Clear valve covers

[Keystone Light]

Went to Lowes for the plexi glass. Bought the cheapest set of valve covers I could find. Total cost $22.00. I cut the top out with a dremel and then used the cut out portion for a template. I added about 1/8 around the edge of the cut out part. Then drilled small holes and got really small bolts, lock washers, and nuts. Put a small bead of RTV around edge of the plexi and then tightened it all up. I was kinda afraid the nuts would rattle loose so I used some loctite followed by a small dab of RTV on the end of the bolt. It will warp just a bit in the middle when the engine gets hot, but not that bad. I think if you found (or made) a completely square cover it would work better. The oil will splash up but beads off pretty good. Not going to run these all the time (rain leaking in and there chrome), but thought it would be cool to see the rockers moving and they were just fun to make!

 

[Jaronimo]

Those are some unique motor mounts.

 

[skull]

show

be cool for the kids to see the inside of the motor working a way

Later

 

[donsrods]

In the 60's some company was selling clear plastic valve covers for sbc engines. They worked ok on show cars that never ran, but on a car that did they would get covered with oil on the inside and you couldn't see anything anyway. That and they leaked around the mounting bolts like mad.

Other than that, they were pretty good.

Don

 

[Dirtyrat]

if you slot the holes in the plexiglass, it will probably not warp as bad with heat...

 

[RPM]

In the 60's some company was selling clear plastic valve covers for sbc engines. They worked ok on show cars that never ran, but on a car that did they would get covered with oil on the inside and you couldn't see anything anyway. That and they leaked around the mounting bolts like mad.

Other than that, they were pretty good.

Don

I had a set of those, could not get them to quit leaking. You are right you could not see anything after the motor started.

 

[Keystone Light]

I didn't even think to make slots instead of holes.

The motor mounts were a creation I thought of while I was laying in bed. They are re-bar that is gusseted and welded like crazy. Probably not another set like them in the world haha.

I dont know how long they will last, but you are right kids do like them. I have a 13 year old neighbor boy that helps me from time to time(father not around) so it was cool to explain to him how it all works. I have my dad to thank for getting me into cars/motors/mechanical stuff and like to pass my little amount of knowledge on to a younger generation.

I have seen the valve covers that are completely clear on google images, but cant seem to find them for sale. Not sure I would want to go for a long road trip with them

 

[donsrods]

I have seen the valve covers that are completely clear on google images, but cant seem to find them for sale. Not sure I would want to go for a long road trip with them

You wouldn't want to go around the block with them.

Another bright idea some company came up with years ago was a clear distributor cap. It was supposed to be cool to see your rotor going around and the points opening and closing. Problem was, electrically they sucked and you got a lot of cross firing and arcing. Like I said, most of those things were ok on show cars that had no pistons in them, but in the real world they just didn't work.

Don

 

[Willowbilly3]

When I was in college I had an instructor who had a clear carburetor he had mad for his masters thesis. It was a perfect model of one from a 6 banger Ford.

 

[Bamamav]

I was actually looking for one of those clear dist caps a year or two ago. Found a bunch for Chevy's, but never did find one for a small block Ford.

Didn't know they sucked that bad. I just wanted one for the cool factor.

 

[donsrods]

Yep, they had issues because the high voltages would arc inside them and the car would miss. Just like those clear sparkplug wires they used to sell. At night you could open up your hood with the motor running and it looked like a Christmas tree. Those also arc's when they touched manifolds and engine blocks, so the car would miss badly.

Don

 

[goose-em]

Some ideas dreamed up while sleeping should not see the light of day.

Rebar is always a bad idea. It is not the same as a a good grade of steel.

I suggest changing them out before your motor falls off.

 

[donsrods]

I didn't want to say anything about the rebar, but since you have opened the door...........it is a bad idea.

Don

 

[Bamamav]

Yeah, rebar is junk steel. It doesn't have to meet a very high tensile strength standard. It is probably the weakest steel made, with a lot of impurities that would be culled out of grade steel.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Agreed. You know rebar is bad stuff when it isn't even accepted at the scrapyard...

 

[Keystone Light]

A clear carburetor would be awesome to see.

I am definitely aware of the structural properties of the rebar. Learned a lot about steel properties in an engineering class I took a while back. I gusseted the linear portion of them with 1/4 plate steel all the way from frame mount to engine mount. Put a 1/4 backing plate on the attachment points as well. I have had the engine up to about 5000 rpm under load and have not had any twisting or bending.

 

[goose-em]

yet.

I am an engineer and I specialize in welding and metallurgy, rebar = bad idea

 

[Neverdone]

Those things are cool as crap! Been thinking quite a while about doing something like that myself.

And yes. Rebar will result in a disaster....