Stick with me,this is going somewhere. Before I discovered this board I knew shit about shit. So when I was looking for a panel truck I got my mechanic friend Jeff to check over the engine specs. Big cam, roller rockers, Edelbrock performer manifold, ceramic headers on a 69 351 Winsor. I understand that shit only slightly better now than I did back in 2006, but in my man's opinion it checked several boxes so I went for it. She turned up over here, and sure enough, great engine. The only trouble was it looked like this; well, at the time that didn't bother me none, it made a good noise, was reliable and scared the shit out of a few people. As time went on I realised that I didn't really like the look of it compared to what I was seeing here on the HAMB. So, bearing in mind I hadn't learned an awful lot, and that I'm a "hood down" kind of guy anyway I decided to make a few changes; yeah, I know, pretty piss poor attempt huh? Anyhow, ignorance is bliss and I was blissful. So then it's like I spend all my waking life on this place, and discover that Kustoms really are my bag, and with the little knowledge I was gaining a piece that time I realised that you could have, in fact a lot of people did have back in the day (horrible phrase, but that's what I'm into) a Kustom F 100, so me, my family and some extremely talented people who became close friends embarked on the journey that ended with "the kripple kart". Due to financial constraints we didn't do the whole "body off" thing, besides who cares what's under the hood huh? It's a Kustom, the hood stays down. Well, you know they say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing? Well I have very little knowledge, but I did know that what was under my hood wasn't "right" for the rest of the truck. Now I have to admit that living in England pretty much makes me a 1-800 guy but after shopping around on the Internet (pretty much about all you can do when you're a quad) I found me some what I consider nice stuff that I could use to at least give the impression that I cared about my engine looking as "traditionally inspired" as the rest of the truck. If any of you guys out there haven't used the site "the hot Rod Company" then you are seriously missing out on some good stuff. So, armed with gold paint and ship load of parts more in keeping with the style of my vehicle this is what my mechanic Jeff, my son Danny and my wife Jane came up with in my garage this weekend. It is my take on making a non-traditional engine at least look the part. I post partly because I'm very pleased with myself, but also to show that with a little imagination, a lot of hunting around and the help of some clever people it's possible to have a "nice" non-traditional engine without it ever leaving the engine bay. I know there's a lot of people out there that it ain't going to fool, but that doesn't matter, because I'm still going to keep the hood down. It just means I can allow myself a little smile when the hood opens for me to direct maintenance. I hope that this thread will plant seeds in some people's minds as I now have an engine that I'm happy with without having to swap out for something truly traditional. Or maybe I'm just being a jerk! Paul of course this post comes with the usual proviso that if it is considered to off topic, feel free to delete it.
You did really good... kinda like what I did to my 455 Olds... Change the color and found some patina'd speed parts and it no longer looked like a 69 Toronado engine!
Looks good,but then again I like the old valve covers and breather although the blue don't look as good as the new color.HRP
only a goldchainers would paint their block gold. ha! nice job man, it does look like it fits your kart better.
Good job Paul, looks a ton better and I wouldn't be a bit ashamed now to pop that hood once in awhile!! Scot
Awesome job,the thing about playing with car(JMO) YOU can do what ever turns your crank. Forget about putting a label on it. If it makes you happy you're going in the right direction.
Nice job. Im glad youre a "hood closed" kinda guy.. nothin ruins a custom at a car show more than having the hood (and sometimes trunk and doors??) open, ruining the lines and flow of the car.
The copper tube to the breather looks like a fat copper wire with a boot/insulator on it,,,keeps em guessin'. Nice job man----
NICE work man....looks great...... I picked up a set of Small Block Ford valve covers that look VERY much like the ones in your pic.....took me forever to find 'em... The 9-Fin Aluminum "Hawk" by Cal Custom...with breather holes... Anyway...looks just like an Effie motor should... BE proud... -
Very nice. It looks great now. Are those CLEAR spark plugs wires?? If so, I didn't know there was any such thing?
Very nice and I like the way you got a lot of things organized on it. Those valve covers make it though and sure take it away from that 80's look. It shouldn't be that hard to find someone with a Ford product who would fall in love with the valve trinkets that came with it. Great stuff if you have a Mustang.
The Jalopy Journal
