273 valve covers

Hey DartThunder, I've restored probably thirty sets of those over the years, and quite a few of them were for FABO members. Thanks for the kind words guys. :love5: I love those picture memories!

If you have a heat gun and a strong nose, point it at the underside of a finned piece from inside the valve cover for a few minutes. They're held on with 2 or 3 (usually very sloppy) dabs of black RTV silicone that will soften up with the heat. Grab the uprights with a pair of rag-covered channel locks and give a gentle twist; if it doesn't come right off, heat it up some more. DO NOT pry under it with a screw driver ... they're apparently easy to bend judging by some of them I've seen in my day but aren't so easy to fix.

The fins can be either fully polished or a 2-tone such as you describe; I've seen them show up both ways from customers who claimed they were factory so I can only presume they're right (I wasn't born yet when they started making them lol). Some of the uprights are full like Toolman's up there and others have an opening like this set.

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Hope this helps! Good luck with your resto. Keep us posted!