Repairing a hole in a valve cover ?

[option B9]

   Now that it's too cold to work outside i have plenty of small Special/Skylark GS parts to repair & paint inside... about 5 years ago the Guys in our BCA Chapter went to PA on a junkyard run. This was to be the last run to this yard because the owner was retiring and the cars & trucks were to be crushed and the land sold off. We took several vehicles because we were going to take whatever Buick parts we could.. After the day was done I filled the back of my van with Special/Skylark & 401 parts.
   In those parts there was a set of 225 V6 valve covers that were very dirty but not a dent in them. After soaking them in a water base degreaser for several months they came out really clean but i noticed  on one of them there are Two small holes. The holes are approximately 2/16. I did not have the time to deal with it then, but now I do now. I can't Mig it that would just make the hole bigger, In Brazing you need to heat up the area red hot and that will warp the thin metal. Can it be soldered ? if so how ?  Or is there an epoxy that can withstand the heat ? I have JB weld but never tried it on something like that. Any ideas would be appreciated.      PS: that same day i found a 65 GS with it's original LR code motor in it. The motor is now part of my collection.....
                       
                    Tony

[elagache]

Dear Tony and mid-60 Buick caregivers,

In those parts there was a set of 225 V6 valve covers that were very dirty but not a dent in them.  . . . . i noticed  on one of them there are Two small holes. The holes are approximately 2/16.
. . .
Or is there an epoxy that can withstand the heat ?

It should be possible to repair this with epoxy.  The dip-stick tube on my wagon's engine is secured with epoxy.   According to Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy#Adhesives

The strength of epoxy adhesives is degraded at temperatures above 350 °F.  I wouldn't expect the valve covers to exceed that.  You might need to shop around for a special grade of epoxy, but that should get the job done.

Other opinions? 

Cheers, Edouard

[WkillGS]

I would mig it, but fill the hole with something first to avoid blowing a hole it the sheetmetal. Something like a flat headed nail or tack to fill the hole, then hit the head with your mig wire and let the puddle flow onto the valve cover. Then cut/grind the rest of the nail off.
Or back the hole with a piece of copper and then mig it up. The mig weld will not stick to the copper and will support the metal to help keep the hole from blowing out.

Or recess the hole a bit, fill the hole with a nail head or pop rivet, and cover both sides with epoxy.

[option B9]

 Thanks Edouard & Walt. I'm going to try the nail in the hole idea and set the Mig on a lower setting. That's a great idea Walt, and after i grind the nail off and smooth it down if there are any imperfections i can mix up a small amount of epoxy and fill it in. Several coats of Buick green engine paint will cover any fine scratches.
   Now all i need is a nice sunny day in the 40s to do the work. When i do it I will post the results. Thanks Guys...    Tony

[WkillGS]

Put the nail up from the bottom(inside) and weld from the top. Direct your mig at the shank of the nail to take the brunt of the heat. When done, you can leave the head on the underside and cut/grind the shank from the top. You could even braze with the same method so the shank of the nail takes most of the heat before the sheetmetal does.
Good luck with it! Always a good idea to practice on some scrap first.

[option B9]

 I'm going to practice on some sheet metal first so i can dial in the mig. It's going to take longer to set up than it will to do the actual work. But i will try when i get a nice day, The days of me working in the cold are over!!   Thanks 
                                                                                                                 Tony

[cwmcobra]

Send us some pics of your progress Tony.  We'd love to follow along!

Chuck

[option B9]

Hi Chuck, Yes i will take photos of this unusual repair. I was really stumped on how to repair the valve cover, I did not want to blow a bigger hole in it (I've done that before on several other projects ) But i guess that was the learning curve. But thanks to Edouard & Walt for there ideas. Now I have a starting point.   Tony

[telriv]

15+ yrs. ago I rebuilt a '46 Chevy pick-up. The oil pan had holes from rust. I soldered them up. No leaks as of this past summer.

Tom T.