Ok my new Magnesium vlave covers arrived today. They are very tall, light, and very cool. Now my question is what do I do with them? Do I leave them as is? Polish them? Or paint them? Also what about PCV? Should I just do a PCV on one valve cover? PCV on one breather on the other? Or a PCV on both teed off to vacuum?


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If they are truly Magnesium you need to be very careful when drilling them for a PCV. Magnesium can ignite from the heat of drilling and once it starts it can't be stopped. It even burns under water.

 

Where'd you get those in mag? I have an aluminum set that I got decades ago.

 

Apparently Mondello has them.. Last engine on the bottom of the page.

http://www.mondellotwister.com/engines.html


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OLDSM...b#ht_500wt_924

 

Most polishers wont touch those things. My friend, who is a top notch polisher, caught himself on fire from a set of wheels he was polishing. The dust ignited on his clothes and he almost burned alive. That was the last time he worked with magnesium.

 

I'm still struggling with the concept of mag valve covers. The density of magnesium is about 60% that of aluminum. That means that on a 5 lb valve cover, you'd save 2 lbs, or 4 lbs total for the car.

 

Actually they are 4 lbs. I weighed them. I remember feeling one of the cast aluminum versions of this valve cover and it weighed a ton. I know my Rocket racing ones are very heavy as well. I got them off ebay. The guy says he has a couple sets. Go fight over them.

 

I was considering doing it by hand with no power tools. I might drill the the holes for PCV by hand with a non power drill. Just to be safe.

 

4 lb each or total? If 4 lb each, that's 8 total. Aluminum would be 13 lb total, a savings of 5 lbs. Of course, I'm assuming the wall thickness is the same. I guess I'll have to weigh my aluminum covers now.

 

About 4lbs each. When I weigh my Rocket Racing valve covers be prepared to be shocked. I am betting they are way over double these.

 

I can't speak to the Rocket Racing covers. I have the exact copies of your mag covers, but in aluminum. I bought them new from Oldsmobile back in the 1980s.

 

I have sheet metal right now but if I were to buy new ones a place down in Florida makes carbon fiber covers.

 

Sheeeeyat! Those are COOL! +2 Cool points for The Stickman!