Valve cover gaskets

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
Not much to report today. Went to the machine shop with the pics and a valve cover. Showed him what I had and he agreed that the adjusting nuts were coming in contact with the valve cover. He said a thicker gasket should solve this issue. He also said that he could cut the bolts if need be. Told him I was going with the thicker gasket. Before going there, I counted the exposed threads on one of the locking nuts and there were 7 of them. (A member here has only 3 threads exposed on his). The rest of them all look pretty much the same. Asked about this being an issue or problem and he said no. He said the main thing is to have the rocker locked down properly. I tried calling Scorpion twice today. Once they took my name and number and said they would call back and never did. The second time I got someone's voice mail and didn't leave a message. Will try again Wednesday. I also looked at some videos on Youtube re. Scorpion rockers. Not really much to see. I did notice that the locking nuts on the sbc were seated a little deeper in the rocker then mine. To be continued, Carmine.
 

Ishiftem

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
No more rubber gaskets?:thudActually I think they are neoprene. Just the same that sucks. I've probably reused mine well over 20 times with stamped covers and no leaks. I think I have a few broken gasket sets so I'll have to check if they have the black ones in them. If they do, I'll have to put them under the bed for safe keeping!
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
Chicken's doing ok!!!:D

Oh yes. Back to their normalcy. I can sense that there is a fox close by. They seem to stay in their coop until someone comes to feed and water them. Kind of like a signal that it's ok to come out. I tried free ranging once, but that didn't work out so well. A fox came during the day light hours and carted one off. Now they have a big fenced in yard which seems to work ok. I like the chickens but my wife doesn't. Said they smell. Not really. They are a distance from the house and if the wind blows the right way, you might get a whiff. So what. I told her I'd like to have more animals. Maybe 2-4 each of every farm animal. She said what do I think this is, "Green Acres", and she hoped my next wife would enjoy them. Oh boy, Carmine.
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
Carmine, did you say you might shave your nuts?
Too late for that Mike. Already been done years ago. Had a vasectomy. Had 6 kids in 9 years. Called my wife "fertile Myrtle". Seems like every time I came home, there was another kid calling me Dad. I noticed a box of donuts lasted about 3.2 seconds and I was getting further away from the table all the time. So, I made one of the best decisions
ever. Besides, I had a pretty young nurse who was endowed nicely, helping the doctor. In a way, I was hoping it wouldn't take therefore I'd have to go back LOL, Carmine.
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
Question, still learning myself, but why run guide plates on iron heads? I only have run them on my aluminum eddys
Speaking for myself, it's my understanding that the guide plates give you a better alignment. With me, one push rod started to gouge a mark into the cash iron head. We decided to go with the 3/8" pushrod and a guide plate. I'm not sure if the pushrod hole in the head had to be made bigger or not to accommodate the larger pushrod. I wouldn't have gone with the guide plates if it wasn't for that issue. Maybe someone else can explain better as to why they are used.
In re. to your aluminum heads, I hope your guide plates have been tempered and hardened. Edelbrock is using inferior, low carbon steel for the guide plates. It won't take tempering/hardening. If you have a slight alignment problem, the pushrod will eventually gouge into the guide plate, allowing it to twist slightly, exasperating the problem, with the rocker end sitting on the valve stem, starting to come way off center. Just a matter of time before it doesn't ride on the stem at all. Real potential problem. Don't ask me how I know, Carmine.
 

models916

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
I use two gaskets glued together. Studs in the heads and Permatex'd to the head. oil on the valve cover. Makes it easy to remove and reuse. On the other question, I think they also sell short poly locks.
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
I use two gaskets glued together. Studs in the heads and Permatex'd to the head. oil on the valve cover. Makes it easy to remove and reuse. On the other question, I think they also sell short poly locks.
What do you mean by oil on the valve cover?? Do you take and brush a little oil on the gasket where it meets the head?? The two gaskets that you glue together, have they ever come apart or leaked?? Shorter poly locks would have also been an option. But my concern still is the 7 thread exposure on the rocker nut. I just want to feel confident that the rocker nut is far enough down the stud so nothing happens. Looking forward to talking with someone from Scorpion today, Carmine.
 

yellow wagon

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Fel-Pro called the "rubber" valve cover gaskets Perma-Dry. They are using the same part number but stuffing the packaging with the cork versions. No rubber ones anymore as confirmed from a nationwide search through the parts supplier computer system yesterday at Buy Rite Auto, one of the best parts houses I have ever dealt with! Better prices than Summit, old school guys with hot rods and muscle cars, walls covered with drag racing photos etc. As posted above, Ebay shows the correct part number but just be advised you might get them and open the box only to find cork gaskets. Thats what happened to me.

Thanks to the assistance from our great members, Brian Lambert, I have a set on the way! Thank you Brian! I have a beer or three with your name on it this summer bud!
 

409 Chevy Performance

Well Known Member
We use a 3/8"thick Best gasket cork gasket> I have had great luck with these and had no compliants that Iam aware of? No poly lock contact with valve cover. Others thickness many problems.
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
Just spoke with tech at Scorpion. Explained my concern about the amount of exposed threads on the rocker nut. He said not to be concerned and that exposure was fine. Went on to explain that the nut is threaded top to bottom because different applications may require different valve/lifter adjustments. Also different pushrod lengths. Therefore it might stop in different positions on the rocker stud. He said the real concern is to make sure everything is locked and tight. I can't explain why some with the same motor have 3-4 threads exposed and I have 7. I feel much better and more confident after speaking with him. As soon as my parts arrive, going to button this motor up; again, Carmine.
 

yellow wagon

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
The cork gasket will tear when removing valve covers to check valve lash most definitely. The new Fel Pro cork gaskets are an inferior material and look to be die-cut from spare bulletin board cork material. Just pulling the gasket from the packaging it was already starting to pull apart. No thanks
 

models916

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
VC gasket.jpg Pic of gasket.jpg I glue down to the head with Permatex and then make sure the valve cover has a layer or oil on the gasket surface. When I remove the valve cover, only the valve cover comes off. The gasket is stuck to the head. I take the valve covers off a couple of times a year and these are the original gaskets I installed many years ago.
 
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