427ci LS2 sleeved, dry sump oil pump, engine build & install, 69 Camaro

[DaleTx]

Originally Posted by garickman

Dale, just wondering what kind of a pain it was on the those valve covers. I have the Katech covers also and I will be running Comp Cams shaft rockers which I think are made by T&D. All my engine components just arrived to Wegner Motorsports this week. Casey Wegner warned me they were having trouble finding valve covers to clear shaft rockers on another build they were doing. I just got the valve covers so I have not shipped them to Wegner yet. Wondering what the work was to make them work so I can let Casey know.

Greg... I tried several different options to try and find valve covers that would clear the T&D shaft rockers. The Katech valve covers are the only ones that even came close to fitting. I started out with their cast aluminum covers... ran them for a while... then bought a set of carbon fiber valve covers. Both sets had to be modified to clear the rockers.

I tried stock LS covers with 1/2 inch spacers, Holley aluminum valve covers, and neither would clear the rockers without major modifications. The Katech covers required the least amount of grinding to fit. I am using GM LS7 heads and the T&D shaft rockers with 1.8 ratio. Not sure exactly what your running.


Here is a shot of the T&D rockers... they come right up next to the rails... Nutter had to modify the rockers and heads slightly just to get some clearance.




Here are some shots of how I modified the Carbon fiber covers for clearance










When I mounted the modified valve covers I pushed them up towards the fuel rails a much as possible... the rubber o-ring seal will end up right on the edge of the lip on the head. It is a very tight fit for sure.. but I was able to modify the covers and make it work.




Hope that answered your question... it's always a pain for the engine builder when they have to do extra work to make things fit. You just don't have a lot of options to clear the T&D 1.8 rockers.