[ceslaw]

Valve Covers

Photos of CSX2129 reveal two different types of valve covers were used at various times in the cars life. The four stack and two stack both use stamped steel valve covers, but have two oil fills per side and one per side, respectively.

The four stack starts with an early 289 valve cover that had no oil filler pipe. (The oil fill / breather was on the block / manifold). Two fillers, each about five inches long, were added to each side with small reinforcing gussets.

The two stack starts with the valve covers that had a hump for filler pipes on both sides, but on the driver’s side a filler pipe was fitted and on the passenger side a PCV opening was added. The existing filler pipe on the driver’s side had an angled extension added, a straight pipe was added to the front of the passenger side, and the PCV opening was sealed. Gussets were added to support the extended filler tubes.

I can just imagine the Shelby factory out in California on a hot summer day in 1963. The engine builder yells “hey Joe, make me a couple of valve covers for the Cobra.” Joe than cuts off some lengths of 1 3/8 inch pipe, eyeballing the length. Joe adds the new pipe to the passenger side without much attention to the location, other than somewhere close to the front, and then adds the extension to the existing filler, angling it a bit. Gussests were then fashioned, without a pattern, from whatever scraps were lying around and welded in place where they would add a bit of strength. When one looks at original pictures it is obvious there was substantial variation in the details. No two are exactly alike.

We opted for the two stack style.

The starting point was the valve covers which are available from CJ Pony Parts and Mustang Depot. The pair costs around $50. You will also need the breather caps and the little decal that goes in the center of the oil cap. The parts will set you back about $75 dollars.

So why not just buy a set already assembled from Shelby Parts and Restoration? Two reasons. They cost $400, so we are saving $300. And the kick we get from doing it ourselves. Also, recall the slight variations noted above? We will be emulating the ones actually installed on CSX2129, so they will vary slightly from the ones sold by Shelby Parts and Restoration.