Kustom/Custom guys, how much detailing do you do to the

[Roothawg]

How much detailing do you do to the engine bay? I had sandblasted mine and painted it last summer on my Fleetline and now I feel like I should have spent more time filling holes etc. Just wondering since this is my first custom....how often are the hoods up on sleds?

I am used to open bays where people are always wanting to see.

[hatch]

never

[Mai Ki-Ki]

Engine bay is where the engine goes..should never be seen on a kustom..IMHO!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Roothawg]

I mean the 235 has HPC coated Fentons, powdercoated valve cover and side cover but the firewall is kinda cluttered from the factory.

[flamedabone]

Root. Listen to Hatch and MKK. NEVER open the hood on a Kustom. Also, leave the doors and the trunk closed.

Detail it all you want. But keep the hood closed.

See you this summer..and it looks like I'm gonna have to spot you a few carlengths to make it fair..-Abone.

[Roothawg]

OK, If you want but I'll have time to load it on the trailer if you spot me a couple. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[Tim]

lol never is right, that why you can run a 6 in a sled
and why im justifieing a sbc in mine lol hood is always shut

i hate when the only shot you can find of an awsome car has the dam hood up.
kustoms are all about nice lines, the hood up is a no no in that situation.

make it clean and nice by all means but no need to go over board

tim

[SwitchBlade327]

my first thought on a super clean engine bay is that the car is never driver, I'd rather see a oil soaked nasty engine compartment than one I can see my ugly ass staring back at me in.

[Kustm52]

Leave it...a true custom has the mods on the outside for the world to see...one thing that really bugs me is a nice custom parked at a show with the hood UP....why go to all the trouble of molding, smoothing, rounding and frenching so that everything flows together....if you are going to ruin it by opening the hood? A car as a work of art should be seen as a whole...or in motion...to fully appreciate the overall design...and you can't drive a car with the hood up.
No matter how detailed you do the underhood, it's gonna get dirty, and oily...they never made a 235 that didn't leak somewhere. Yeah, mine was clean, painted and detailed when I built it...but after 50k it's not quite so spiffy. Put your time and effort in the body...keep it simple under the hood.

Just my opinion...for what it's worth.

Brian

[Roothawg]

I believe Brian..........that car never sits still.

[delaware george]

yeah...but it is the heart of the car...i just like knowing that it looks as nice on the inside

[warpigg]

what Kustom52 said,

[SamIyam]

I think it all depends on what kind of car builder you are...
Sam.

[Ron]

Like already said, if you open the hood it ruins the lines of the car you try so hard to get the way you want. I remember I was at a show a few years back and my car broke. So I had the hood up and some guy came up and asked what was wrong. The he said "I knew it was broke cause it was a custom with the open up".

BTW did you get my email?

[=mike=]

A clean engine and nice engine bay are treats for my eyes , and maybe a few friends , but after that I never open the damn thing . It runs good , and everyonce in a while needs oil or whater , but seriously the clean engine is for me whenI work on it . I hate having to scrape 50 yeard of roadgrime off a damn bolt to get to it . My engines are always detailed at least a little , and always clean . Wires are tied off and curled where need be . . . lots of zip ties , all the firewall / inner fenderwells are semi-gloss black . No muss no fuss .

[happy hoppy]

I degrease under the hood but thats about it.
if its rusty and I have time , it gets painted, ( rattle can )
a custom is about the big picture, the car as a whole. the over all shape, flowing lines, blending every aspect of the car together into one pleasing shape.
if I thought it would work I would like to see all lines removed, ie doors , hood, trunk, ect. from a custom , to see it as a sculpture.

then again, maybe not.

keep the hood closed!

[ray]

i remember back when R&C was covering the restoration of the hirohata merc, i was a teenager, and when i seen the plain shitty and crude workmanship underneath, it struck me as strange that here are these guys heralded as great craftsmen, when their actual metalworking skills couldn't touch those of many hundreds of todays builders. my point is times change, do what you want with it, but customs are about looks, and in this day of pre-assembled kit street rods, the standards are higher than they were even a decade ago. its a cheap copout to say that customs must have dirty engines. besides, there are only so many things that can be done to the outsides of these cars, and they have mostly been done.

i agree that customs are meant to be seen as a whole, hood and doors closed etc. but why be ashamed to open the hood and make excuses about it?

[Skate Fink]

[ QUOTE ]
Engine bay is where the engine goes..should never be seen on a kustom..IMHO!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

........unless you are Hub Harness..........
http://www.weirdtrip.com/photos/Jun08_07.JPG

(he USUALLY has the hood down.........) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



[/ QUOTE ]

[Tinbender]

I think a custom should be detailed to the max, everywhere.
So should any finished car. Doesn't mean the hood needs to be up at shows, but it should look every bit as nice as the rest of the car.

[RPW]

You´re right Ray! I like good workmanship as well as good design. Just take a look under the hood of the 54 Cole built for Ness...

[SKR8PN]

Building a custom,and NOT detailing under the hood,because it is a "driver", is like sex WITH a rubber......
While it MAY be true that the LINES of a true custom is what it is all about,you should NOT be ashamed to open the hood.
It is all about the details. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[gofast62]

do you have a hood? i thought hot rods didn't have hoods, i don't got no stinkin hood!

[50mercfan]

this is the way i see it. you want it nice under the hood because people are going to want to see it from time to time. so you don't want an embarrasing mess. but, richard zoochi refuses to open his hood when he's on the floor at oakland, so i'm not going to open mine at some local car show.

[Roothawg]

OK, I guess I should rephrase this.
I sandblasted the whole inside of the engine bay, the front suspension, etc. then I primed it, sealed it and painted with a single stage urthane. It didn't gloss up like I normally like to see. I was thinking of wet sanding the whole mess and starting over. Here's a pic of what I normally do on an engine bay.

[50mercfan]

that looks great, thats about what mines going to look like when i'm done.

[Roothawg]

I just wanted to get it on the road. I better do it the way I want or I will always regret it...... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Boones]

Root, detail it to the max or as much as the car is detailed (you have seen the stuff Cole does on his customs - beautiful inside and out) but it will be something you is rarely seen as the hoods do not belong open except when you are showing it to someone... I am getting ready to finish under the hood on my ride this winter but much like all the polish work I had done, it will rarely be seen...

[mikes51]

There aren't "rules" that apply to engine compartments.

The "rules" that do apply are mostly for the exterior appearance.

Such as:
Don't run a rake if you have skirts.

Chopped tops should match the stance, low in front tops for raked cars, low in back tops for taildraggers.

And the obvious ones, no square headlights on round bodies, that kind of thing.

[ray]

that looks good root, what i'd prolly call a nice driver. good and clean. its the "engines gotta be grungy to be a kustom" i don't get.

anyone who says its too much work to keep a clean engine compartment that way, has never tried it, it only takes a minimum of maintenance to keep chrome and paint clean. and the ten minutes once every week or two is time you should be spending checking things over anyway.

[Rocky]

I've had a few mild customs through the years and I like my engines and compartments clean and painted. Don't expect to find polished aluminum or chrome plating under there but I do like to run a smooth firewall. Hell, it's actually easier to replace the firewall on most 40's-50's cars than to weld up all those damn holes.
It's already been said but when I check my oil, I don't wanna get my white longsleeved shirt with a Pendleton over it [50's style, baby!] greasy.

[Boones]

Good point Rocky

[Sailor]

Im with Ray on this. A nice detailed enginebay, interior and even trunk (with TnR, chromed tools, gascan, oilcan etc... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) is nice regardless. Its also very much a part of kustom tradition where points were given at shows for all such things.
Other than that, open doors ruin lines, but this is a showproblem too, as all hatches usually will be closed when you cruise and when the car is parked... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Have anyone seen Ganahls great videofeature on Mox Miller and his absolutely boss 58 Impala? Late fifties-early sixties showcar sure, but regardless how you see it its detailed (and chromed http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) to the max and you just know everything has been worked through.
The detailing would offcourse be different on a fourties-early fifties era kustom, or on any street car for that matter, but Cole Fosters work on the Nessmobile is a good example on an other style of kustom built to a very high standard.

Root, If you opened the hood on Frank Livingstones Chevy ca. 1955, I can imagine one out of two scenarios. Either bone stock (5 year old car), or nice and tidy 235 hopped up with Fentons, a dual intake etc. Im almost betting on the last scenario. Maybe someone have a pic of it?

[Smokin Joe]

I remember seeing customs that even had upholstery under the car, but under the hood they were bone stock. Lots never did anything to the engine bay till what showed outside the car was complete.

Customs are about the "LOOK". That's why there are dummy spots, extra antennas and fake lakes pipes.

[Roothawg]

Here's a pic of the old 235.

[FCCOOL]

I think if you are building a early sixties period kustom that you will show, you can ever have enough chrome under the hood, this is when chrome engine dress up accessories and kits were coming in and many show cars had stock engines with loads of chrome wich often spread to the trunk with even chrome jacks. Also then underside of the hood would sometimes be trimmed in tuck & roll nuagahyde, more excessive than todays cars.
If you really do drive your car everyone will be used to seeing it with everything a show gives you a opportunity to show off what has gone into it that creation people have seen cruising around.
I never used too like hoods up either but noticed that the car seems to attracts more attention with its bits showing.
as for under the car, I guess it wouldnt matter if your car is too low to see under it.
I always assume show cars that never have the hoods up are probably running some ugly late model efi motor.
Dont get me wrong, ofcourse they show there style and lines better with the hood shut, but if you are active in the car scene you probably see these cars all the time on cruises etc. driving along next to you or in front with everything shut, a show gives you a close up look of everything.

[Roothawg]

Wow that was a while back....

[RF]

Wow that was a while back....

No shit...2003. Nice way to start life on the hamb I guess.

Oh, and even two years later, I still feel customs with undetailed engines have lazy/cheap owners.

[cleatus]

I think a new build should be clean & well-sorted inside and out.

No need to go overboard because the hood should stay shut, but I like knowing it's nice and sano under there.

I was always surprised when I went to Autorama or something and looked underneith the BIG NAME show winning customs and the chasis were all grungy and covered with overspray.

I think it taints the whole car and makes you look like you always take the short cut.

[RenoRat]

Hmm I have mixed feelings about this... I USED to believe what almost everyone esls has said but... on my 50 ford I sorta went to town on it more so cuz in the summer i dont have my hood on but.. heres mine simple clean yes clean my car doesnt leak it doesnt!!! but its gettin a 6 duce intake with 94's next weekend... I prob opened a can o worms postin pics!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/renorat/5a1c93c9.jpg

[fordnutz]

Root, I built a 55 chev custom once and had chromed inner fenders, smoothed firewall and tons of detail, but never opened the hood at runs. The body lines of the car look better with the hood and trunk lid closed. Nothing worse than a chopped car with the trunk and hood open. Can't see the lines of the car that way. Nothing says you can't detail under the hood though. Thanks again for the relay, parts look great. Might be a car there. Pat.

[JK]

Just do like me and leave hood completely off.:D

[macs55]

Engine bay is where the engine goes..should never be seen on a kustom..IMHO!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Couldn't have said it better myself. :D

[Boones]

[QUOTE=flamedabone]Root. Listen to Hatch and MKK. NEVER open the hood on a Kustom. Also, leave the doors and the trunk closed.

Detail it all you want. But keep the hood closed.
QUOTE]

detail the shit out of it,,,, but you should only have it open to check fluids before leaving on a road trip or returning (and then to clean when you get home). if you are building a serious car, then just long enough for the show judges to see it.

From a photographers perspective, nothing worse then seeing a great car with everything open. makes for a shitty pic...

[Roothawg]

Boones, you have it as bad, if not worse, than I do.......I have seen your detailing.:D

[chopolds]

As most of you guys know, I have always built customs, with a couple street machines thrown in, for myself. I totally agree that a REAL custom should never be shown with the hood, trunk or doors open. The lines of the car are the priority, not the underpinnings.
BUT! I happen to really LIKE my cars! I like everything about them, and when I am building them, I take pride in every little thing, even stuff you don't see. Detailing engines is just a part of the blood, sweat, tears, and love I put into my car. I see the engine as an accessory that compliments the rest of the car, just like the interior. I carefully chose colors, textures, mixes of components, chrome, aluminum, color paint, black paint, etc.
A nicely detailed engine just shows your mechanical AND cosmetic skills. I dig mechanical stuff, so a nice engine in a car, is like a nice one on a bike. It's there to move it along, but also can be a source of drawing compliments, like a nice paint job.
It's all part of the package!
Besides, taking a couple days to clean and paint everything under the hood makes it easier to KEEP clean. Smooth gloss paint cleans up very quickly, doesn't absorb grease, and oil like badly prepared or cheaply painted stuff. A quick shower with S-100 (motorcycle cleaner) or Simple Green, and a hosing off, and it looks like new.
Also makes repairs, and maintenance a lot easier to take, when you sont get filthy doing it!

[LUX BLUE]

As most of you guys know, I have always built customs, with a couple street machines thrown in, for myself. I totally agree that a REAL custom should never be shown with the hood, trunk or doors open. The lines of the car are the priority, not the underpinnings.
BUT! I happen to really LIKE my cars! I like everything about them, and when I am building them, I take pride in every little thing, even stuff you don't see. Detailing engines is just a part of the blood, sweat, tears, and love I put into my car. I see the engine as an accessory that compliments the rest of the car, just like the interior. I carefully chose colors, textures, mixes of components, chrome, aluminum, color paint, black paint, etc.
A nicely detailed engine just shows your mechanical AND cosmetic skills. I dig mechanical stuff, so a nice engine in a car, is like a nice one on a bike. It's there to move it along, but also can be a source of drawing compliments, like a nice paint job.
It's all part of the package!
Besides, taking a couple days to clean and paint everything under the hood makes it easier to KEEP clean. Smooth gloss paint cleans up very quickly, doesn't absorb grease, and oil like badly prepared or cheaply painted stuff. A quick shower with S-100 (motorcycle cleaner) or Simple Green, and a hosing off, and it looks like new.
Also makes repairs, and maintenance a lot easier to take, when you sont get filthy doing it!

Exactly! A clean, detailed engine compartment also makes it about a million times easier to sort out a problem when you do have one. I sped hours and hours on the Crushproof engine bays...it lends to the completion of the vehicle. I do realize that alot of these cars are like works of art...they are either never really "done", but that does not mean the engine compartment has to look it. I appreciate a finished engine bay so much, it is probably what I(as a builder) focus on most. for example, we just sent a truck home that we did a camaro clip on, and the engine bay is now the nicest part of the whole truck! (It literally rolled about 10 minutes ago) simpl satin black paint, tidy wiring, and the body holes plugged with black rubber plugs. simple, but nice and clean. you aren't afraid to stick your hand in there.

I guess my point is this. Your car spends .01 percent of its life actually at a car show. that means it is indeed okay to show off the motor to whomever you want, anywhere else,right?

[Comet]

I think there are different kinds of customs. From full on show (trailer queen) to the nice driver and then the ratty custom. So it depends to me what you are going after. I always like a clean engine. Not just to look at, but to work on. Even a driver should be clean. Doesn't have to have all chrome, but an accent piece or touch here and there is warranted. The best customs to me are the ones with a surprise at every turn. The body sucks you in, but then you look at the interior and it blows you away. The hood may be closed (which is good IMO), but if you get the opportunity later to see under the hood, that should blow you away too. Even the trunk should garner some surprise in a well thought out custom in my mind.