1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

-This is my first post- :lol:

So, I inherited this truck from my Grandpa, and he bought it from the original owner. It was in Arizona, but me and my Dad drove it out here to Illinois (Crazy trip :metal:) So I've had it here for about half a year and I have been getting my hands dirty, trying to make it a reliable daily driver. Last week it developed a new problem. As we (Me+Dad) were driving it around, celebrating a recent fix to the bed, we noticed that there were wisps of smoke coming through the hood, needless to say we got home as quick as possible. It looks like the smoke was from oil burning off the engine, and the oil was leaking from under the valve cover. I figure it is some kind of gasket issue, but then I started looking at the valve cover itself-



What is all of that stuff?


Can it be removed?


Why is it on there?


I prefer the clean look of a chrome valve cover myself

Thank you for the help!

More pics, below.

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

If you need more pics, I will post more.

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

Don't know how much I can really help, my '84 didn't have near as much attached to the valve cover and I removed a lot of clutter from it before I realized it had a cracked head or block and pulled it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/101_1282.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/101_1333.jpg

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

my 83 must be same like how painted valve cover.
Attachment 1377581

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

Welcome to the board. I believe all that junk is called PAIR - pulse air reaction. It's a sort of passive AIR pump system. All emissions related, of course. These six cylinders were designed long before emissions regs, so all sorts of junk needed to be scabbed on.

Can you take it off? Well, that depends on regulations in your area. Does the engine need all this junk? No.

As for the smoke, it's quite possible that oil leaked out from under the valve cover and then rolls down on to the exhaust manifold. These engines tend to leak from both the valve cover and side covers (covering the pushrods).

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

Yep, those two chambers on top of the valve cover are part of the PAIR system. There's a write-up on it and how to ensure it's working in the GM shop manual.

Here's mine. Look quickly, because there's a freshly built 350 in my shop!

http://pic100.picturetrail.com/VOL38.../408656094.jpg

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

yes the leak or smoke oil on the exhaust. you cant just yank all that stuff off that varijet has several vacuum lines. I changed carbs and that's not easy. Check local emission laws before remove any thing.

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

Were all of these sixes in tan colored pickups. ime looking for a motor upgrade
350 most likely keep updated how it goes.

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

Six's were most common in tan and white trucks. Why? 2 reasons one is price leaders at dealerships. white and tan are neutral easier to sell. Top reason is fleets order their trucks as basic as possible ie. cheap. White and tan were the most common fleet colors. company logos always go with white and most go with tan.

Re: 1983 Chevy I6 Confused.....
 

My truck was originally (and still is) blue, and it was built with a 250. However, I think the six cylinders were more popular in Canada.