Metal Finish

[Eric McKinley]

I have a 912 engine which is going into my 356C.

It was restored a number of years back however it has sat on the shelf gathering dust whilst I have been restoring the car.

Now I have turned my attention to the engine, over the years the metal parts have suffered in the Irish humidity.
The valve covers have become a bit corroded and also the other engine parts in the pictures.

I plan to get these parts replated in the correct finish.

Could someone advise what the correct metal finish is for the valve covers and the other parts.

Many Thanks.

[Doug McDonnell]

Silver Cad or zinc for valve covers-not sure finish has ever been proven by testing metallurgy. Baling wires probably black. All other parts probably Zinc coating. White Zinc not yellow!! viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41611

[Brad Ripley]

All should be clear zinc (look like silver). The valve covers may not turn out so great since it looks like some corrosion. For best results, I suggest all the parts be completely cleaned (bead blast) of the previous zinc before sending off to the platers.

[Vic Skirmants]

Vented covers; wrong.

[Eric McKinley]

Vic,

What covers should the 912 engine have.

[Vic Skirmants]

Non-vented from 1964 on. And how are your valve springs? Any hint of rust?

[Eric McKinley]

Vic,

Thanks for the reply.

The springs do not appear to have any rust the engine has not been used since the rebuild, just sat on a shelf.
I plan to take it over to Andt Prill shortly and have him go through it.

So it appears I have the wrong valve covers, I shall try and source a clean set of 64 onwards.

[Ron LaDow]

Eric,
You can 'tap'' those vents closed with a small hammer and braze them shut to make sure. It will keep oil off the garage floor, but you have to make sure the case is vented to (for Cs) the right-side carb.

[Wil Mittelbach]

Could someone advise what the correct metal finish is for the valve covers and the other parts.
Many Thanks.

As the ones on my unrestored '65C, valve covers and fuel line tubing were cad plated. Zinc turns somewhat grey over time.

[Dick Weiss]

After a bead blast, I just use Krylon's Dull Aluminum and a lacquer Clear-coat which will look like a Cad I after cure & easy to clean.
Yes, the bails will scrape the valve cover(s), but using a wood lever to lessen the compression, it won't leave much of a mark--
add some silicone paste.

[Robin Walker]

Non-vented from 1964 on.

I have a 1964 356C with a completion date of 12th June 1964 registered 1st September 1964 chassis #129856 which is fitted with the vented rocker covers. I have often wondered why there is a small amount of oil that exits the small vent holes and drips onto the J pipes, despite there being the
free-to-move balls inside the covers which I suppose should close on cornering to block the vents. There is a breather tube from the oil filler to the RH Zenith carb air filter to deal with any crankcase pressure but there is always a smear of oil around the vents in each cover, (sorry they are powder coated black).
Thank you Vic and Eric for clearing up that little problem.

Incidentally Eric, we visited Andy Prill's workshop last Saturday and was very impressed with it.

[Eric McKinley]

Robin,

Looking forward to getting over to Andy myself, I hear good things about his engine builds.

[Eric McKinley]

Vic,

I am guessing you can answer this one.

You mentioned that the valve covers I have on my 912 engine are incorrect, they are vented.
They should not be vented.

Is there any performance benefit in relation to why they should be non vented on a 912 engine as opposed to vented on a 356 engine.

I have since acquired a set of non vented which I can use on the 912 engine.

Many Thanks

[Martin Benade]

Robin, you have a set of S90 valve covers, someone probably switched to them at some time. Do you know if it has the S90 oil pickup as well?

[Vic Skirmants]

Martin; how can you tell the old covers are S-90? X-ray vision? Also, they are sitting flat; not possible with the S-90 covers.
Eric; non-vented covers will not spew oil out the vent. The C engines also used non-vented covers.