You were right the MP aluminum valve covers would not clear the factory 73 HP manifolds on this 400-4bbl in my 73 Charger. You have to either grind down on the valve cover of the manifold, which I'm not going to do either of. I didn't even try the passenger side. I threw them back in the box and called the place and told them I was returning them. I'll have to use the old ones and straighten them out. I know it may be simple but what's the best the way to get them flat. Especially the corners if using a block of wood. Do I want to put the copper rtv on the head side of the gasket or don't I just want it on the valve cover? I'm using the suppossed reuseable hi-temp Mr. Gasket #5877 gaskets. They look a lot better than the rubber ones in the Fel-Pro kit. The addition of studs instead of using the old bolts looks like it will make it easier too. I added studs so I could just lay the gasket on. It's simple but I just wanna make sure I do it right. So all I need to straighten out the old ones is a 2x4, any specific length which makes it easier? What kind of hammer do I need? How crazy do I need to be with the copper silicone? Should I still use the factory 40lbs-inches for the torque on the valve cover nuts?

small hammer and light taps to work the thin metal back into shape

i use a thin coat of the copper rtv,rub it on with finger and make a nice thin coat

install on engine and snug it down with a 1/4" drive ratchet or nut driver by hand

let cure over night,resnug it to check

should seal right up

2 foot 2x4 is good stand on the edge and lay vc on it top side down,then tap around all the holes and work the vc around the 2x4 for the coners

extra set of hands to hold 2x4 while you hold the vc and work the hammer helps

studs are ok,

clean every thing down with brake clean...heads and vc then air dry

Ok do I have any other options close to a stock valve cover? But I want a set with a screw on cap like the original and the correct amount of holes for breather and pcv. Because after looking at these original valve covers I hate to have to keep messing with them. I've pretty much got the one side flat that I'm working on now. But I noticed under the bottom middle screw hole it's starting to separate, so it would leak around that hole. We put a weld on there but did it at night and it's not perfect. I can just see there being more problems. And that wasn't even the one that was leaking. It seems like I've seen a chrome set of valve covers set up like the factory with a breather hole and oil cap hole on one side and a single hole for the pcv on the other side. I've looked all over the internet and only seen the MP ones that I now know doesn't fit and all the other chrome ones just have 1 hole on each side.

I bought a set of valve cover gaskets off a guy on ebay that were rubber with a metal steel core that have sealed perfectly so far. One of my valve covers even has a small crack in the mounting flange. It was for a 360 but I'll bet they have them for big blocks too.

: Is there a secret to a leak free valve cover gasket? Yes... Don't put oil in it....

I believe that metal valve cover spacers are available (i.e. shape of a gasket but in metal), my plan for using stock VC on my W2 heads is to get (buy or make) some of these mainly to raise the height, but that should also stop the sealing surface deforming. Stick the spacers to the cover with something pretty permanent (glue, whatever) then you have a straight, strong surface to seal to the head with a gasket inbetween....