2400 OHC Cam Cover Before & After a Refresh

Looks great but you did not share the process you used?? Paint? Powder Coat?

Thanks, kinfish!

Process in general:

degrease/remove all crud

seal up the inside thoroughly

media blast (used SiC on this one)

repair deteriorating sealer around the baffel

paint - VHT flat aluminum header paint

cure paint w/heat per instructions on can

detail letters with gold

coat lightly with VHT clear coat

cure final coat with heat

take pictures

mount on wall with others in the collection!

Did you worry about getting media blast material stuck inside the baffle? I worried about the deteriorating stuff around the baffle and elected to remove baffle and get rid of all the sealer, retap holes and replace those microscopic screws and secure with locktite.l

Hi, Ron....

Yes, media inside the cover is to be avoided at all costs!! I clean the inside of the cover with Simple Green (the new grease cutting formula is pretty good, too) and a stiff fiber brush. Then seal off the whole bottom, filler, and vent with several layers of tape to assure there is no available point of entry and keep everything out of the under side while media blasting. That stuff around the baffle does deteriorate, in some cases pretty badly, and sometimes not at all. They used at least two types of sealant, and the earlier one (lighter in color) really deteriorates badly. If it's questionable I take it all off, clean up and re-do with Permatex #2. (I have been cautioned by board members not to use something like RTV, and several recommended the #2 which is "non-hardening". I tried it and like it.) Those little screws are a pain in the rear, and I've noticed on about 20% of the covers I get that one has actually fallen out. That worries me, so I generally remove them, degrease, add a dab of Lock-Tite or JB, reinstall, then rebead the perimeter of the baffle with the Permatex #2 with an extra dollop on each screw head (as the factory did them).

An interesting thing on the old 2400 OHC cover is that they did not use screws, they used rivets. I made certain to re-bead the baffle on that one with a really good dab of Permatex on each rivet, too. It gives me some peace of mind that they won't fall out and eat up an engine.

I've been experimenting with cam cover finishes and accents. Check out my gallery to see a few.

Thanks for your interest. If you have any suggestions, I'm interested to hear them - on methods, technique, accenting designs, etc.

John