Valley tray for victor head and B block

I was told there was a new billet valley tray offered for the victor head and B block, so I pm Andy for some info on it since it is his tray. He gives me a part number. I call Dave at Hughes Engines, he tells me the number is for the bat wings and there is no billet valley tray for Victor and B block. I search it out and find it on AR Engineering site. It's AR345 and it does exist. My question is, does it require the bat wings and does it fit the victor head same as it does other heads. The victor head is a little different animal the way the valley tray bolts up and Andy pics for the Indy tray is same for Victor tray. Are they the same? Anyone have actual picture of the AR345 valley tray? Thanks

AR345 is for a low deck with Victor heads. You don't use the batwings with Victor heads. Just RTV the sides of the valley plate to the heads.

http://arengineering.com/home-page/valley-plates/

Ok, thanks for clearing that up Andy.

If Hughes doesn't have one in stock then have them drop ship one from me. I have several on the shelf.

Ok, but can I order directly from your web site?

Andy - any sense for how much head and/or block milling impacts how your Victor valley covers fit properly?

The valley plate is designed for stock deck height. It has a little room for the RTV so the deck height could be reduced some but if the deck is cut a bunch then at some point the valley plate will need to be machined to match. That is the problem with the Victor head design where it has the vertical walls on the head. That design doesn't allow for much variation in deck height.

No. There isn't an order feature on my website. My website is for information only.

Ok. I will contact Hughes. My deck is right at 9.980, but gonna machine heads a bunch, so will have to account for valley tray .

Hey Andy, How about one for a low deck with mopar stage VI heads?

You're on your own there. I'm not going to make anything special for Stage VI heads.

Gotcha, I was hoping one of the others might work. Ill build something.. Thanks.

Andy, if I have .050" removed from the head/gasket , how much would have to be machined from the vertical wall on the victor head?

Would it be simpler (and maybe cheaper) to not cut the heads there and, instead, plan to modify the ARE plate after you can mock up everything to determine what needs to be removed?

Not sure, but shops around here change the same whether they machine the intake or the intake side of a head. I would guess it would be same deal for the valley tray. I'll have to ask.

You could probably modify Andy's plate w/ a big flat file, a surface plate, and a bunch of grades of wet-or-dry sand paper.

No more RB Victor plate?

I believe the RB/victor plate is still listed on hughes site. I just ordered the B/victor plate from hughes. Had to be dropped shipped from AR Engineering. Hughes says it was discontinued, so what Andy has left is it. They gave me a price of $165, on Andy's site its $250. I questioned the price because I wanted to be sure it was the correct plate. Tim told me I shouldn't have said anything. Doooh!

I might have missed it, but is something wrong with the regular bolt on valley pan?

The tin pan works fine as is, but the billet tray has a removable cover making things easier with cam changes and is a quality piece.

RB Victor valley plates are out of stock and I don't plan to build anymore. Victor stuff sells very slowly compared to parts for the Trick Flow heads so as they say in business school; I'm adjusting my inventory mix.

I'm on my "third" Edelbrock valley pan since 2013. For whatever reason, heat cycles? crankcase pressure?, I've had two that cracked at the 90 degree bend and started leaking. Also, the edge above where it bolts to the head becomes distorted. I just bolted on the last new one I had, because I was in a hurry. Will order one of Andy's plates next. I got more time out of the last one by running a bead of RTV down the inside of the bend. I have kind of a love/hate relationship with these heads. The couple of contingency checks Edelbrock sent me help with the love portion

You must have posted this while I was writing my previous post. RB here so, I'll probably end up making one, just won't be quite as pretty.

Understood, just not expected.

Did you want to buy one or did you already get one. I remember talking about it at one point but I've forgotten if I ever sent you one or not. If you really want one I can send you a CAD file and you can have a local shop build one. Not a super difficult part to make for someone with a CNC vertical mill.

It's a really nice part that didn't fit into the budget when we spoke (and still doesn't, to be honest), so I put it on my wish list for future purchases.

Not sure if Hughes has any left in stock... may give 'em a call just to see and go from there. I know it won't fit w/o mods, since I had to make the Edelbrock tray into a 3-piece setup to narrow it enough to work.

I would think a weld bead along each corner would keep it from cracking at the brake line on each side? Does this engine have a vacuum pump by chance?

A solid plate would be a lot cheaper but then you have to peel it off to get to the lifters. A custom solid plate could be made to match the width of your narrowed setup without too much trouble.

No vacuum pump, header evac only.

Looks like you were directing at Brad but, my plan was to transfer pattern from Edelbrock tray to .375 alum plate and finish out with my old mill sneaking up on width. I know a guy that knows a guy that does CNC milling. I should have bought one of yours when they were available.

Someone on eBarf makes an aluminum cover that IMO is the same basic design as the Edelbrock thin steel cover, IIRC. But if it doesn't fit, it'll be more difficult to modify cleanly. +