Lizard King

I've been looking into some dress up stuff for the engine bay and these black Proform valve covers just sexy as hell, #141-131.



I know about the alternator clearance. What I wanna know, is if they're prone to leaking?

Also, do I really need oil cap breathers? It seems like every other LT1 I see has those. My Z28 only has bolt-ons if that matters.

ALSO, I'd like to get a nice looking oil filler cap. Do I need to cap off the other two holes? I can't tell if they're open or not.

lt1-xjs

I've ran them for 10 years, changed rockers 3 times with the same gaskets and never had a leak. Leave the baffles out and hook up the PCV valve connection. I used push in fill caps for the holes.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

With a b-body accessory bracket they clear with some grinding and reclocking the backhalf of the alternator.

All three holes are open and push-in, no tabs or notches, threads or anything. You could just plug them.

They don't leak so long as you keep the gasket aligned right which is harder with these than stock.

blown97ss

iTrader: (8)

I've had these for 2 years no problems here just put a dab of silicone on the gasket and u will never have to worry about it

hvyss

Had them for a couple of years now. Love them. And no leaks

Nastyc4

iTrader: (13)

There is a lip pn the inside that will prevent them from sitting flat. depending on the gasket thickness some people wont have an issue. I did on my LT4 heads. i shaved it down a little and they were fine.

i had black first but switched to polished.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but.....


I had a set for a while on my '96 Z-28. After I bought them, rather than "shave" the alternator, I took them into work, where I milled a notch to clear the alternator, and then we formed and welded in a piece, to cover the opening. I installed them and was really excited about how they looked. But over time, the bolts would loosen, and the covers would lose tension against the heads, and they'd leak.

I'd snug the bolts, they'd stay tight for a while, then they'd loosen, I'd snug, they'd loosen. I went through this for about 2 months, and I then noticed thatthe top of the cover was beginning to "sag", probably from a combination of the engine's heat, no internal bracing, and my continual snugging the bolts, in order to keep them from leaking.

I removed them a short time later, and trashed them. Too bad, because they really looked good...




I agree, I had to do the same thing.


I was putting my post together as you were posting your reply, so I didn't see this post until after I clicked "post reply", saw your post, and it jogged my memory.

Nastyc4

iTrader: (13)

I cant speak for fbody guys mine is obviously on a Ybody. I shaved the alternator a tad and added washers to the brace at the manifold point to raise it and it fits without having to cut the cover.

if someone has a pic of the underside i can explain the part that needs shaving

chevymec

iTrader: (19)

I have a set on my Gen 1 motor. I bought them about 10 years ago in the chrome version. Never had a leaking problem or problem with the bolts. The chrome did start peeling off since it sat outside for a few years without being driven.

95sscamaro

iTrader: (6)

I have had them on my car for six months now without any problems, as for the oil cap I went to Advance Auto Parts and they had a push-in chrome bowtie one that looks just like the top of the breathers.

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95sscamaro

iTrader: (6)

All I had to do is shave one bolt down on the back side of the alternator and it fit like a glove, took all of 15 minutes

joelster

I have a set of polished ones on my 414 and a set of black ones on my 350. I got some water splattered on the polished ones and over the winter it corroded them a bit. Totally my fault though. Other than that they look and work great.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

So far, it looks like I was the only one to have any problems with them....

Lizard King

Yeah, I'm gonna try these out. Thanks for the input.

So is the PCV valve connection the other option besides oil cap breathers? I don't recall seeing that done often. Then again, I haven't really paid any attention to that kinda stuff until now.