The Super Sports has a tappet cover held in place with 2BA set screws along the bottom and one up each side. The tappet cover is only approx 1 1/2 inches high with the top open to the valve chest. It would appear this was used on 8 stud and 10 stud blocks,but only on the supercharged cars.Obviously blocks still exist with the tappings but does anyone have or has seen the tappet cover.It is thought that Austins adopted this design to enable access to the valves without removing the supercharger,but we cannot understand the exact method.Was the special valve lifter listed in the 1931 parts list for the S/C car specially adapted. Any thoughts?

Hi, David, James Anderson ,who |I believe you know ,has one with the cover you refer to. I rang him and he says call him . Mac

David

If you do get any information or a decent picture I'd be interested to see copies. The access to the valves is a real pain on the blown engine. I've just started the task of checking/adjusting the valves this evening and I expect that it might be done by Sunday so a modification like this would seem very useful.
Of course mine is made worse by having a postwar horizontal 4 branch exhaust manifold that doesn't have the upsweep of the original factory manifold. Mine is a good manifold for an unblown engine but a pain with a blower!

Charles

Charles,
Have a copy of an Austin Publicity photo of a 1928 SS showing the reduced cover but this doesn't really help.The block on my engine is from a Works Duck which had the blower on the top of the engine so doesn't have the reduced cover.Getting at my tappets is therefore equally difficult even with an original exhaust manifold.Even with the reduced tappet cover in place I still see enormous difficuly.
Mac Will give James a ring.
Any thoughts on the supercharged valve lifter is
just longer because the valves are longer ?

By the way dust etc would surely get into the engine via the open valve chest.

Somewhere I have a block with an SP number and an engine number 67???? (1928?) The ports are very rectangular, no radius in the corners and beautifully polished. It has the detail described by David, the threads are 3/16 bsf. not 2 ba. I have always assumed that it was a misdiagnosis of oil leakage caused by radical camshaft design and lifting block that lead to this modification. The valve chest cover would of course have been the earlier type with flat mating surface and flat gasket. I have yet to see an early cover drilled to match the block tappings.

David

Will the photograph email at all (if you can scan it)

Charles

Pondering this and the problems of tappet covers with blown engines I'm making a two part aluminium tappet cover with a stepped overlap between the top half and bottom half. That way whilst I have to remove the manifolds to check clearances I don't have to remove the blower.
Photos will be posted when I've made it.

Charles