I know I said this 292 project was on hold for now but working on getting all my bare tin unrusted and sealed before it turns into a bigger job later. My oil fill tube is very loose in the valley cover and wondered how you guys have treated this joint to keep oil where it's supposed to be. The detail of this joint on this '55 - '56 car 292 is much different than on my '56 truck 272. The well used 272 still has a very tight joint here but not this one. Was there a washer or seal originally installed here during fabrication and maybe the hot tank made it go away? For those that have this style detail on the original valley cover, what have you done to give the joint a tight seal? Or maybe I should borrow the 272 tin here. Thanks
  


Bill C

Drag it home, figure it out.

Hmmm... haven't run into that problem before, Bill.

Consider aligning the outer upper surface of the tube where it connects with the upper surface of the 'dome' on the valley pan and using an oxyacetylene torch to braze the sections together with a 1/16 inch bronze filler rod.  Brazing with appropriate heating of the valley pan steel and filler tube and adding the bronze filler rod will produce a joint that appears to have been soldered instead of appearing like a conventional welding type bead.

Eutectic Corp. offers some brazing type rods that have nickle added to the usual bronze-only filler.  The tensile strength of joints made with this type of specialty filler rod is equivalent to having done a fusion weld with a mild steel filler rod!

I've also seen silver solder used for accomplishing the type of attachment I've described above.  Silver solder (like what a jeweler might use) has a greater tensile strength than the bronze filler rod I first suggested.  Again, like the bronze filler first mentioned, silver solder will flow to give a nice joint appearance akin to soldering copper plumbing, but stronger!

Hope this helps.   


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Braised the one on my T-Bird.

I have seen that.  Haven't fixed one though.  It looks like you could make a piece of pipe to fit over the tube to use as a dolly and another piece of pipe, socket, rod, etc. and a hammer to tighten the crimp.



Lawrenceville, GA

GooD thought, Charlie.  I like it! 


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Crimping it tight would definitely be an easy first step... then braze the joint to keep it tight and keep oil in. Thanks again for your help guys - you're the best!

Bill C

Drag it home, figure it out.