Next Project Corvette C4 Valve Cover Gaskets and Paint

So if UPS has its act together I should be getting a set of valve cover gasket and engine paint to repaint the Valve covers and installing them all on Saturday and part of Sunday if necessary.

I could have got the gaskets locally, but only in cork.  What I’ll never understand is the thought behind using cork in cars where the average engine coolant temperature is over 200 degrees.   Yeah..really.

The spec book on the 1984 C4 Crossfire engine has the thermostat requirement at 195 (degrees).  That means the engine has to reach nearly 200 degrees before the thermostat opens and allows the coolant to flow.  What more the Crossfire engine is came equiped with an electronic fan for the radiator and the is factory set to come on when the temp reaches 223 degrees. 

Now that’s pretty hot for an engine.  Rarely does my corvette digital temp gage find it’s self under 200 degree during while operating, it normally round 210.

So knowing that,  Chevy still put cork valve cover gaskets on the car.  If you’ve ever worked with those, you know that if the engine runs hot, they will eventually “cook” on and dry out and leak.  So I went with…. errrkk…. cut/paste “Ultra-Seal material provides a positive seal through controlled swelling of the gasket once exposed to hot engine oil. The polymers used in Ultra-20 also ensure gaskets will not harden and fall apart like others can. Gaskets are coated with an easy release material which helps prevent tearing when the valve covers are removed.”…end errrk and cut/paste.

The painting shouldn’t be a problem, it’s just to spruce them, but I’ll need to prepare them.  They are textured magnesium and can take a lot of heat but they do stain easily.  I’ll show close-ups of the before and after. 

Actually you can see some of it here.

errrkkk….Normally my engine isn’t this awful looking.  But it’s been a wetter than normal winter and I haven’t kept up with it like I should.  Plus I haven’t been too worried about, know that I had to do these gaskets and hopefully, soon, I’ll be putting on the newly designed Crossfire intake.

Hey..don’t forget the Project Car Contest $100 online gift car to an auto parts house.

Thanks for reading.

Tim