chrome "FORD" valve covers? aftermarket? application? 390 FE

[Guest]

Picked up these really nice Fe chrome valve covers with the "FORD" logo instead of "POWERED BY FORD"? No brather hole in the one? no part number or brand anywhere? any idea's? I think someone may have added the sticker to them?

[jopizz]

They were part of the chrome dress up kit that was used on many Fords and Thunderbirds both 352's and 390's up to about '63. It was a factory option. That's about the last year I've seen them. They were used on cars that had the oil fill tube in the intake which was prior to '65. The sticker could be original if it was put on at the factory.

John

[Alan H. Tast, AIA]

Chrome valves covers stamped FORD are not a factory option - they were a dealer-installed/parts counter item. Dress-up kits specific for T-birds were not offered after 1957, and chromed valve covers for FEs (352, 390, etc.) didn't come out until 1961 in the C1AZ 6980-A kit. Chromed valve covers stamped THUNDERBIRD were factory-installed on '62-'63 390s with the "M"-series TriPowers. The PCV-type valve/grommet that's installed in the one valve cover is an aftermarket addition and not factory.

As an aside, in all of our research on '58-'60 for VTCI's 1958-1960 Original Factory Specifications Manual, we were not able to find dress-up/plated components for the engine being available prior to 1961, but VTCI has allowed items that are considered to be part of a dress-up package to be installed on '58-'60 since the Concours Rules were first written in the early-mid 1970s. These are "grandfathered" in with the understanding that no documentation has yet to surface as to these being available through Ford dealers during the period - refer to the '58-'60 OFS page G3-35 for more information as well as VTCI's Concours Rules. The call is still out for documentation to prove availability during 1958-1960, but as noted nothing has yet to turn up.