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Affordable Engine Detailing
Tricks and Ideas for Spiffing
Up the Engine Bay
By Warren Boughn
Photography: Warren Boughn
Ever wonder how the
pros get their engines looking so good? It's not
as difficult or expensive as you would think.
These basic tips can help you start detailing
with the best of them, and the procedures will
also work well on other parts of your project
vehicle. We asked the guys at Precision Street
Rods & Machines to show you some of their
detailing tricks. Remember that patience is a
virtue--speed doesn't count when you are detailing
an engine. They also kept the really expensive
things like chrome-plating to a minimum, making
the detailing very affordable.
This engine is going into a classic street
rod, so we had plenty of room to work with.
Since the crate engine comes partially complete,
here are a few of the parts that we will be
installing on this engine to improve the performance
and appearance. We purchased an Edelbrock carburetor
and Billet Specialties air cleaner to top off
the engine. A Mallory 501 Unilite distributor
conversion kit; Hooker headers; a complete factory
serpentine belt system including the water pump,
pulleys, brackets, compressor and alternator
from a '97 Chevrolet truck. A Milodon oil pan,
pump, and pickup complete the bottom end of
the engine. In addition to the engine, we selected
a B&M converter and transmission to finish
the drivetrain.
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1.
This is what our crated 502ci big-block
Chevy engine looked like when it was delivered.
It's a complete long-block assembly with
an aluminum intake manifold.
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2. These
are the parts that will be used on the
502ci engine to get it ready to power
the vehicle. The items we selected were
for performance and appearance.
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3. First,
we bolted the engine to the engine stand,
then removed the stock water pump, intake
manifold, and valve covers. Using 2-inch
masking tape, we covered up the engine
valley and heads. We placed a new intake
gasket to the intake manifold, marked
the outer manifold shape onto it, and
trimmed the excess gasket material away
with tin snips. Then we placed the newly
trimmed gasket onto the taped cylinder
head and traced the shape.
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4. Using
a razor blade, we followed the gasket
pattern and peeled away the tape in the
areas where we wanted the paint to stick.
This way, the gasket won't be seen when
the engine is assembled, and the entire
engine will be painted except for the
gasketed surface. The same procedure works
well with all gasketed items.
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5. Since
we are changing from the stock oil pan
to a Milodon, the oil pump and pickup
needed to be changed because the new pan
was deeper.
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6. When
we painted the engine, we used a piece
of cardboard as a paint shield to prevent
paint from going where it wasn’t needed.
Since this engine was being budget-detailed,
we painted the block with VHT orange engine
enamel, which is designed to withstand
high engine temperatures. It goes on with
a nice high-gloss finish and covers very
well. It’s also very easy to touch-up
when necessary.
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7. The
stock valve covers on the engine had a
nice design but were painted black, so
we had the aluminum valve covers polished.
We also had the aluminum intake polished.
Since, we wanted to detail the valve covers,
we started by masking off the areas that
weren’t going to be detail-painted.
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8. We
cleaned and painted the unmasked area
with VHT engine enamel and allowed the
paint to tack up slightly.
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9. Using
a lacquer thinner-moistened rag wrapped
around a stick, we simply wiped off the
paint where we didn't want it. This is
much easier than masking off all those
fins. This was done immediately after
painting while the paint was still tacky.
We didn't use a rag with a lot of nap
in it because we didn't want fabric lint
in the wet paint.
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10. We
ran the vacuum lines and fuel lines in
hard stainless steel then polished them
to a high gloss.
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11. Another
neat trick is to run your spark plug wires
through a loom, such as the one we got
from Zoops. It can be detailed to match.
Using an Adel clamp at the back of the
head will keep the spark plug wires tight
when running to the distributor.
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12. We
had Andrews Powder Coating handle the
serpentine pulleys, brackets and pump.
They were done in what is called a chrome
finish (looks like polished aluminum)
and gloss black.
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13. This
was a rather simple detail job that looks
like it took a lot more effort and cost
a lot more than it did. Remember, take
your time and make the investment, because
it’s just one more thing that will make
your car look a little better than the
next fellow’s.
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