Well, after more than 18 months, we are about to dyno my 400 FMX. We ran into a problem last week that we didn't expect. I have a set of those Ford Motorsport Stud-girdle valve covers and I tried to bolt them on with a set of roller rockers.....no go! We had to take a set of 1" valve cover spacers and mill them down to 5/16" thick to get the covers and rockers to play nice. BTW, the push rods are 9.45" long and we had to step up to a set of 3/8" custom rods.....man, nothing has been easy on this build up.

I plan to post all the specs soon.

--J

The issue to which you refer with the stud girdle valve covers comes up from time to time. I've had a number of people insist to me that they were made to bolt on to iron heads and require a 1/4" spacer for high port heads. I would tell you it's the other way around.

I've had about a half a dozen sets of the various versions of those valve covers through my hands and they were all the same in one regard; the stud length and valve cover height was intended for aluminum high port heads series (A3 B3, C3, C302, C302B etc.) and not the 2V or 4V iron heads that have had the pedestals milled. If there were versions of these VCs cut for iron heads, I've never seen one.

The valve cover rails on the high port heads are .2" taller (from the rocker stud bosses). If you think about it, this means that the studs would protrude 1/4" further through the VCs on iron heads than the high ports. This creates two problems on iron heads:

1: The one you mention, inadequate rocker clearance.
2. You will likely run the stud through the roof of your acorn nuts when you attempt to tighten them.

I was told that Ford use to sell a kit that was merely a 1/4" spacer made from aluminum sheet stock (I have one that was very well made but I can't confirm it's a Ford product) but I have never seen them referenced in the original sales literature. Some people simply use a modern thick (1/4") gasket. IMO, if they are metal core and material that doesn't take a set (neoprene instead of cork for example) you may get away with it. However, you may find that your stud hardware leaks profusely if the gasket relaxes slightly. This will also mean they are probably not doing much to stabilize your valve train. Ford supplied 1/16" paper type gaskets with the kits and recommended gasket sealing not only the gasket but also light application of sealant to the spherical washers between the valve covers and spherical washers. Most racers wouldn't put up with the hassle and this was probably one of the major reasons they were not widely accepted.

This issue was sort messy especially since you're probably running mechanical valve train if you feel the need to girdle your valve train and have to deal with this every time you set lash. I blanked .005" urethane gaskets and placed them between the spherical washers. They seal well and just peel off afterwards and you replace them without the mess.

IMO, if you use these VCs properly, they're not any more hassle than stud girdles in general. They are a novel performance item from the period and have a very unique appearance in addition to there functionality.

Good luck and hope this helps.

Kelly

I've ordered a set of .50" thick fab.'d valve cover rails that we have on the mill right now. We are milling them to 3/8" thick and then plan on using a silicon sealant on the head side and the 1/16" paper gasket coated with High Tack on the valve cover side. The rocker studs are getting a little bit of thread sealer on them and the bevelled spacers and washers are getting a little bit of black Loc-Tite to help seal things up. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

--J

Good to hear that your 400 is coming together! Shouldn't be long before you're dropping it into the Falc 'eh? Would have been good to hear about it over at the other site - haven't seen you over there for a while mate??

Brett.

Yep, it's finally coming together. I've got a set of 1/2" thick alloy rails coming from California. These are for fabricated alloy valve covers but we are going to mill them down to fit and then sandwhich them between some paper gaskets. We hope to dyno Wednesday night.....but it will be late, like midnight to 0100 or 0200.

As for the other site, I got tired of repeating myself AND life has gotten really hectic lately. I'm on rotation for Iraq so getting this motor done is priority #1 not moderating a web site. I'll keep you guys posted. I hope to video the dyno pull so if I can make copies, I'll send them out to a few folks.

--J

I followed this thread and had a set of 1/4" plates cut. I installed them using a neoprene gasket below, and a cork one on top (because the parts monkeys only had one set of each.) with the 1/4 inch plates, the bolts didn't reach thru far enouch for the acorns to start. I then tried without any spacers, and the VC sat on the jam nut I used above the poly lock.

So I looked at my old Ford Motorsport Cataloge for guidance. I think these covers were designed for the rollerized factory rocker using just a self locking 7/16 nut. No mention of any spacer plates. Even mentions "For Use with 351C 400 heads, the heads must be machined for 7/16 studs, see page 5..."

I had my buddy burn me a set of 1/8" plates, with the same 2 VC gaskets they seem to work perfectly! I dont really know why they even bother with the VC bolts, By the time you get all the acorn nuts snugged up, the VC bolts are all loose again.

I can't wait for my replacement lifter to come from Mark and Heather so I can put it all back together again.

Interesting that Crane's website recommends that Solid lifters set cold should be set .002 over, while Mark at MME recomends .002 tighter! COLD, which makes sense because the head, even IRON on IRON will expand an thus OPEN the distance between the rocker and valve. Apperantly that was the demise of my lifter, I set the valves .002-.003 OVER! then when the engine warmed up, there was too much clearance, causing the pushrod to tap or bounce on the lifter, and BANG! the snap-ring groove breaks out.
blizz

"Interesting that Crane's website recommends that Solid lifters set cold should be set .002 over, while Mark at MME recommends .002 tighter! COLD, which makes sense because the head, even IRON on IRON will expand an thus OPEN the distance between the rocker and valve. Apparently that was the demise of my lifter, I set the valves .002-.003 OVER! then when the engine warmed up, there was too much clearance, causing the pushrod to tap or bounce on the lifter, and BANG! the snap-ring groove breaks out."

We have always adjusted steel head engines about .002" over and aluminum head engines tighter.

I am shocked that I have only driven that car a couple of times since I replaced that lifter, man time flys. No wonder my hair is graying.

BTW... Most texting younger folks use that as "by the way", if I was in college it would mean "Bring the Whiskey!"
blizz

Well, I guess to sum it up, you could say, there's three reasons why there's so little crime in Mayberry. There's Andy, and there's me, and [patting gun] baby makes three.

Well Blizz, I was just surfing through parts less traveled (at least by me) parts of the forum and was looking through the "useful links" page. There's some good stuff there. I saw this old post and saw my old post pop up at the top of the thread. I had completely forgotten about it. I just thought I'd paste the picture from the 87 FMS catalogue in there for reference. Problem is, the picture will expire in a few weeks. I'll have to make it more permanent. I didn't even think about it getting bumped to the top of the page as a result.

Kelly

I am getting ready to board an airplane for Savannah GA later this morning so rather than work, I created a wiki page for those valve covers, if you (or anybody else)have more info to add, post it here and I'll copy it to the Wiki over the weekend from Savannah.
-blizz

linky:

http://351cleveland.wetpaint.com/page/Ford+Motorsports+Valve+Train+Stabilizer



Well, I guess to sum it up, you could say, there's three reasons why there's so little crime in Mayberry. There's Andy, and there's me, and [patting gun] baby makes three.

Hey Bliz,

I used the factory supplied paper gasket between my 1/4" spacer and the VC while I used black RTV between the spacer and the head. I used ARP VC studs on all but the middle top bolt holes. For some reason, the nuts for the studs would not fit in the bolt recess so I had to use an allen head cap screw in those four holes. I would tighten the acorn nuts from the middle out and then tighten the VC studs then repeat. I've not happy with my spacers. We cut down some alloy 1" spacers but that didn't cut down easy and those....well sucked. I went with steal stock that we welded and now I'm thinking of replacing with something else....maybe alloy plate, but I've had a hell of a time finding someone with a CNC mill that can cut them.

Blizz, Here's the Ford recommended install procedure. Might need a full size photo or pdf for the wiki to make it readable. If so let me know and I'll send it to you.

-Kelly