Cobra Valve Covers

The black crinkle finish is correct for '66 with closed letters. The '65 style is usually the open letter all aluminum (but I have seen them on '66 cars also). Never heard of over-the-counter being non-buddy bar, but Jeff could probably confirm that.

AFAIK all open letter valve covers are Buddy Bar castings. They were OE on all 65 GT350's and 66 GT350's up to somewhere between Shelby VIN 1400-1500 at which point the black crinkle finish closed letter style started showing up.

Edited by - Mad4HiPos on 02/23/2008 12:28:17

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

Never heard of over-the-counter being non-buddy bar, but Jeff could probably confirm that.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

I have a set of non-Buddy Bar open letter Cobra covers that were bought by the original owner of my car OTC from the Ford dealer in Eagle Rock, CA. I've often wondered how many vendors were making them for Ford, of if Buddy Bar just dropped the name inside the castings.

Same vendor ... unlike Ford Shelby had no problem with single vendor for a part ... a practice sometimes cost him

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

Never heard of over-the-counter being non-buddy bar, but Jeff could probably confirm that.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

I have a set of non-Buddy Bar open letter Cobra covers that were bought by the original owner of my car OTC from the Ford dealer in Eagle Rock, CA. I've often wondered how many vendors were making them for Ford, of if Buddy Bar just dropped the name inside the castings.

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

I would wonder when the parts were sold over the counter as some Ford dealers jumped on the old car restoration train decades ago and stocked genuine original parts, after market parts, and what people call replacement or reproduction parts. You could buy "reproduction" parts at some in the 1970s, especially in big markets. Our local dealer did. Just because the place was a Ford agency didn't mean they couldn't sell parts and accessories on their own. The dealer in Huntsville would install what ever you would pay for, example a 1970 Boss 302 drive train in a brand new Maverik.

There has been at least one company sand casting "open letter" covers as a lower cost alternative to originals and that was at least 20 years ago. There was also one man taking the die cast "solid letter" covers of mid-1966 and later design and reworking them to look like the sand cast "open letter" design. Both were advertised in SAAC publications years ago.

Just to add spice, as far as I know, some of the original hardwood patterns for valve covers, air cleaners, and oil pans are still being used to make low volumes of "original" (their words not mine) parts. Circa January 1984 I was in vendor’s office and I picked up and looked at the original wooden sand casting patterns for the Cobra and 428/427 Cobra valve covers. They were well used but in very good condition and I was told a run of parts was either just made or was going to be made, wasn’t important to write it down back then. The rumor mill says that the patterns are still out there in use in low volume. Have you ever noticed that an occasional set of “NOS” valve covers or a Cobra roadster oil pan show up on ebay® looking made yesterday, with no storage scratches, no old hand print stains, or other handling patina, with no factory packaging at all, and no history beyond the 1980s or 1990s or 2000s. I have not closely looked at “new” valve covers but the counterfeit “COBRA POWERED BY FORD” oil pans are easy to spot in pictures.

This goes for Weber intakes too. I just checked out a “NOS” one that has no history beyond the mid 1980s. Interesting I think as by 1982 two suppliers were offering brand new freshly made replacements in national publications by June of that year. The “NOS” intake offered was similar to but not the same as the damaged original I am trying to replace so I declined buying it.

It seems many people do not realize that vendors started to actively make or have made copies of many Shelby and Cobra parts by 1977. Sometimes they found original suppliers and or tools and sometimes they didn’t. Even Ford started reiussing things like 1966 GT350 gas caps in the 1970s that were similar but not the same as original production parts. Chances are if you find a 1966 GT350 gas cap in a blue and white 1970s style box it is a New Old Replacement Stock (NORS) made by Ford to fill the orders that were coming in for Mustang parts of all kinds. I remember the event, that to my mind, started the rush to get new factory parts. In 1976 (believe that is correct) the little club called the Mustang Club of America had their first event at Stone Mountain Georgia. I showed my Boss 302 that weekend. There was man with a 1965 or 1966 (can’t recall anymore) Mustang convertible there that was like a new car. The car had been restored so to speak will all new parts. Anything not part of the body sheet metal or drive train was a NOS part from smallest clip to upholstery. There were two brand new Boss 429 Mustangs on a roll back truck (no miles, plastic on seats, wipers, never been dealer prepared) that people walked right past to go see the convertible. That car got lots of attention as most of the cars there were our daily drivers still. By the next event vendors were lined up with truck loads of NOS parts. Ford made what a million plus Mustangs between 1964 and 1966. If they had even a sensible 20% of extra parts made for them there would have been several hundred thousand of every service part out in some warehouse or dealer’s store room some place. Those large numbers have made it possible for tens of thousands of Mustangs to be reworked once to many times with NOS parts in the last four decades. Now think Shelby parts. 1965 GT350 production plus maybe 20% service, then maybe 112 of anything was ever made during production to serviced cars later. 1966 GT350 production plus maybe 20% service, then maybe 460 of anything was made extra for warrantee claims and crash repair. Now how do you suppose at least half the cars have been restored once and some several times will all production parts? They couldn’t have been. It is worse for Cobra and 427 Cobra owners. There are people that have owned their cars for nearly 30 years that have never seen an original of some parts. They know what has been used as replacements for decades but originals of many parts are so rare they have never seen one.

Edited by - rr64 on 02/24/2008 05:08:47

I contacted Buddy Bar in 2006 to ask about valve covers. Here is the response from John Fell at Buddy Bar:

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

DAVE,

WE AT BUDDY BAR DID MAKE THE PANS & VALVE COVERS FOR FORD AND SHELBY IN THE 60S & 70S USING FOMOCO TOOLING.

THE ORIG.TOOLING WAS REMOVED FROM OUR SHOP ABOUT 1972.

THE TOOLING WAS LOW PRODUCTION “WOOD” PATTERNS AND AT THAT TIME WAS NOT USEABLE.

I WOULD STEER YOU TO A.T. FRANCES IN PALM SPRINGS CA. (BLUE THUNDER) HE HAS BY FAR THE BEST REPRODUCTION OF BOTH PANS & VALVE COVERS. TELL HIM I SENT YOU.

GOOD LUCK,

JOHN FELL

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

I contacted Buddy Bar in 2006 to ask about valve covers. Here is the response from John Fell at Buddy Bar:

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

DAVE,

WE AT BUDDY BAR DID MAKE THE PANS & VALVE COVERS FOR FORD AND SHELBY IN THE 60S & 70S USING FOMOCO TOOLING.

THE ORIG.TOOLING WAS REMOVED FROM OUR SHOP ABOUT 1972.

THE TOOLING WAS LOW PRODUCTION “WOOD” PATTERNS AND AT THAT TIME WAS NOT USEABLE.

I WOULD STEER YOU TO A.T. FRANCES IN PALM SPRINGS CA. (BLUE THUNDER) HE HAS BY FAR THE BEST REPRODUCTION OF BOTH PANS & VALVE COVERS. TELL HIM I SENT YOU.

GOOD LUCK,

JOHN FELL

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

The valve cover tooling I held in my hands was well used and had places that had been repaired. It might not have been suitable for making thousands of sand molds in production but small numbers yes. The pattern which was hard wood, did not have the “BUDDY …” labeling in what would make the inside of them anymore. The vendor only had one, he didn’t have a pair. See below. No doubt other patterns have been made since. The original drawings are out in public.

Apparently there was more than one set of patterns. In all the cars (all but a handful unrestored) and parts through my garage it indicates that there were three and maybe four slightly different "original" versions. Some differences are no doubt just casting core shift. Some look like changes done on purpose. I just looked at three sets not installed here and the PCV side pattern and oil fill side outer pattern is significantly different around those ports. You wouldn’t likely notice this if they were on an engine. If you add up left and right side versions and different lettering style and content (different actual lettering) lettering styles I think there is four different castings in three sets of covers. One set is the original to one of my cars as far as I know. The other two pairs are dirty old unrestored ones I purchased in pairs in the quest to find a matched pair that have had not their baffles and or oil fill tube modified for an engine I am gathering parts for. This all indicates that multiple patterns were used between 1963 and whenever that last “original” ones were cast. No doubt as patterns wore out new ones were created, where did the old ones go?

I have seen "new made" "open letter covers" for sale with and without "BUDDY …." lettering on the inside. Just having the lettering inside is no proof of being from the 1960s. Because so much from the era has been counterfeited the only protection buyers have is to find somebody with examples that are not questioned to compare to.

One of the questions early in this thread related to the possibility that somebody besides Buddy Bar. Co. making these things. Sure it is possible. Just look at the “COBRA small letter” 1-4V intake confusion. Based on Shelby’s 1965 catalog both Buddy and Offenhauser were doing the casting with at least some machine work done by Dearborn Steel Tube. Ah ha, two companies casting and two companies machining intakes of the same part number during the same time frame maybe explains why people have on their cars several similar but different versions. I am open to the idea that there might have been some sets made in the 1960s without the “BUDDY …” lettering inside. I would like to know their history though.

Dan

Some of the obvious differences.

[Blocked Image: http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r187/rr64/Covers.jpg]

I agree with Fred. The only issue I see is the original baffles have been removed and the bosses they rivet to have been ground down. Someone was likely planning to use them with roller rockers.

Dave