The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Valve cover lettering

Just a small detail...looking for originality here!

Was a stencil originally used to paint the lettering/numbers on the valve covers of our Stovebolt engines? If so, were they sprayed or hand-lettered?

Thanks for any insight on the topic.

LUKE

Luke -

Here are some old posts that pondered the subject ...
> Old post #1
> Old post #2

FYI - I had a vinyl sign shop cut the ThriftMaster235 decal for my '54. Looks better than any mylar decal that most suppliers sell.

I think Denny Graham made some stencils - check out his pics.

LUKE,

Are you referring o the lettering/numbers on the upper side of the valve cover (tht Zlonnies covers) or are you referring to the lettering/script on the top of high pressure 235/261 engines' valve covers?

Thanks for the sharing the info. It was interesting reading. Denny Graham's work thoroughly covers the questions I have. I sure would like to easily be able to do the same thing that Denny showed all of us. The repo. decal/sticker is just a bit cheesy if you ask me!

As always, this is such an awesome forum to learn about the trucks we all love. Thank you to everyone for sharing.

Can someone please post a link to Denny's graphic as described above.
I tried to find it but, cannot seem to locate it.
Thanks

Just shot Denny a PM. ...I have a friend who owes me some cnc work. Might see if he can cut me an aluminum stencil that I can loan out to other bolters for a deposit.


AGREED!!

I purchased a decal but wasn't satisfied with the look so I was thinking about making a stensil too.

I was gonna paint my ThriftMaster 235 logo with a vinyl stencil. I had a vinyl sign maker cut a couple of stencils. They looked good so I attached one to the flat side of a gallon can of paint thinner to test the process.

The vinyl stencil layed down smoothly. It sealed the edges of the open areas so that no paint weeped underneath. I had trouble finding the proper mixture of paint to thinner to spray with my air brush, but that was my problem, not the fault of the stencil. A rattle can of Rustoleum yellow would have probably worked better.

However, a problem arose when I tried to remove the vinyl stencil. It stuck to the steel can too well. It left a ghost on the paint can that I had attached it to. The sign maker said that he did not have any vinyl material that was less sticky or that was meant to be easily removed.

Rather than experiment more, try to buff out the ghost, or find a chemical method that wouldn't damage the newly painted logo, I elected to have the sign maker cut a yellow vinyl logo that I could apply directly to my valve cover. I'm happy with the results.

>> LUKE: Look for a new PM from me regarding the stencil.

I tried using the "mask" method and was not completely satisified. With my "no quit" attitude now in high gear, I turned to my friendly craftsman at local sign shop. The lettering was done via an "ink transfer" similar to the process used to apply the old water slide decals that I remember as a kid building models. There is no clear backer used. The lettering was set with a high heat engine enamel clear coat. Please click on the two links below to see pictures of the final products:

http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/...ky/?action=view&current=DSCI0755.jpg

http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/...ky/?action=view&current=DSCI0749.jpg

This took a little time, effort, and $$$, but I sure do like the end result better than the cheesy decal/sticker available from the vendors! I have a couple of sets left over that I will advertise in the "Parts Wanted" forum.

What lettering are you referring to? I have a 50 valve cover that has GMC stamped into the top. Never seen this before.

I have a 1956 235 ci engine and it is a Load master engine also but not sure if any thing was writen on the valve covers or what that font is or what, how it says it or any thing. Help

If a decal or painted lettering was used on the 6-cylinder valve over in 1956, it is probably shown in the Factory Assembly Manual. Maybe someone with a 55-59 FAM will comment?

the 56 would have been a decal, not painted .... unfortunately the 55-9 assembly manual doesn't show any decal on the 235, likely because the same views are used for all the different models - the only original I've seen was the 'New Thriftmaster', which decal is well reproduced

Bill