NEED HELP ASAP

[grandkodiak]

Garage called, all my stuff is in but the valve covers are touching the new rockers! I didn't think I was going to need new valve covers, but there we go.

BUT all the chevy covers I've found so far say they do not work with the LT1 that have a notch by the alternator... I have no way of finding out if i do or not, i dont have a ride to the garage and they arent sure what i mean.

so i need to overnight something from the web in the next 2 hours for overnight garuntee or i'm out another days work!!

anyone link me to a pair of valve covers that is sure to work?? 1996 LT1 trans am!

[grandkodiak]

Ok the garage called my covers DO HAVE NOTCHES, so I need TALL covers that will fit WITH THE NOTCHES!

[WildBillyT]

How much clearance? If you are in a real bind you might be able to stack valve cover gaskets for a temporary fix...

[V]

talk to alex, you "can" gut the stockers to clear but it makes them flimsy and prone to leaking, also look into composit C4 corvette lt1 valve covers, they are composit and may give a lil extra room, not sure about notches in those though

[grandkodiak]

Yea they definatly need the notches :(

Are you talking about removing the baffles or grinding them down? the tech on the phone from jegs said try removing the baffles...?

[V]

yes, by gutting i meant removing the baffles. alex "transam4life" did it but they started leaking bad. perhaps get a regular tall cover for one side, and gut the stock one on the alt side just to get the car driveable and them figure it out from there. with a little custom fab, you could get a tall sheet metal cover to clear.

[grandkodiak]

do the baffles just unscrew or pop out or do they need to be ground or cut out? basically i need to know if it is reversible cause the garage wont do custom **** like that if it isnt

[alamantia]

is this what you are looking for, something like this???

http://www.hotzoneperformance.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=HZ-8034

[V]

http://www.speedspecialty.com/store/view_product.php?product=lt1altbracketV2

grandkodiak, that should do the trick BUT $200 :-(... it just allows you to use plain tall centerbolt covers

edit: actually that kit doesnt look so good, lol...

ill go take a pic of a stock lt1 cover to show the nothc for those who dont know...brb

[V]

doesnt show up too good, but you can still tell. There is a recessed area on the front edge of the stock cover the clear the alternator.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d50/SmokingSS/lt1cover.jpg

I sorta say get a plain tall cover and "modify" it with a BFH....

[grandkodiak]

Those dont have the notch either :( It seems no one makes them, it hast to be a custom job. think i'm going to have to have them force the stockers to fit by removing the baffles or whatever as a temp until i can get a pair of regular tall covers and figure out how i can remove the metal from the alternator or bang a dent in the stock covers.

ps a picture would help smokingSS but i still need to know if "removing the baffles" is reversible.

[grandkodiak]

sorry posted before refresh... times running out, have a half hour to decide now.

will the stock ones fit if the baffles are removed, and if so is it something that pops out or do they need a grinder or something

[grandkodiak]

ps there was a website that walked you through the alternator mod too if anyone can find that pleasssse :(

[grandkodiak]

Also they said the ****ing intake they sent me doesnt fit, which means the stock has to go on, which ISNT ported to 58mm!!! WTF ELSE COULD GO WRONG.

SO i need to know if they can mount the 58mm tb on the stock size for now or will they have to put the stock tb back on too!!

[The Fixer]

Why doesn't the intake fit? Also, why are the rocker arms hitting the valve covers? If it's just the polylocks, have the tops machined down or buy new polylocks with shorter tops. I had to do this. And, get the Mr. Gasket tall valve cover gaskets to give you a bit more room. It's tight, but should work.

[V]

This is what the inside of the cover looks like i belive you have to remove all the triangles, but i never had to do it so im not 100% sure, like i said, i only know of alex whos done it.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d50/SmokingSS/lt1cover2.jpg

as for the TB, as far as i know, 58mm TB do need the inatek to be slightly ported to fit.

[Kojak]

Yeah you can cut out the bridges that are across the cover, don't need to grind them down as long as they are not touching. Alex's(transam4life) did leak but we just took them off and and hammered in the edges for a better seal. It's a quick temporary fix...

[j0n]

i gutted mine and put new gaskets in and had zero problems

[ar0ck]

All you need to do is gut the bridges out with an air chisel (sp?)and keep the bolt guides in. When thats done clean them out with brake cleaner and rinse them out and let them dry. While I was at it I also repainted them with a high temp engine paint.

I looked into the C4 Composite covers but they were too expensive, and most after market center bolt valve covers do not fit, especially the cheaper ones. I have seen tall covers but they were big $$$ stuff.

I did have a small leak from flex, but it was easily fixed with some wood & a hammer. We straightened that puppy real quick! I also use re-usable rubber gaskets with a gasket maker to hold the gaskets in the valve cover guides. That was a safety thing and it worked out perfectly.

Good luck

[grandkodiak]

Thank you so much for the pictures and quick response... it came down to some real fast decisions which i'm horrible at!

he managed to get the intake in, some cam sensor or something? (i have no idea what he said) was hitting from under, once it was moved it slid right in... so that means the throttlbody and tuning issue are reseolved thank god.

the only thing now is the ****ing valve covers, i called 7 different stated and trolled many websites... NO ONE makes TALL valve covers with the notch! i ended up explaining it to the mech and he sympthised and said hed be willing to alter the alternater housing to make regular tall covers fit which i over nighted. if we cant figure thta out i'm just gunna get the relocation bracket that someone pointed me too.

[ar0ck]

Or you can gut them and save ALOT of money....

[grandkodiak]

hes gunna try that first... but he thinks it will lead to some oil leaking issues down the line

[ar0ck]

As long as they are straight going back on you shouldn't have a problem. When you flip the valve cover over, you'll see that there are those guides for the gasket, I added ALOT of gasket maker in there to fill up any gaps that would arrise, but since I did that I didn't have any more problems.

I have Comp Mag 1.55rr's with tall poly locks, and I have yet to have any problems with clearance on the stock valve covers.

[Batman]

They don't make spacers for LT1's?

[foff667]

LS1's FTMFW :lol:

[enRo]

LS1's FTMFW :lol:

:bow:

[grandkodiak]

forget thier manners in front of women?

[V]

"FTMFW = For The Mother F'ing Win"

[alamantia]

I found the tool for it....

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=hand&item_ID=55826&group_ID=13319&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog