MTFCA Forum

I have a Frontenac overhead valve conversion on a 26/227 T engine which will go into my speedster project. I noticed in a period ad illustration for the RAJO overhead valve conversion that the oiling pad is secured to the top of the valve cover and there are 2 oiling ports with cups drilled into the top of the cover to lubricate the pad.

My Frontenac valve cover has the oiling pad just sitting on top of the rocker assembly and there are no holes drilled in the valve cover for lubrication purposes. Is this correct, or should it be modified to resemble the RAJO style?

Thanks for any info, Gene

I believe originally there were no oiler holes. My rajo is like this. Remove the cover & pour oil onto the pad.
Beginning of driving season I squirt the rockers & pour onto the pad. Make sure its wet before using.

My Rajo valve cover has no oiling holes and the pad is not secured to the cover. I simply remove the cover to re-oil the pad.

My question is, under normal operation, how often should the pad be re-oiled and how much oil should be added?

To date, I’ve been guessing and it is likely that I’ve been adding more oil than I need, more often than I need to…

Eric

More oil is better, too little is bad!
The Chevrolet 4 cylinder heads have wells around the base of the springs. Between that and oiled pad, things seem to stay pretty lubed between regular oilings. (That can include anyone riding in the front seat LOL )
I do not recall seeing the wells of the made for T overhead setups, so might want to oil more often to stay on the side of caution.

Depending on how much you drive - I manually oil my rockers & shaft first time out for the year with a generous oiling of the felt pad which is not attached - just remove the cover. My BB has wells around each pair of valves (I believe, but my memory isn't the greatest anymore) and I do "wick" the residual puddles every so often.

As with most things speedster, I’ve found not really one way to do anything. It’s what works well. I’ve got two original covers for my fronty. I suspect the one with the oilers had those added somewhere in time, to make oiling things a bit easier.I’ll likely end up using that one.

Mark Gregush wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 27, 2021 1:34 pm

More oil is better, too little is bad!

In general, I agree. However, in my experience with various infernal combustion engines over the years, I have had problems arise from both not enough oil and too much oil. Hence my question about the oil pad for Model T overhead valves, how much oil; a tablespoon, a cup, a quart? And how often; every 200 miles, every 500 miles, every 1000 miles, once a start, once a year? I know that it is not an exact science, but what has worked for you in your OHV T engine?

Eric

I soak mine pretty good - maybe 1/2 quart every spring - one can determine by squeezing it between your fingers.

Without knowing what weight felt was used in your case, so would be hard for anyone to guesstimate how much oil yours will hold. Soak it, let it drain for a while and then put on the car. If after you put it back on, a lot of oil leaks out, you got too much on, use less next time. The system is messy, so if you are worried about gettin oil on the floor, keep drip pans under it. It is a loss oil system, so will leak.

Kind of depends on how much you drive, how bad it leaks and how thick the pad. I've got a gasket so mine leaks but not bad on my Fronty. It's a 5/8 pad (Thanks Ron Kipling) and gets oiled at the start of the season and about every 1,000 miles after that unless I get in the mood sooner. Everything always seems to be oily when I pull the cover.

Maybe this will help a little although it's not a Fronty but it's basically the same. I'll add a couple of pictures. In the last picture you can see the oil stream on the front set of rockers. Been running this car for 53 years with almost no rocker problems (had to repair the rear rocker 30 or so years ago as it was loose on the shaft). The felt pad just lay's on top of the rocker assy. I oil the pad and rockers daily before I begin a drive, short or long distance. According to the old timers (when I got started in the hobby there was plenty of them around to give advice) they oiled them once a week or so! But......they could go to the supply source and get new parts. We can't! So I remove the cover, lift the pad and oil both ends of each rocker arm and the center where it rides on the shaft. Then I lay the pad back down and do the same thing to the top of the pad. I'm good for the day. Morning ritual on a long distance trip......il the rockers.

Quite the "unique" heated manifold system Ed !

Does the job Steve. Had ice on that manifold on a 104 degree summer day. Ice no more!

I'd use a repro cover on that and put 3 period type oilers on it. Add a few healthy squirts of 50/50 mix of Marvel Mystery Oil and 15/40 Rotella to each oiler daily or every 100 miles. Some kind of gasket at the base of the cover would be useful.. I assume that excess oil would have some way to drain back to the crankcase. If not, one would have to be provided.

My apologies for the thread drift but after seeing Ed's intake air heat, I wanted to show mine. Winfields up here in the Pacific NW don't appreciate the moist air !

more thread drift, but you can see the felt under the rocker arm cover :

I've had cold intake issues with a wide variety of vehicles under damp, cool, humid conditions. Late model carbureted vehicles that lack intake heating equipment are as bad as any T. A carbureted V8 with no choke, fast idle, or manifold heat will start and run well with little or no warmup in cold, dry weather, but the same vehicle in cool, damp weather takes several minutes of running to idle and run properly. Six cylinder vehicles are often worse.

I oil my rockers every time I drive the car
It’s a BB rajo maybe I am over doing it

Nah. Keep that stuff oily at all times.

Is there such a thing as a gasket for under the Frontenac valve cover or is one necessary? GOLDBARBILL in Coupeville, WA

Bill,

Only if you make one. Get a sheet of cork and carve away. Mine is 1/4" thick, don't recall where I got it but the Google is my friend when I'm not certain where to look.

A bit late with this as I just now read this thread in detail. Probably "over-thinking" this, but it would seem like Ed Archers method of intake manifold heating would provide a sort of dual function as "heat transfer" works both ways; while the obvious intended function is to heat the intake manifold, it would seem like the cold manifold would also have a cooling effect on the coolant within the copper tubing! ....?....harold