Happy to report that the cab and doors were picked up today. Piedmont Traction will begin metal work and paint prep. The build should start moving a little quicker now!
I still have plenty to do with the motor. While I'm waiting on a part that will help me finish up the oil pan, I decided to start of the valve covers. Original valve covers off...
I'll be reusing the original valve cover mounting bolts. They are in great shape. The grommets seem to be in good shape too but let's start with new ones here.
These are the valve covers I decided on. I really like the two-piece design to hide the coils. I'm not too sure about the Chevrolet script, but I do like it better than the other options that were available. Maybe I will black out the script so it's less noticeable. Either way, this should look nice when its finished.
The new grommets are installed and lubricant is on the threads. I bought new gaskets to replace the ones that were already here. The new ones were orange and could be seen between the head and the valve cover base. I didn't care for that, so I decided to reuse the original ones. They appear to be new so I washed them with Dawn soap and reinstalled them.
Valve cover bases installed. Bolts torqued to GM specs.
I had to stop here though. The bolts that Holley supplied to mount the coils are a bit too short. I did try to use them but I managed to pull some thread out of the hole. Holley recommended torqueing them to 106 lb/in (GM spec too), but there is no way I'll ever get there. So, I ordered some longer bolts to use instead. My plan is to just install them at 20 lb/in with some purple Loctite. To be continued...