Valley Cover Removal

[BP57CUSTOM]

I'm thinking about putting a PCV system on my 57 312 ,and will need to remove the valley cover to put one on that has a pcv hole. Is it necessary to remove one head to remove the valley cover? I have seen reference to that on some forums. That seems like a lot of trouble and I will probably leave it as is if I have to remove a head.
Thanks
Barry

[oldave57]

It is not necessary to remove one of the heads to remove the valley pan.  There are notches in the outer flange of the valley pan that align with the intake manifold ports in the heads to allow the pan to be removed and installed.  The fit can be a bit tight, but with a little prying, the pan will come out and the new one go in.  In the attached photo, you can see the notch in the outer flange of the valley pan under the intake manifold port. 

The PCV valve installation is a great improvement to the original road draft tube.

Good luck with your installation.
Dave

[BP57CUSTOM]

Dave , thanks for the info.  and good picture! I now need to find a 64 F100 valley cover.
Thanks Again

[oldave57]

The valley pan from a 1955, 6, or 7 Thunderbird has the required port in the top rear of the pan (as probably is the case with a 64 truck valley pan).  There are a couple of the Tbird covers on Ebay now.  One of them is pretty pricey (an actual NOS unpainted part that is brand new, but they want $250)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-1955-1956-1957-8-9-60-Ford-or-Thunderbird-NOS-valley-pan-pushrod-cover-/351328477025?hash=item51cccf1f61:g:ZwwAAOSwrklU8QoD&vxp=mtr

The other pan is an after-market pan that is completely flat that states it works with 55,6,7 Tbird.  This pan does NOT have the clearance notches for the intake ports on the heads, so don't know if it would be a problem installing or not, but worth taking a look.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-1956-1957-Ford-Tbird-E-flat-valley-pan-1-8-inch-thick-steel-Y-block-New-/351546704076?hash=item51d9d100cc:g:Ow4AAOSw5VFWGsJ1&vxp=mtr

These are just a couple that I noticed.  There are sometimes some that come up that are less expensive also.  The one thing I did when I made my installation was to plug the opening in the baffle "box" (directly below the PCV port) to avoid oil splash from entering the PCV valve when it is placed in the cover above the baffle.

Good luck with your installation.  It is a bit of a pain to install, but the advantages of no dripping from the draft tube, less "gassy" smell in the garage, and some say even improved oil seal performance due to less pressure in the crankcase, are worth the work.

Dave

[SkylinerRon]

The flat pan was used on the factory 2X4 set up.

Ron.