CJ7 1979 Valve Cover Replacement

[JJP4]

Hello CJ World! First Post!,

Before I cause a hailstorm, i'd like to note that I have been reading about this topic through nearly all the forum threads on this site and others for the past couple months and am only posting because i'm still confused and the time is approaching to buy one.

Here's what I have: a 1979 i6 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l AMC Engine.
It is also my understanding that all pre-1981 CJ7 's came with a non-plastic (steel or some have called them gremlin) valve cover.

Simply, the problem i'm having is finding a CJ7 valve cover for my year engine. All the products I see online for sale are for post-1980 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l 's as a replacement for the plastic valve cover. I don't understand why I have a stock plastic cover on my engine from 1979 (as the vin# on the engine proves).

I don't know whether I can use the aluminum replacement covers intended for swapping plastic covers like whats on my jeep or if it will not fit because my jeep blocks from 1979.

Lemme know what y'all think! This is my first car restoration!
JJP4

Disclaimer: I don't know anything about the Jeeps history, it was given to me by my grandpa earlier this year but it was my understanding that it was passed around from owner to owner like a bowl of queso. (it was used as a hunting jeep and unfortunately sat outside unused for 2 years before i received it)

 

[gert]

If I ever win the lottery there are a lot of parts I want to manufacture like valve covers for the older 258s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TominMD]

Hi JJP4 and Welcome to the forum,

I'm relatively new to the forum also and find it to be a great source of information. I recently got back into Jeepin' with the purchase of a '77 CJ7 w/an' 84 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l which has one of those plastic valve covers. The current project is to replace that with a cast aluminum one from RT Offroad. I found plenty choices for the post-80 258s as you mentioned. Since I had just recently done all of the searching for mine and had the sites fresh in mind I took a quick look at some of the popular more commonly used sites for Jeep parts (4WD, Summit Racing, Morris 4x4, Quadratec, Rockauto, VintageJeepParts, Amazon,...) for a '79 valve cover. I did find one available metal valve cover for a 79 AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l on Summit Racing. Here's the link.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/trd-8619/overview/year/1979/make/jeep/model/cj7

You'll have to verify that it meets your requirements and good luck with your project. I plan to tackle mine in the next couple weeks.

Tom (inMD)