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advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Pretty soon (maybe this year) I'm going to be swapping motors.  When it's out, I'd like to clean up the engine compartment.

Any advice on what to do, what not to do, and how or how not to do it?
__________________
Twin '85 TCs
White/ Grey 2-tone
#1 (left): undergoing top-to-bottom rebuild     
#2 (right): DD, power everything (sorta)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #1 –
Do what I would like to do,but don't have the time.......fill the holes and smooth the inner fenders,paint,move the battery to the trunk,and hide a bunch of wires .Once I get another car,that will happen to the Sport.until then,nope.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #2 –
battery's already in the trunk, the rest sounds good

goals:

cleaner look
easier access
save weight
__________________
Twin '85 TCs
White/ Grey 2-tone
#1 (left): undergoing top-to-bottom rebuild     
#2 (right): DD, power everything (sorta)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #3 –
Just degrease it, and fill all the holes that your not using. then some paint.




[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137541156293768&ap=1

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #4 –
Quote from: daminc;309558
just degrease it, and fill all the holes that your not using. Then some paint.






+1
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #5 –
My car is no show queen.  Just a fun weekend driver.  I went cheap/easy and it turned out great.  While I had the engine out.  I pulled the ECU and harness.  I pressure washed the bay and used an old kitchen scrubber to clean all the gunk. Then I scuffed the old paint with a red scuffing pad.  Hosed it off one more time and taped up the booster and other stuff.

I used about 4 or 5 coats of Rustolium white sprayed from a rattle can in one of those cheap plastic guns.  Also, trash all those plastic Christmas trees that are on the wire harness.  I bought some self tapper hex heads and black zip ties with mounting eylets.  Much better.

Results: (before, during, after)
X
X
X
My car is a gravity hybrid.  The gasoline engine gets me up the hills, and gravity gets me down.

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #6 –
Oh I am dying! Some of this type engine compartment detailing needs to be done to my Bird so that I will feel right about it when it eventually will go to exterior refinishing and paint. So much to do... SOOOO MUCH TO DO!

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #7 –
I'm not sure if what engine your going with but if you plan to chance the steering shaft or rack and pinion with an aftermarket one in the future than do it before you drop the engine in.. I did it the other way around because I thought it would clear and it didn't LOL... also a good time to replace any leaking power stearing lines which I didn't do either lol

As far as looks go just clean it up nice and lay some quality paint down and your good. I use eastwood's black engine compartment paint and it covered nicely for cheap $$, clean and spray the alum brackets as well
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #8 –
A 4 is coming out, and a 4 is going in...
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=27020

Maybe I don't need to change the shaft, that's staying stock.  Already have a new rack installed.  And, hopefully, I can get the other projects installed and working before the new motor install.

The car is white, including the engine compartment (well, white-ish), intake and exhaust will be finalized after the long block installation.  Exterior bodywork and paint will be the last thing done.  The engine compartment needs to be done before stabbing the new motor.

more ideas
- Weatherproof LEDs in the nether regions to help find that dropped nut, bolt, tool, or leak.
- Smoothing the various ridges and seams for a cleaner look (and to allow that dropped nut, bolt, or tool to go all the way down to the ground)
- Another color?  would anything other than white be appropriate for a white car?
- I've been considering adding a heater core access hatch in the firewall.  Can that be done and still pass (race) inspections? 
- Most likely the cowl is going to be modified, which means moving the conduit off the firewall.  Has anyone else done that?
__________________
Twin '85 TCs
White/ Grey 2-tone
#1 (left): undergoing top-to-bottom rebuild     
#2 (right): DD, power everything (sorta)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #9 –
If you don't want the white to ever look dirty, then go with black in the compartment. I went with black, only because it's the same color as the car. I always liked matching paint under the hood. It always looked more custom to me, then just painting it black in there to cover the dirt. I'm sure others will feel the opposite though.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137541156293768&ap=1

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #10 –
My engine bay needs detailing bad.It'll have to happen another time.It'll be satin black.Easy and effective.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #11 –
Back in the day when I was helping my dad restore cars we would use Easy-Off to clean up the engine bay. I though the stuff worked better than the auto degreasers at cleaning off built up gunk. I would only use it if you plan on painting as it will eat into the paint. Also I recommend keeping only to metal surfaces, and keeping it off any plastic, rubber, or wire insulation.

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #12 –
For cleaning, I use a product called L.A.'s Totally Awesome!, which is available in Dollar Stores. Search for it online if you can't get it locally. It really is awesome!

Photos of my engine bay are in my Car Domain link.

Chris
"I put my foot in my tank and I began to roll." Chuck Berry

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #13 –
I used the citrus cleaner/ degreaser at home depot. Cost like $8 a gal.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137541156293768&ap=1

advice - engine compartment between engine pulls

Reply #14 –
It's not going to happen anytime soon for mine, but when my enging comes out I plan to do like daminc and have all the uneeded holes filled and repainted black. I'm not sure if I want to go satin or gloss yet. As for now I just keep it clean. Castrol Super Clean works great to but it's very strong and will discolor so plastic and even mark your paint if your not careful with it. And if it's not too bad I use Simple Green.