Re: FIRE! Plastic Eagle valve cover wanted

[Matt Haas <mhaas@xxxxxxx>]

Brake cleaner works very well for cleaning up an oily mess. Since you had a 
fire, I would also scrub the lip down with a scrub pad (the kind like you 
use in a kitchen should be fine, just make sure it doesn't have any soap in 
it) to get all the burnt oil off. You should also put some paper towels 
around the valve train (the Scott blue shop towels are great for this) 
before you start cleaning so you keep as much crap out of the engine as 
possible.

If you go the RTV route like described below, it's a good idea to rough up 
the surface a little so it has something to stick to. 120 grit sandpaper 
works great but you need to make sure that you clean up as much of the grit 
from this process as possible. You do not want it in your engine.

Matt

At 07:51 AM 1/27/2006 -0500, you wrote:
> The timing being off likely let to much fuel in the exhaust ports, where 
> it was burning in the manifold. My guess is the two nearest the carb got 
> the extra, so got hotter faster.
>
> Unless you're dead set on keeping that thing stock, I'd invest in a metal 
> replacement cover. You can't just take the metal cover off an earlier or 
> later AMC though. The cover kits require tapping the guide holes in the 
> head, and you may have to drill them out for the tap. The secret is to NOT 
> wrench down real hard on the cover bolts! Tighter will CAUSE leaks, not 
> stop them! I always clean all gasket contact surfaces with paint thinner 
> or mineral spirits -- that's a MUST!! Then put a thin coat of silicone on 
> the valve cover, place gasket, and let it sit AT LEAST 1/2 hour, an hour 
> is better. Once that's set, put a thin layer of silicone on the head where 
> possible (the back s tough!), then place the cover and put bolts in. Just 
> snug the bolts at this point. As soon as they start to put a little 
> pressure on the cover/gasket, you're done! Once that sets up for 1/2 hour 
> to an hour, go back and tighten the bolts about 1/2 turn, no more. If 
> you're concerned about them working loose !
>  pull each one, put lock-tite on, the run back down and tighten that half 
> turn. I'd count the turns required to pull it out so you don't over tighten.
>
> There are cheap cork gaskets which should work with this method, but there 
> is a higher density gasket out there too -- it's a black material. The 
> high density gasket is less likely to deform and leak when overtightened, 
> but I don't know how to ask for it other than to look at the more 
> expensive gasket if more than one is stocked.
>
>
> On January 27, 2006 eddiestakes wrote:
>
> > If anyone has a good one for sale, let me know, had a car fire not once but
> > twice last night, first car fire I have had since mid 1970s. Not sure what
> > caused it but the middle ports below the carb on the intake were glowing
> > red, and it set the dried oil there on fire.
>
> =============================================================
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mhaas@xxxxxxx
Cincinnati, OH
http://www.mattsoldcars.com
1967 Rambler American wagon
1968 Rambler American sedan
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