68 383 Valve Cover Questions

[The Rebel]

Thinking of switching my MP valve covers over to the stock ones at some point. Saw these on ebay. Seems like a nice price but wanted to see if others think the price is in the ballpark or too high.

Original 1968 Mopar Plymouth Dodge 440 383 Chrome Valve Covers | eBay

I'm assuming that one of the important things to look for are the bolt holes. Are they bent up..etc...

What other things should I look for?

 

[davek]

your going to spend $200 on AMD ones and in my opinion they are junk-AMD. I bought a set for my Bee and the bolt holes were so far off I had to drill them. I wished I bought original right from the start.I would make an offer on them or start a WTB thread.

 

[RemCharger]

IMO thats a high price.

 

[The Rebel]

Thanks guys! Not looking to pull the trigger anytime soon, still researching.

I forgot to mention it but I'm definitely looking for orig. as I know the fit will be correct rather than re-pop chi-com crap.

 

[dadsbee]

Bought a similar shape pair for my '69 off of Steve here for $125 + postage. I need to blast them and paint them and remove 3 small dents..

 

[yella71]

wow who would have ever thought there would be a market for old used valve covers. I should pull my OE 383 covers out and list them

 

[PRND21]

Dents in the baffle area are next to impossible to get out without removing the baffle. Not real hard to do, but the thin sheet metal of the baffle is tricky to reweld.

 

[440Coronet500]

Make sure the sealing rails are flat and around the mounting aren't dimpled. 440'

 

[moparedtn]

For what it's worth, I paid $101 + shipping for an original pair of '67 factory chrome 440 valve covers
in 2018 on eBray....
Patience, grasshopper.

 

[The Rebel]

From what I've seen looks like the MP valve covers do not have a baffle on them. So if the OE's did what was the purpose of the baffle. I'm guessing it was to have the oil splash it & drip down, correct?

I'm pretty sure it dose not matter what you have under the cover right, Lifters, rocker arms...etc, right?

 

[69L48Z27]

The baffles just try to keep direct oil sling out of PVC or breather.

Not sure what you’re asking, ‘under the cover’?

 

[PRND21]

If you’re using a PCV valve without a good baffle, you’re going to be sucking a lot of oil into your intake. If you are just using a breather, a baffle keeps oil from being thrown up into the breather.

 

[The Rebel]

Ah ok. I have on my MP covers a pc valve on the pass side and a breather on the driver side connected to the unsilenced air filter.

 

[CudaChick1968]

From what I've seen looks like the MP valve covers do not have a baffle on them. So if the OE's did what was the purpose of the baffle. I'm guessing it was to have the oil splash it & drip down, correct?

I'm pretty sure it dose not matter what you have under the cover right, Lifters, rocker arms...etc, right?

Mopar Performance covers come with two baffle plates and screws. If yours don't, someone took them off.

 

[The Rebel]

Thanks. Haven't pulled mine off. Was looking online quickly before I left for work

 

[The Rebel]

As I've never pulled off a valve cover before am I able to just unbolt it and then rebolt it back on or do I run the chance of ruining the gasket and then need to buy a new gasket?

 

[justjim]

As I've never pulled off a valve cover before am I able to just unbolt it and then rebolt it back on or do I run the chance of ruining the gasket and then need to buy a new gasket?

change the gasket.

 

[Ranger16]

AND you may need tube of RTV. My passengers side would not seal without it.

 

[CudaChick1968]

AND you may need tube of RTV. My passengers side would not seal without it.

Look closely at the left-hand dog ear.

My pics are gone now with the server replacement but after literally hundreds of replies across message boards and Facebook a few years ago, it is a continuing problem with the big block MPs. Most people thought they just overtightened them.

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...alve-covers-please-read-this-and-share.76656/

 

[Ranger16]

Most people thought they just overtightened them.

Been there, done that Leanna. Tightened it down 3 times. The third one cracked the valve cover flange, and of coarse you can't find just one.