engine and drivetrain Can you date valve covers by type?

[Conserv]

So what's the deal on this one?

ValveCover1972.jpg

Edit: I looked back to page 1 of this thread AFTER I posted. "Emissions device" anchor point on cover?

How/why did it end up on a 72 car? Darn mechanics again!

What year did they start making those covers?

Paul,

Every time I see one of these e21 valve covers on an '02, it reminds me how often covers, heads, and engines get swapped. Lots! That's why I have doubts every time an owner says "This part is factory original!"

European e21 production began in May '75; U.S. e21 production must have commenced mid-'76 as there were certainly U.S. versions on these shores in September '76. Did European versions have that valve cover boss? I have no idea.

But these e21 valve covers are not particularly rare on '02s!

Regards,

Steve

Edited March 9, 2015 by Conserv

[Henning]

I might bet it's not stamped  72 inside. This cover belongs to "our" 320i with M10 engine and K-jetronic, 1975-1977. The socket is for the cold idle valve, unfortunately I couldn't find a better picture:

 

 

New available tii covers often came with the socket, but without threads. I might have such, but not sure.

 

Hen

 

[PaulTWinterton]

unfortunately I couldn't find a better picture:

 

Hell of a picture! I get the significance of the plate now.

[Mike_B]

Original style M10 valve cover from my '64 1800Ti...

 

[Conserv]

...And while we know that some 1967 cars came with the early smooth valve cover, there is no certainty at this point that they all did.

image.jpg

I agree, Kit, that we don't know for certain when the ribbed covers first appeared. I had a '67 1600-2 back in the day and it certainly had the rib-less cover with "BMW" on it. I tend to "expect" a rib-less cover on a U.S. '67 model year car, but I also "expect" a ribbed cover on a '68 model year, so perhaps the switchover occurred sometime during the '67 calendar year? Or perhaps I simply haven't seen enough '67s and '68s!

Regards,

Steve

EDIT: Thinking aloud here. Or, rather than "expecting" a ribbed cover on all '68 model year cars, is it possible I simply expect a ribbed cover on all 2002s, whereas I expect early 1600-2s to have rib-less covers? Could the fancy new heat-dissipating ribbed covers have been implemented on the 2-liter engines before they were rolled out for all the M10 engines?

Edited March 9, 2015 by Conserv

[arminyack]

Let us not leave the plain Jane cover of the 1600 out in the cold!

 

[Conserv]

Let us not leave the plain Jane cover of the 1600 out in the cold!

I don't believe we've left rib-less valve covers out in the least: see, for instance, Posts # 1, 8, 23, 25, 49, and 50! But, no one seems to be able to find a casting date on the rib-less covers, so precise dating may be somewhat more problematic. Can I propose, as an initial working hypothesis, that the rib-less covers range at least from the first NK cars through 1967 or early 1968? I'd suspect the basic style carried over from a pre-M10 engine. Yes? No? And did the NK 4-door sedans move to the ribbed covers at exactly the same time the '02s moved to ribbed covers, i.e., 1968-ish?

Regards,

Steve

Edited May 22, 2015 by Conserv

[kiva667]

Let's not forget the subset of ribless covers such as the one now in my NK 2000, which came from a TiSA. They don't have the 1342 zundfolge sequence on them.

EDIT: Just noticed someone had already put in a pic of this version, painted black.

Edited May 22, 2015 by kiva667

[Conserv]

Let's not forget the subset of ribless covers such as the one now in my NK 2000, which came from a TiSA. They don't have the 1342 zundfolge sequence on them.

image.jpg

EDIT: Just noticed someone had already put in a pic of this version, painted black.

Good addition, Kit! So if you bought a TiSA, it was assumed you would know the firing order? Or is no firing order an earlier version of the rib-less? How will we know without casting dates?

Regards,

Steve

[kiva667]

Good addition, Kit! So if you bought a TiSA, it was assumed you would know the firing order? Or is no firing order an earlier version of the rib-less? How will we know without casting dates?

Regards,

Steve

Well, Steve, I did think that perhaps TiSA owners were presumed to know the firing order :-)

But then I investigated further and discovered even more variations in the early NK valve covers, such as the 1600 Alpina version pictured below. Also, I've seen a '63 1500 with a ribless cover that had nothing on it all, not even "BMW.'

To answer your other questions, yes the ribless covers seem to date from the first NKs, and do seem to have antecedents in earlier BMW valve covers. Whether or not the NKs switched to the ribbed covers at the same time as the 2002/1600s may be unknowable because there are too many covers out there with no dates on them at all.

Edited May 22, 2015 by kiva667

[Conserv]

Uh oh, I'm suddenly suffering from valve cover style overload!!! All un-dated! NOOOOO!!!

Best,

Steve

[peterschop]

Here's pictures I took of Luis's 1800 at MidAmerica. Ribbless but with the firing order.

 

[tups]

Well, I'm gonna rain on this parade and push the dates around for a bit.

 

My car is a Belgium-assembled CKD car with a chassis number in the 176xxxx range, built end of April 1967, and first registered on May 22nd.

 

This is its original valve cover:

 

Oh but surely it has been changed for a later type during the life of the car ?

Well, in contrast with many others in this thread, this one does have has a casting date. 

 

 

Count the dots. March '67...

 

Cris

 

 

[Conserv]

Don't apologize: it's great to have more facts, even if they collide with earlier conclusions!

So...did valve cover casting dates coincide with the introduction of the ribbed cover? Anyone have a rib-less valve cover with a casting date?

And, what was the transition period from the rib-less to the ribbed styles? A sharp VIN cut-off? A week? A month? Multiple months? It really doesn't change anything, but in the photo it does appear that a fourth nub (April) may fall on the line separating the first quadrant from the second quadrant (a.k.a., the "3 O'clock line").

Easy solution? We need a couple dozen '67 owners to publish their cars' manufacturing dates along with photos of their valve covers, inside and out! Sounds like a good challenge to me!

Thanks and regards,

Steve

Edited August 19, 2015 by Conserv

[kiva667]

 Anyone have a rib-less valve cover with a casting date?

 

That would be very interesting if someone has one and could post a pic.