i got a set of centerbolt fabricated valve covers with billet rail from skips white. they are pretty nice and really really light its scary. the walls are thin aluminum and i need to cut a 1.25" hole in the cover for the oil fill plug. its a transdapt oil fill plug with a grommet thats part of the cap so i really just have to cut a hole for it. what is the best way to do this? tap and drill it out? or get a whole cuter etc.... ??

also the car is a HSR 383 no air tubes in headers etc so i dont know if i need the PVC tubes in the valve covers and i would hate to have to cut holes in them if i dont have to. i would rather not use them if i dont have to. if i do need them and i dont use them wat will happen?

 

you do need a PVC. A hole punch would be best, if you can borrow one, because they will make a much nicer hole in a thin material. Other than that it would be a FINE tooth hole saw, and dont wobble it when you drill the hole

 

I used a hole saw and drilled it out. Then used a carbide bit to clean it up and make it a snug fit.

 

might try a 1 1/8" (1.125") fine tooth hole saw if you can find one, so you don't have to worry about going too big on accident.

 

If you use a hole saw, pick a smaller size. After it's cut, install the grommet then see how tight the breather fits in. It's easier to make the hole larger than it is to make it smaller. Check the underside to see where the breather will be. Keep it away from the rockers.

I used a die grinder with an aluminum carbide bit to cut my holes.

Because I have a stud girdle under my covers, a typical push in breather won't work. I installed Moroso locking breathers in my covers.

https://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stor...10002_57804_-1

This style allows oil filling even easier with a 2 piece design.

https://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stor...10002_75572_-1

 

Use a 2" x 4"/4" x 4"...whatever size wood fits best, inside the valve cover. Use it as support/reinforcement and use a GOOD hole saw.

Going smaller first is tricky though. Once the first hole is cut, there goes your center drill hole, and good luck holding the valve cover still, or the bigger hole saw in place. Been there, done that! It SUCKS trying to use a die grinder to open the hole smoothly, unless you are very close to the final size.

You might wanna consider using some scrap metal to test the ho;e size first, before drilling the valve cover.

 

wow thanks for all the replys. i dont actually have a grommit for the oil cap. that cap itself has the grommit attached. so the cap and grommit are one peice and it says 1.25" hole....

i was thinking of doing the hole cutter and bc of the alkward position of the valve cover and the thin metal... i dont want to ding/flex or dent it as well. so i would prob have to support it with something soft like wood etc from the inside. as far as cutting the hole smaller im not sure if that would be neccessary i would prob try with a spare peice of material before i go full out. i just want the finnish edge to be a good round hole since it will have to seal against the grommit on the cap and thats its only form of sealing so it has to be good. i would prob soften the edges with a carbide bit so that it wouldnt cut or wear away the grommit.

where would i get these hole cutters from. im in north NJ. would a home depot carry them or something? and which would be better cutting to a 1.25" with a hole cutter and soften the edges or cut to 1.125 and then carbidin to the correct size?

anyone kno the size i would have to cut the hole for the PVC? and do i need a PVC for the HSR in both valve covers? the covers are the tall versions and i'll be running 1.6 extruded aluminum full roller rockers self aligning with .100 longer comp high energy pushrods and im not sure if im gona use guideplates. the actualy center of the valve cover is not where the center bolt welds are, they are positioned more towards the taller side towards the intake vs the header, this makes 2 diff width sides to mount the filler cap/PVC... which is the better side to mount? the upper shorter width or the lower wider width? i'll post a pic

 

its pcv, pvc is pipe.

you only need 1 pcv valve and 1 breather, one in each valve cover. If you want a hole punch, home depot sells them, they would probably be in the electric tools isle, but they would be 7/8 1 1/8 or 1 3/8. I know they make
1 1/4 ones, but you would have to order them special. oh they are about 35bux for the dies and the mandrel? sorry, but that probably didnt help.
Whatever you use to cut the hole, you should be-bur the hole, even the punch could leave one the inside edge a little sharp.
I deal with holesaws all the time, and i find that they all tend to wander a little and you get a hole a little bigger than you wanted, unless you put a piece of wood behind where you are cutting to hold the pilotbit more steady.

 

yea sorry pcv lol ima tard. so i have a total of 3 holes to cut!!! ouch... pcv, breather, and oil cap. my oil cap isnt a breather cap. my stockers on the 350tpi has a pcv in the pass side and a pcv and a oil fill cap on the drivers... no breathers. the pass side pcv goes to the TB and i believe the drivers goes to the intake base.
i'll prob go with the drill since punching it will warp/dent the soft thin aluminum. i'll support it from the inside and i guess see what homedepot has to offer in sizes and just bore it out the extra 1/8 if i gotta as well as debur it.

when i support it as first i'll punch it and drill a smaller 1/8" hole so i dont slip with the larger hole drill thats what i usually do.

 

Pilot holes are always a smart idea. If your hole saw has a good pilot bit, it should take care of that for you.

 

yea i'll be using a new one since i have to buy one. is there a way that i dont have to drill 3 holes into these beautiful valve covers? if i drill a PCV in the one with the oil fill cap or could i only drill 2 holes one with the cap that is also a breather and a PCV in the other?

 

i fill my oil through my breather hole.

 

When your done doing this I'd like to see pics as to how it turned out for you. I'm considering the same covers for my new motor and have the same problem as you do needing pcv and breather/fill holes.

 

How about you cut holes for the pcv valves, and when it's time to put oil in, use a funnel and remove the pcv valve temporarily? That way you have less holes to make.

 

dont use a hole saw buy or rent a slug buster im in school to be an electrician and we mostly use these for holes in panel boxes but they are perfect for any thin metal and a hell of alot easier to center up, makes a lot nicer hole too http://www.toolbarn.com/product/greenlee/34361/

 

I saw the price, and my wallet just had a heart attack! You better plan on punching A BUNCH of holes, to justify THAT cost!

 

thats why renting one is recomended

 

don't use a hole saw. drill a small 1/4" hole with a dril bit, then mark out the 1.25" circle you nedd and get in there with a die grinder and a carbide bit. be careful cause it will go very quickly. take it out evenly all the way around. I was looking at those same covers on ebay. I am running a crank case evac sytem and was going to drill and have my buddy tig the fittings i need on there. Being so thin you might have a sealing problem with the grommets. on stock stamped covers the holes are die formed and if looked at appear to fold towards the inside. this is done to allow for the thickness of the inside of the grommet which helps hold it secure in the cover. if you dont have this, the grommet will be a loose fit all the time. I would look at having a professional tigweld some adapters on there that will allow for breather tubes, fill tubes.....and if your car is radical enough, toss the PCV in the trash.

 

this is the oil cap that i have now...
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

heres a PCV valve/oil fill but its not a breather.... and its ugly lol there are others but i wouldnt need a breather if i have a PCV right?
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

but then theres these PCV valves that are large enough with a 1.22" openening and 3/8" barb 90 degree fitting that would work well as an oil fill and PCV... at 19$ each, cheap frams are only 2$
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

im thinking that i might just do the carbide bit and mark the hole that i need and just grind it out. and just do 2 of these PCV valves and use one of them as an oil fill. are they the right size barb fitting at 3/8" or would a cheap 2$ fram PCV do fine? wat would happen if i where to not use PCV valves and just plug them at the intake etc and just run a breather in each valve cover? the motor with have no egr, no cats, no air tubes from exhaust, nothing i dont need for it to be able to run on the street as a daily driver. its a 383 HSR wit compcams XFI280 cam so i should have good vacume etc.

that hole punch is crazy $$ lol and i wouldnt kno where to rent one from. but i have done alot with carbide bits so i'll prob go that route. def posting pics when this is done. so 2 PCV valves and no oil fill cap?

 

I have the same covers this job took 15 min. I measured and marked the covers used a hole saw that was alittle smaller than the breather caps drilled grabed the carbid bits and fit the hole to the groumet I made it a little snug. Look at some of my posts you will find some pics of the covers.

 

im quite sure they dont make a 1.25" od knock out punch, slugbuster. Ive looked and cant find one, though as an electrician myself i do agree they are the way to go if you can rent/borrow one

 

What we always used, was a hammer punch, for lack of a better name. Dunno the real name.

Drilled the pilot hole, slipped the aluminum sheet metal over the peg on the base, slipped the top piece on. Hit it with a hammer, and it cut the hole for us.

But that was THIN aluminum sheet metal. I'm betting those valve covers are way to thick for this method.

 

you could always buy a uni-bit, ive got one that has a 1.25 cutter on it. probably run about 40 bux?

http://item.express.ebay.com/GREENLE...mdZExpressItem
this should have it, check out homedepot/lowes

 

i was talking to my dad about the situation and he said that i wouldnt need PCV valves with my setup since i'll be going with GAPless rings for my pistons. he said that i dont want to create a vacum in the crankcase and the PCV valves will do that if i had gapless piston rings installed, sorry i didnt mention that before. so if i have installed gapless rings i will still have to vent the crank case so breathers would have to be installed... or am i wrong? gapless rings with and HSR... no PCV or wat, i want to keep the holes to a minimum and i dont mind filling oil through a PCV or breather.... wat do i have to doo??? lol

i'm gona look up your posts now ross and see what u did

 

PCV VALVES ARE REQUIRED!!! Not ventilating your crankcase can have serious repercussions!!!

 

no i kno that, i kno i still have to vent the crankcase. but the use of PCV valve with the addition of gapless rings doesnt allow blowthrough past the rings, i would not need PCV valves since they wont be sucking anything up, i would vent the crank case with breathers. i just didnt kow if i still needed PCV valves if i use gapless piston rings... and if i dont need PCV then i would have to use breathers. if i use breathers do i need one on each valve cover or would one be fine.

im using and HSR remember so im not totally sure if i can get rid of the PCV valves even with the use of gapless rings. if i dont need the PCV valves i would obviously have to plug them on the intake.

ross.... ive read all ur posts and i couldnt find the thread u where talking about

 

the crankcase doesn't vent past the rings anyway, otherwise they would be pointless. Crankcase ventilation comes through the lifter valley and through the oil holes and pushrod guide holes in the heads. To answer your question, you only need EITHER one PCV valve OR one breather. You can get away with cutting one hole in one valve cover, and putting a breather OR a pcv valve in that hole, also filling your oil through it. My point is...

One hole in one valve cover with EITHER a valve OR a breather.

 

thank-you 82Five-0

i kno this is another stupid question... the stock setup has 2 PCV valves one on the driver and one on the pass side, the driver goes to the intake base, and the other goest to the TB... which one would u recomend me cutting the hole for? i would think the driver side one would be best.

so i only have to cut one hole total !!! yay lol sry just wanted to be correct.
with the HSR everyone states that i need a PCV valve... now if i replace that with a breather will this affect idling or the engine in anyway? i kno the PCV sucks the air back into the intake to burn it and doesnt the EGR kinda have something to do wit this? im just asking cuz this is something idont kno alot about but the HSR doesnt have an EGR.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...?part=MRG-2049
i like the way this looks better than a PCV valve thats why im asking so if i dont need a PCV (and it wont affect my engine without one) then can i just use a breather?

thanks again for everyone who replied, i will be posting pics within the next week

 

I have used these ring in four motors Only one had a pcv system and it was the only one that gave me some grief with the gapless rings you will notice alot less crank case pressure and with a pcv system you will have to run a restrictor or else you will pull oil into the engine every time you make a pass and let off the go peadel. With two brethers you will be fine.

 

yea thats what my dad was telling me. so i would need 2 breathers... one in each valve cover then? or can i get away with 1 breather on the driver side? if i dont need a PCV valve and i can get away with it then i dont want to have one. id rather a breather instead

 

I would use two with my air cleaner on thay are not that noticable. The motor in the pic is my current one its a 434ci and it uses total seal gaples top rings.

 

ok thanks ross.
motor looks good man. fabricated valvecovers just make it look bad@ss.
how are the gapless rings treating u? any noticable differences? i heard u pick up a few hp with them...

 

I liked the rings but when I pull this big motor apart I am going to use hellfire set due to the fact the top rings are .043 thick. Know try file fiting and lineing up two rings in that size ring land and install them without damadge. As for the power diff. not shure, but I do like the no crank case pressure deal.And that motor in pic goes 10.47 at 130 mph on pump gas NA.

 

thats a pretty strong motor to be runnin mid 10s.

got a question. recieved the breathers today... the look good. they require a 1.25" hole.... my question is.... where to mount them on the valve cover and not get in the way of anything including the roller rockers/studs etc.

doesnt seem to be alot of room and i can see from ROSS's pic that he has it in the rear top prob an 1-1.5" centered from side and corner... did this clear the rockers?

 

The covers are pretty tall thay clear mine with tons of room to spare.

 

heres the driver one installed on the valve cover.
do i have to do the other side? or can i get away with just one?
looks better in person, they are mrgasket pushin breathers

took about 45 min to do it, repeatidly grinded alil then checked and kept doing it to get tightest fit possible. fit is amazing no slop.

 

ross i believe that i read somewhere that your msd ignition coil in that pic you posted id meant to be mounted vertically only and i like the turn buckle for the alternator

 

looks good customblackbird.

 

thanks five-o.
i just did the other cover as well about 2 days ago, only took 15min both are in the same position at the rear of the cover on both sides, gona look good when its on those heads and there in the car

 

whats the specs on the engine you're running?

 

Yep MSD wants it standing up so that the oil covers all the windings inside mine has been on it's side for well over 10 years with no proublems. And the alt mount is a cheap hardware store turn buckle with a jam nut and some collers welded in by a friend of mine.

 

whos engine?

 

yours

 

383 with prob 9.5 comp.... i might go 8.5 with forged pistons if i ever make up my mind if im ever gona throw boost at it.

HSR ported and worked, port matched to felpro1206
58mm TB
grannelli maf
holley fuel rail kit, Kirban billet fuel regulator
30lb ford SVO injectors
patriot 195cc aluminum heads, ported, cnc partly bowl blend, dual spring upgrade for roller cam good for .670 lift, also portmatched to felpro1206
1.6 extruded self alighning aluminum full roller rockers
comp cams XFI280 cam 230/236 .567/.571 113 lobe
comp cams high energy pushrods .100 longer
custom tune, fabbricated alum valve covers and wats in my sig

 

I bought the same valve covers, what gasket to you use to keep them sealed up.

Thanks,
Nick

 

im gona be using the thickest and best centerbolt gaskets from mr.gasket.... its there ultraseal series. they are reusable too

 

This set of the GreenLee has a 1.25" slug and the price wont kill you either. Nice looking covers, how much did they run?

 

$140 to cut a hole? Better NEED those, for more than just 1 hole. I could get them CNC mill machined WAY cheaper than that!

 

Just showing an alternative to the $1,400 system that the fist link had showed. For me I do not mind buying tools especially if I may use it in the future. You can also order the dies individually from GreeLee retailers if you plan on only needing one size die.

 

lol posted in the other thread. they are 90$ from skips white. billet rail, tall, with hardware. not sure if he carries them anymore. i believe there were only 2 pairs when i got mine and thats why i jumped on them. bought them in oct/nov.