CLEAR Valve Cover

that seems like a lot of work for a show... to unbolt your valve cover and put this thing on... then undoubtedly have to clean up a bit from stray oil, etc.........

I dunno why anyone would produce such a thing.....

why do ppl make clear hoods, and neons and stuff cotton in there wheel wells stupid ppl

i just could never get into investin a bunch of time on a valve cover, just .02.

-Ult

about the cotton and who hates it, we all do!

Something clear like that would be a good diagnostic tool. I think Id spend the money on something like that. If you could see where the lifters were you could use a screw driver over each one to hear where valve training noises were louder at and find out why, itd be easier to fix. Especially at the track if youv got something crazy going on and you need to fix it fast.

It would be covered with oil!

Well i know there are some really well designed acrilic resins out there because they use them on rear wheel drive diffrentials because of their impact resistance and resistance to heat. THe temps in some 4 wheel drive diffs reach 200-230. And i know it doesnt get nearly that warm on top of the head. And i didnt mean while running ofcourse it would be hard to see when the engines running but turn it off for a sec until you get visability place the screw driver crank engine. And you could even make a marking placed on the valve cover where each lifter/lobe journal is located.

THe temps in some 4 wheel drive diffs reach 200-230. And i know it doesnt get nearly that warm on top of the head.

Click to expand...

Umm, uhhh, well, actually, yes they do. I have seen bottom of the sump oil temps (generally the coolest) over 250 on some motors. Most engines run best with oil temps around 210-220, IFIRC.

Last time i was down at the track I took some head readings using my infrared temp tool and it read 160-170 on top of the head. And the plastic reads 150 (doesnt conduct heat as well) My oil temp gauge has never busted 210 for that matter either. Even in some very spirited driving. I think most the acrilic resins are good upto 400 or so. They have more temp resistance then composites and they are usaully good to around 230. Ontop of that you have air circulating above it to keep it cool as well. That and iv seen these on v8`s with 2 more friction points to heat the oil in the head. it take some serious heat to kill acrilic. more then i think youd find on the top of the head.

Yeah like i said origionaly my buddy has them for about 4 weeks and you can see everything moving under the hood,, yes oil does get splashed up on them but they are so smooth on the inside it just drains right back to the head,, and he has had 0 leaks or cracks or nothing

I am not debating whether or not the acrylic can take the heat. I gave no idea and if you say it is good to X degrees, I'll take your word for it. All I am saying is that if 200- 230 is truly the upper limit, you could very well have problems because engine oil is routinely at or above those numbers.

Your temp readings are showing the outside of the head, where it is cooler. Next time, open the oil filler cap and shoot in there and see what the difference is between the two areas. I cannot honestly guarantee that there will be, but if after 20-30 minutes of hard driving (aka track, like you said) it should be based in what I have experienced. My BMW with worn out bores would run over 275 oil temps on an 80 degree day. Oil coolers are your friends...

GE plastics makes a line of 'room temperature vulcanizing' (RTV) silicone mold materials that might be suitiable for DIY castings.
You could do the mold from the stock VC, and then make your Acrylic one from a 2-part Hi-temp epoxy or the like. If you wanted to get really trick you could even lay in some Kevlar as a reinforcement. Once you got it out of the mold, you'd have to machine it flat and probably make a reinforcement for the bolts.

As for facilities, you'd be amazed what some beer and cash can get you at your local Engineering school. They ususally have some pretty trick Machining centers that are available for student use, adn you can usually find someone who is hanging around for a holiday break and looking to make some cash.

~Paris