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| Maybe you just want to spruce up your engine compartment or you would like to do better at some local car shows and your engine compartment is holding you back. There are no secret formulas to detailing your engine compartment. All it takes is some time, patience, good hand tools and quality products. The objective of this article is to show you how you can do an excellent engine detail right at home without any special equipment. All of the disassembly and reassembly was done using regular hand tools. No air tools were used. All of the painting was done using aerosol cans. No special spray equipment was used or needed. As you follow the article you can see the excellent results that can be accomplished by doing it this way. The article is directed toward the average owner with normal mechanical ability and an average set of automotive hand tools, who is doing this detail for himself or to compete in local shows. This is not geared towards the person who wants to compete in National NCRS or Bloomington type shows. Although some of the procedures are the same.
With any project such as this, you need quality products so we contacted a couple companies to lend their assistance. Zip Products, Inc., 8067 Fast Lane, Mechanicsville, VA 23111, (800) 962-9632, supplied all of the detailing items such as: spark plug wire sets, wiring harnesses, dust shields, heater hoses, some paint, and air cleaner assembly, to name just a few. The Eastwood Company, 580 Lancaster Avenue, Box 296, Malvern, PA 19355, Phone 800-345-1178, call for catalog, supplied more painting products, such as the their Golden Cad System.
With any project there are some helpful hints that you should keep in mind. Make sure you have a shop manual for your year Corvette. This will help in the disassembly and reassembly process. Use a camera to take pictures before you start. Shoot your pictures from different angles with the air cleaner on and off. Take pictures of the routing of wiring, hoses and bracket positions, etc. The more pictures you have, the better. You would be surprised how fast you forget where things were situated when you start reassembly. Remember, film is cheap. The more pictures, the better. Make diagrams you understand. Do not get technical. Just make sure you understand what you wrote. The more items you remove, the better the final job will be. You can do a good job without removing all of the items listed in this article, but you will have to do a good job of covering up and taping off items to get similar results. Take your time. Be patient. This cannot be accomplished in one weekend. Two is more like it. Three to four if it is your first time. Since most people do not have a beadblast cabinet, you will have to sublet this process out. Most local machine shops can do this for you. Sandblasting is the same. This also can be found locally if you do not have a sandblaster. Check all of the items you remove. We found that our master cylinder was starting to go bad when we disassembled the power brake booster. It is better to replace these items now than when you are completed. Remember to take your time. I cannot stress this enough. The results you achieve depend on this.
Follow along as we detail the engine compartment in our project 64 Corvette. Just remember, with a little time, patience, hand tools and quality products, you can have the same results. Good Luck! |
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01: Start by taking pictures of your engine compartment. A video camera is also good for this first step. This will help you to remember how things were routed and placed. |
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02: Notice how we have taped thin plastic covering to the fenders, windshield and front end to protect them from the engine degreaser. After you have finished cleaning the engine, you will leave the plastic in place to protect against paint overspray. Also, spray something like CRC556 or WD40 into the distributor cap and electrical connections to keep out moisture and cover the carb with a plastic bag. |
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03: Use an engine wash first. Sometimes you will have to do this more than once. You want to remove as much of the dirt and grime as you can. After you have completed this step, use the heavy duty aerosol cleaner to remove any stubborn grease. You should start and run the engine after all the above is completed. |
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04: After you have parked the car where the work is going to be done, disconnect and remove the battery.
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05: Take an awl and scribe a mark around the hood hinge mounting plates. This will allow you to re-fit the hood in the same place. Removing the hood just makes working on the engine compartment that much easier. |
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06: Start by removing the belts. Notice the tag on the belt. We put this here to show us which belt came off first and in which groove of the pulley it sat. Put a tag on each belt. After you have removed the belts, remove the alternator, alternator brackets, fan, fan pulley, crankshaft pulley and all hoses. This car also had air conditioning, but we did not remove or evacuate the system since it was working perfectly. We removed all the brackets and set the compressor and lines to the side. |
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07: Now you have cleared the front of the engine. You can now remove the distributor. Remove the distributor cap and wires and notice where the rotor is pointing. Put a piece of tape on the point plate and draw a mark directly in line with the rotor. Then make a diagram of a clock and mark where the vacuum advance is sitting. Here it is at 7:00. By doing this you can then re-install the distributor in the same place and you will only need to adjust it slightly when you are done. Remember, do not move the car in gear or turn the crankshaft pulley after you have removed the distributor and marked it. If you do, the distributor drive will move and you will not be able to put the distributor back in its original place to start with. Now is also a good time to check and replace any worn points, condenser, rotor or cap. |
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08: Remove all of the attachments on the intake manifold, such as vacuum lines, thermostat housing, etc. and remove the intake. Also remove the fuel pump and lines (put a cap over the frame fuel line end), starter, clutch cross shaft (if so equipped), master cylinder, brake booster (if so equipped) and exhaust manifolds. |
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09: I suggest removing as much of the engine compartment wiring in one piece as you can. This will help in the reassembly. If you are afraid you will not remember where a connection goes, take a picture or put a tag on the connection explaining where it goes. You may want to do both. You should also remove the wiper motor. |
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10: Here are all of the nuts, bolts, screws, springs, etc. labeled, bagged and boxed. This makes cleaning and reassembly a snap. |
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11: Tape off the valve train, motor mounts and accelerator bellcrank. Plug all of the holes in the block and start to paint the block. Keep about 6 to 10 inches away and use light overlapping strokes. Do not worry about overspray onto the firewall and inner fenders. It will be very light and you will be using a scuff pad on them before you start. Remember, if you want to do a thorough job, you will want to spray the oil pan and bottom of the block. |
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12: After you have sandblasted your exhaust manifolds, clean the sand out thoroughly. Now hang them and use a brush with lacquer thinner to clean them. After you have cleaned them with lacquer thinner 2 or 3 times, do not touch them. Oils from your skin can cause the stainless steel paint not to adhere properly. Use a ½” or 1” bristle brush and paint the Eastwood Stainless Steel paint onto the surface. Two medium wet coats is sufficient. You can spray this paint on by opening up the material valve in a spray gun and spray at 50 to 60 lbs. But we did not want to use any air equipment in this article so we brushed it on. |
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13: Any item that is steel and has been sandblasted should be primed before painting. Here we are doing the fan, but this would also be done to steel painted valve covers. |
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14: We beadblasted the aluminum intake and valve covers. We also did all of the nuts, bolts, springs, small brackets and brake booster. |
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15: A scuff pad (3M #7448) and Detail Gray will make the alternator look new. |
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16: Aluma Blast will give the bolts a cadmium look. Notice how we used a box with holes punched in it to make the bolts easier to paint. |
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17: After the engine is painted and dry, take paper and totally cover it up. We also moved the A/C compressor onto the top of the motor and covered it up. Notice how the firewall harness electrical plug and firewall hose are covered. Now take a scuff pad and scuff all of the inner fenders and firewall. After this is done, use the underhood black to refinish the engine compartment. Use light overlapping strokes from a distance of 8 to 12 inches. This will give it a nice uniform look when dry. After each coat dries, look for light spots and then touch them up before you continue. Do not forget the underside of the hood. It is a good idea to paper and tape the top side completely. This eliminates any chance of overspray. |
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18: For a little added detail we papered off the steering box and sprayed it with Spray Gray. |
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19: After everything is thoroughly dry, start to reassemble. We started by installing our new inner fender splash guards. We wanted it to look original so we installed staples. Line up the splash guards on the inner fender. Use a staple to mark the rubber and take a 3/32 drill bit and drill two holes to line up each staple. Use common 3/8” staples. Push the legs through the holes you drilled, bend over the legs and there you have it. Splash guards installed with staples. |
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20: Now re-install your engine compartment wiring harnesses. Zip Products supplied us with a new wiring harness since ours had been badly spliced. But if yours are in good shape, you can freshen them up by first applying paint stripper to the entire harness. This will remove any paint or grease and will not harm the wiring. Then thoroughly wash the harness and let it dry. Clean all of the contacts. Re-tape as necessary and you are ready to install. |
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21: Now uncover the motor but keep the valve train covered. Re-install the starter, fuel pump (use new rubber fuel hoses), exhaust manifolds, clutch cross shaft, battery, wiper motor, brake booster (if so equipped), and any other item that mounts to the firewall or lower portion of the motor. Do not install any pulleys. Put the intake manifold gaskets in place as per installation instructions and install the intake manifold and torque to specs. Before you installed the intake, you did clean out any remaining glass bead, didn’t you? Install all of the items that attach to the intake, such as vacuum fittings, fuel filters, thermostat housing, heater hose fittings, etc. Do not install the carb yet. Now take out your distributor diagram. Put a new gasket on the distributor and line up the rotor to your mark. Install it as per your diagram. |
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22: After your distributor is installed, finish the motor by installing all of your front pulleys, brackets, alternator, fan, belts, hoses, carburetor, coil, fuel lines and vacuum lines. |
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23: Install and bleed your master cylinder. It is also a good idea to bleed your entire brake system. |
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24: After everything is installed, time the engine to specs. Set the dwell and check for any leaks. |
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25: I always use K&N Filters on all of the Corvettes I drive, like this one. The reason is that this is the last air cleaner element you will every buy. When it gets dirty, you just use the recharger kit to clean and re-oil it. Then you are set to go again. K&N Air Cleaners are re-usable. |
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Golden Cad Paint System |
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A: Before we started we cleaned and beadblasted the entire brake booster. Make sure you thoroughly cover all of the vacuum ports and holes. It was then sprayed with a good primer. Now cover the entire booster with the #1 Base Coat and let it dry thoroughly. |
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B: Spray the entire booster with a light mist coat of #2 Gold Tint. Vary the spray making some areas darker than others. While it is still wet, go to #3 Orange Tint. Spray some areas with the Orange Tint. Do not cover the entire unit. Just add some highlights. Do not spray over the heavy gold tinted areas. |
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C: Now go to #4 Green Tint while the unit is still wet. What you want is a few greenish/yellow highlights. Do not cover the entire unit. Also avoid spraying the green over the Orange Tint. While it still is wet, spray a very light mist of the Base Coat #1 over any area that you want to soften the tinting down. Allow the work to dry completely before you touch it. |
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Sandblasting vs. Beadblasting |
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There is a big difference between sandblasting and beadblasting. Sandblasting uses sand with air pressure to remove rust, paint and scale. Sandblasting should be done on cast iron or steel items, such as, exhaust or intake manifolds. Under no circumstances should you sandblast aluminum. Sandblasting leaves a course finish and in some cases, the item blasted, such as steel valve covers, will have to be primed and sanded before painting. Sandblast sand can usually be purchased locally, normally at places where cement or brick products are sold. Sandblasting sand is usually referred to as silica sand and a 30-65 or fine gauge should normally be used.
Beadblasting uses a fine abrasive bead and air pressure, just as the name implies. The most common type of beadblast abrasive is glass beads. This is actually a very fine grade of ground glass. Glass beads will give a factory finish to aluminum, such as intakes and valve covers. It can be used on most soft metals. You do not want to beadblast cast iron parts with glass beads. The reason being, it will take much longer to remove paint and scale and it will make the finish too smooth for paint to adhere properly, especially on exhaust manifolds. There are also other types of beadblast abrasives, such as walnut shells, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, steel grit and plastic media to name a few. The best source to have items glass beaded is your local machine shop. |
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ENGINE DETAILING:
63-67 ENGINE COMPARTMENT DETAILING FOR THE AVERAGE CORVETTE OWNER
By: Greg Donahue
Photos by: Author
SOURCE:
Zip Products, Inc.
8067 Fast Lane
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
(800) 962-9632
PARTS LIST:
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