VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc copper washer under valve spring

I found a copper washer under 6 valve springs. The washer has stamped into it: "V.S.I. 200 This side up"

What are these washers for? Should I put them on the newly rebuilt head I plan to use?

Well if they are the same as mine, they should be 20 thousand thick shims. They were put there for a couple of reasons, the valve was deep seated. The springs were weak or some other reason which we don't know about. Were they all on the Intake side or were they mixed?

So the question, what have you done to the head? If you have put new seats and new springs, then no, don't put them back. Need to know more to really answer your question.

Thank you....don't know which valves had the washers.

Bought the "newly rebuilt" head for 275. It had what looked like new valves... all cleaned up. Don't know much else. Bought it because mine was cracked and needed multiple new valves.

Guess I'll leave them off the new one??

Also... there were little rubber valve stem cups on the old head. Should I put them on the new one?

When ever valve work is done by a qualified shop they will adjust the valve spring pressures by shimming under the springs. Here are a couple examples of rebuilt heads that I have on the shelf:
This one uses copper shims, easy to see under the springs.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/123213268/large
This one has steel shims, a bit hard to see under the springs but they are there.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/123213270/large

The valve seals are a debatable subject. Some people feel that they are needed to prevent excess oil flooding the guide, thus being sucked down the intake guide. Others, like my self feel that the guides need the oil and the stock square ring is enough. My thnking is that if they were needed then the engineers at GM would have installed them at the factory.
Again, there are as many opinions on this subject as there are members here.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

What is the stock square ring?

Just got back from a trip to Wisconsin today. I guess I should have typed the whole thing out, Stock Square ”˜O’ ring seal gp 0.308 , pn 3835333.
The only picture I can find right now is for aftermarket
seals in Chevs of the 40’s catalog.
http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/7504.html
About all they’re going to seal is the oil that might pool in the retainer and run down around the keepers. The aftermarket umbrella seals completely seal the stem and only allow a small amount of oil to get to the stem. I always thought that was too much of a seal. But that being said, a lot of the new engines are equipped from the factory with the umbrella seals. Might be because of new materials used in heads/guides, new ideas about how much lubrication is needed or maybe better oil additives in today’s oils, I’m just taking a guess about that.

Also I think I may be wrong about the steel under the springs in the one picture. There is only one layer of steel which I think are actually 0.311, 838639 seats which most of the 6’s used. Been a while since I did my own head work and these heads were assembled at the machine shop.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

The O ring was first used in 1948. The valve stem had two groves, one for the keepers and one for the O ring and the cap was redesigned so it would all work.. From 1941-1947 they used a tin cap that fit over the top of the retainer and even the tip of the vlave stem.
The 1929 in question is quite different. Does not have the half moon keepers (they came in 1935) , the retiner cap on top of the spring is stamped and deeply dished. The valve has a retangular hole on top of the stem. A small retangulae bar acts as a keeper and rests in top of the stamped cap. Was not a durable design. In 1934 the bar was enlarged but the keeper would still pull through the stamped cap so in 1935 the went to the same keeper used up thru the '90's.
After a bit they made the modern keeper and valve stem with a grove available as a replacement for the 1934.