HP 273 Commando Valve Covers -- PSC vs. MOPAR ... Customers' Input & Photos Requested

Here's a pic of 65Dartman's Polys and Slant 6s still in progress ... I didn't have the plastic dip on yet but you get the idea.

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The reason I usually put a little powder on the tops of the stovepipes and wrap the edge of the gasket rail is to prevent something known in the industry as "creep."

Any time there's bare metal open to the elements, moisture can get in between the cured powder and the substrate metal and eventually work its way throughout the entire part. It will effectively rust from the inside out ... and one day maybe twenty or thirty years down the road you'll be changing your valve cover gaskets, slip with the socket and hit the side of the valve cover. And a big chunk of the coating will come off in a sheet to reveal lots of rust underneath.

The average mil thickness of powder coating is 3-5 mils -- very thin -- so it generally does not interfere with breather cap / pcv grommet installation. But having it there where the factory never did is just a small measure of extra rust prevention to keep your parts looking fabulous for decades into the future.

There really is a method to my madness. :-D It's just not always readily apparent.

Thanks for the opinions so far guys! Let's keep them coming -- I know there's at least another 25 sets out there that can be evaluated.

Leanna! From the replays so far I think your work is awesome. The surface looks good and the luster seems great too. All the customers seems satisfied so I think you do great work.

The goal with my restoration is to get as close as possible how the car looked like when it rolled off the assembly line on the 27th of January 1965. I'm trying to recreate the methods to get the result that Chrysler did. I know that they used black wrinkle paint on the valve covers and I will do it that way. If it doesn't have that super finish, well thats how they were back in the days. I know this must be strange but I don't want the car to be better then it was from start.

But I really looking forward to the fins. I think it's better to send them direct to Don (65 dartman) so he can glue them in place before he shoot the paint. Thats how the factory did it.

I will send you a pair of covers so I can have them your way. I will have it in my little red wagon.