'66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
I just had my '66 judged and the issue came up about that the casting flaw on the value cover. My car is VIN 14,216 / engine built Jan 29, 1966 and has the casting flaw. I know what the JG states "appears at approximately VIN 17,000 (march 1966)". I have been watching other cars on auctions & other web sales and have seen a few others aroud my VIN that have the flaw. My question is...how close to VIN 17,000 is "approximately" ? I am preparing for regionals and want to determine how many other "66 cars that are known to be original have the flaw and are prior to VIN 17,000. Thanks, Dan
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
daniel,
I have a 67 built in early September 66 that has one cover with the flaw and one without and the issue was my car was too late not to have the flaw on both so I got the deduct.
It's important to note the crack in the production mold used for service parts got more pronounced over time so it's fairly easy to tell later covers particularly in the "O" in Corvette which has a lot of flash in it... -
Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
There is really more to it than "when did it start". For example, the early examples have a flaw that was barely noticable, and as the tooling deterioriated over time later over-the-counter parts had flash so bad that the "O" in Corvette was filled. Not typical of factory production would include the date of the build relative to the severity of the flaw, with special attention to any effect (including the obvious removal of flash) from the "o"Bill Clupper #618Comment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
Well, the red on white L76/79 CV with A/C that spun the B-J counter at 150+ in January had 2 casting flaw valve covers -obviously available much earlier than we thought.........Comment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
My 66 13251 St. Louis car, F07 trim tag, Jan 20 engine assy does not have the flaw. 44 years is a long time. I can't say that's the way it was built.
Rich1966 L79 Convertible. Milano Maroon
1968 L71 Coupe. Rally Red (Sold 6/21)
1963 Corvair Monza ConvertibleComment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
My 63 L-76 has two with the casting flaws, but I have a good excuse in that I blew the originals off with a crankcase explosion in 1971.
On a related subject, has anyone tried to use a Dremel on these flaws with any success? I might try.
Stu FoxComment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
Thanks for the insight gentlemen...It helps shed new light on my issue.Comment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
John, me too! My very early 67 (vin 183) has one with and one WITHOUT. I too took a deduct. However, the car has been in the family for 37 years and has never had the valve covers replaced during that time. Further, when we disassembled the engine, it had never had a valve job. So what is the likelihood that my valve covers are original to the car? Pretty high, I think.
PLUS, the 67 TIM/JG says that early cars may or may not have the casting flaw.
What VIN is your car???Chris Enstrom
North Central Chapter Judging Chairman
1967 Rally Red convertible, 327/350, 4 speed, Duntov @ Hampton in 2013, Founders @ KC in 2014, family owned since 1973
2011 Z06, red/redComment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
Chris, Too bad you got a deduction on a known ORIGINAL car. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. I guess the judges know better.Comment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
That was at a chapter, my first time out. I didn't really care what the judges found with the car. In fact, I wanted them to find EVERYTHING. I'm headed for Duntov with this car, so I wanted a list that was as complete as possible. My first regional is in a couple weeks and I think I'm ready.
At the chapter, it was only a 1 point deduct, and I wasn't going to grouse over 1 point when I knew the covers had been on the car longer than I've been alive.
Chris Enstrom
North Central Chapter Judging Chairman
1967 Rally Red convertible, 327/350, 4 speed, Duntov @ Hampton in 2013, Founders @ KC in 2014, family owned since 1973
2011 Z06, red/redComment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
Chris,
My July build date '66 has one cover with the flaw and one without, but, of course, there's no way to prove they are original, even though I've talked with all previous owners of my car and no one ever changed one of the covers.
It's very interesting that you say the '67 IM&JG allows for w/ or w/o the flaw, because the latest edition of the '66 TIM&JG makes no such statement. With that statement in the '67 TIM&JG, what was the judges justification for taking a deduct? The flaw was too prominent, suggesting a later date of manufacturer?
GaryComment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
They just said "both covers should have the flaw". At the time, I didn't realize the exact language in the JG.Chris Enstrom
North Central Chapter Judging Chairman
1967 Rally Red convertible, 327/350, 4 speed, Duntov @ Hampton in 2013, Founders @ KC in 2014, family owned since 1973
2011 Z06, red/redComment
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'66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
I sure wish the '66 TIM&JG said the same thing, because armed with the TIM&JG, I'd sure as heck use what I believe to be my originals. But absent that language, there's no hope.
GaryComment
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Re: '66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
Here's the RH valve cover on my 67 with an engine assembly date of Sept 15 1966. The LH side has no crack. I can only speak for the last twenty years of ownership though.
Crack is faint as compared to the later repros.............
johnComment
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'66 valve cover casting flaw - judging
John,
With July build date '66 I can go back to day 1 of ownership and no owner changed the covers. My covers are exactly like yours; a faint casting seam on one cover; no seam on the other. But the '66 TIM&JG has no provision for this possibility, so I bought two used covers and had then restored by John DeGregory who did a great job on them and these are the ones I'll use for judging. It's a shame to lose the original history.
GaryComment
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