance issues with the M/T covers. Do i have to use notched covers for sure or will the M/T covers fit and be removable if necessary. Thanks guys

george landis

I've got a 67 442 (400E motor)with power brakes and a/c. Mine only had a notched cover on the power brake side. With stock valve train (non-adjustable rockers) the blower motor was OK getting the un-notched valve cover on and off. Same with the power brake side. Once I went with Harlan Sharps the blower motor hit when removing the valve cover unless I rotated the engine pass TDC, which actuated the No.8 cylinders rocker(s) open. Power brake side got tighter but could still be removed. Can't speak to M/T valve covers, as I don't have those. I would think they would be problematic with aftermarket adjustable valve train components though. Have acquired a notched cover for the a/c side and it is still tight getting on and off. Hope this helps.

hilbily

Everything I have done, seen and heard says yes.

oldcutlass

It depends on what booster you are using.

442Harv

I don't know if the MT will fit, but factory non notched ones will fit. I put a 455 in a 72 VC I had, and it had P Brakes, and AC, and it fit. Little tight putting the engine in, by the AC, but went in.

buzzbomb

Thanks for the reply,s. I have the big booster but could downsize that if necessary. I guess it will be a trial and fit type of install if i cannot find a decent set of notched covers for a reasonable price, OR just build a set out of my old toronado covers.

I am the type of guy who adjusts there valves hot and running for a true reading and i do like the M/T on there as they clear the comp cams adj roller tip rockers i am using on the 355 now and plan on using the 1442 kit and get an adj pushrod to get the geometry right and then buy the correct pushrods.

I had thought about the H.S roller rockers but heard there were fit problems with stock covers.
The ac and alt brackets go over the M/T covers now but a higher cover they will not fit.

I also could alter the ac box as the evap sits in far enough and fiberglass and finish it to look factory if really necessary. Thanks again for the replys-buzz

george landis

Nice to know the M/T's allow using stock a/c and p/s brackets. 1442 kit clears stock covers. Ended up sending pushrods back that came with the 1442-? kit that I ordered and ended up with 9.5 pushrods on my 400E. Had Harlan Sharp S50026A rockers(no head modifications). The adjuster is not at the pivot but directly over the pushrods. This made adjusting the valves while running impossible. Seems there are long and short adjusters, mine came with the long and hit the baffles in the valve cover. I ordered the short ones and they cleared with the use of thicker valve cover gaskets. Removal and installation was still hard. Have since gone back with the stamped steel roller tip 1442 kit. Valve covers clear when taking on or off, no thicker valve cover gaskets to assure rocker clearance, brackets don't rub the valve covers, and I can adjust while running. I probably was more impressed with being able to say I had "Harlan Sharp needle roller rockers" and wasted $600.00(499 +100 for shorter adjusters) in the process. At my power level the stamped steel roller tips are more than adequate and are adjustable. I was being frivolous and stupid. I'm learning, the hard way, but I'm learning. Good luck.

bisscrac

I had a small block Oldsmobile in my 1966 cutlass I had power brakes. When I switch to a big block 455 I had to lose the power brakes and put the manual brakes back in.... Ugh. Lol.

joe_padavano

Let's back up. It doesn't matter that it's a 425. It matters that it's a BBO. All 1968-72 A-body cars with BBOs used notched valve covers, mainly to make it easier to remove the valve covers in the car with the brake booster and A/C box in the way. You didn't need the BBO frame and motor mounts, but so long as you use them as a matched set, you'll put the motor in the same position as factory (the SBO motor and frame mounts would have put it in exactly the same place).

Now, to the question of do you NEED notched covers, all I can say is that I have personally used un-notched stock covers (specifically the 1973-74 script ones) on 68-72 Cutlii with no problems.

joe_padavano

And yet, 1966 442s came from the factory with BBOs, power brakes, and A/C... and did NOT need notched covers due to the smaller 1964-66 booster and smaller HVAC box as compared to the 68-72 cars (which is what the OP is asking about).

For completeness, 1967 was an unusual year, as they used the larger booster from the 68-72 cars but the smaller 64-67 HVAC box. As a result, 1967 factory BBO cars used only ONE notched cover, on the driver's side. Some of the aftermarket vendors show BOTH notched covers used for all 1967-72 applications. This is not correct.

ent72olds

Very interesting and good info Joe! Thanks!

buzzbomb

Thanks Joe - I will give it a whirl with the m/t and see how it fits. I plan on breaking it in out of the car so i will do the hot running adj then and dump the engine in the car broken in and adjusted. Thank you again all-buzz

bisscrac

All this may be true. My car was originally a i6 and a powerglide with non power brake car... when i got it some one in the past had put power brakes on it. I dont know what it was off of but it looked terrible and there was no way in heck to make it work with a big block....

1966 and 1967 had slightly different frames..

joe_padavano

All this IS true. Check the factory parts books. As for your particular car, all bets are off with any non-factory swaps that may or may not have used the correct parts. As for "slightly different frames", that's news to me, but any differences are not in areas that affect engine placement or firewall/booster location and have nothing to do with this discussion.

bisscrac

agreed