[ceslaw]

Assembling the valve covers

Note the following:
1. The oil fill caps need to be at the same angles on both sides.
2. The oil fill caps need to be at the same level on both sides.

This requires a bit of planning. We made a pattern for each side. I like patterns. They make locating things a lot easier.

First we assembled the driver side cover. The existing filler pipe needs to be ground down so that it is angled at about 15 degrees. We screwed the cover to a wooden board to hold it securely in place, used an angle grinder, then a good bit of hand filing until the surface was smooth. The 1 3/8” extension pipe also was angled on one end at about 15 degrees. Ryan then TIG welded the two together. The angle when welded is about 30 degrees. The total height is around 4 ½ inches. One could vary the angle or height and it would probably look just fine, provided the two rules noted above are followed.

The passenger side was next, and was actually easier. A 1 ¼ hole was drilled, which is slightly undersized. The pipe was then welded in place. The inside diameter of the pipe is only slightly greater than 1 ¼ inch so we saw no need to grind out the hole to match the inside diameter of the pipe. Before welding, however, the two covers were placed end to end and the pipe carefully aligned so that it was parallel to the driver side pipe. I doubt Joe was as careful about the alignment working in the Shelby shop 49 years ago.

The PVC hole was sealed with a washer. The center hole of the washer was welded closed.

Once the pipes were in place, patterns for the four gussets were made, the steel cut, and Ryan TIG welded them place. Once again there are noticeable variations in the shape and size of the gussets originally used, since I doubt Joe ever used a standard pattern. Ours are intended to look like the ones used on the specific Cobra we are replicating.

The shields on the back side of the covers were removed by grinding away the tack welds. With the long filler tubes they should not be necessary. A look at the backside confirmed good penetration with the TIG welder.