“Tech:” How to Create a Beautiful and Convincing 1950s Engine Compartment

just my worthless opinion but back then an aluminum intake was something to show off. I'd bead blast it and and run it. The only time anyone painted an aluminum intake was to try and disguise an aluminum highrise to look like a cast iron grocery getter.

 

Stock looks best and there are plenty of parts and repro parts out there. I like the challenge of making it looks stock but hot. You would be suprise at the amount of "speed" and "custom" equipment that was availabe in the 50's. Grab a copy of an old Hot Rod mag from the 50's, 60's and look.

 

Please I beg of you post more pics of the 265 "crate" engine.That looks so cool.Amy more convincing sbc pics?Were all early sbc orange?

 

Sorry, I haven't got anymore pics of the 265 "crate." All SBCs were not orange. In the tri-five era some were red (Nomad engines for '56?) and some were chartreuse ('57 265s?).

I'll look tomorrow for more pictures. I think the rest I have are stockers from the sixties. Right now I'm going to hit the hay.

 

That's going to be a sharp engine compartment when you change those valvecovers. However, if you study the early aircleaner pic I posted a little more closely, you'll see there are some stamped ribs on the aircleaner top that GM eliminated by the time your aircleaner was produced. The 210 horse 327 in my '68 Camaro came with a similar smooth-top aircleaner.

I have seen the ribbed aircleaner chromed on some high performance 327 applications (early Chevelle and Nova, Impalas) but I'm not sure if that's correct or just some extra dressing. Also, it's interesting to note that script valvecovers only came on 283s, 327s had a different style stamped cover from '62 to whenver they went to the "universal" 350-type. Frequently I've seen first generation Camaros with chromed script valvecovers. This looks good, but clearly this is not correct.

Like we're restorers and care, right?

 

Very good article, it has been interesting. I aim to make the '69 Mopar 383 HP going into my Gasser look like a '59 Golden Lion 383. I was planning on just shooting the whole thing gold, with earlier 4 bolt valve covers, the valve cover decals, and such. Short of checking the casting numbers, one won't be able to tell the difference.

My only issue now has been in my research, I cannot conclude if the "Golden Lion" motors were actually painted completely gold, or if they were black with gold valve covers. I just can't find a good picture.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but does any one here know for sure?

 

My 389 isn't slammed into an engine compartment yet but I' workin on getting it to look right first. I found a pair of original 55-56 valve covers that had been chrome plated back in "the day" at last years' swap meet. I got an extra strato-streak plate from Injected A and I think they look marvy!
I bought a nice pair of chrome air cleaners for the dual AFB's at the HAMB drags last year. I think a pair of dog-dish caps will look great for air cleaner tops. I have a pair like the ones pictured at the beginning of this thread and some earleir ones with big block letters and and some killer 49 Pontiac caps with script lettering!
I gotta get that project going tomorrow morning....

 

Good post!

I am running some old finned Weiand aluminum valve covers and an old Holley aluminum intake.

I had them both sand blasted to a nice flat gray finish, and then put some Eastwood clear finish on them to protect them. Looks pretty good.

Still trying to find the "right" air cleaner though.....

 

OK, so I was hangin' out under the hood of my car a lot this weekend, and I was thinking about this thread. I got wondering, what did the early SBC rodders do for spark plug wire looms/clamps/whatever? I know I really dig the way some Olds valve covers had sort of built-in looms that mounted to the tops of the valve covers, but what about SBC's?

 

Maybe those cheapy chrome 2 and 4 wire holders that are mounted under the valve cover bolts?

 

Here's the HEI on my '50 Plymouth flat six. It is a GM mini HEI from Langdon's Stovebolt Six, which he modifies for the flathead six. At a glance, it looks like a stock dizzy, the cap is just a tad longer.

I used a Ford round coil (also from Langdon) and an Obrien truckers finned coil cover to keep it period correct. I also ran the other two coil wires through the firewall to keep it clean.

Not sure if you can use the same type coil with V8 applications, but seems like you could...

Pete

 

We'll see how well I can disguise an '87 5.0L in my '52 Ford... Everything except the carb will be sprayed one color, a nasty pea green or bronze.

Gutted oil bath air cleaner with cheapo 9" base welded on, holes drilled in outside to get the air in, tall, skinny element inside.

Modern Edebrock carb, painted dull gold, embosssed "Power by FORD" on valve covers will be painted a contrasting color. Everything modern looking will get wrinkle black. This is going to be a custom, so the hood shouldn't be up too often.

 

You might also consider looseing the "Chrome" alternator. In the fifties the economy still wasn't that good, that's why you didn't really start seeing chrome wheels etc 'til the 60s.
If you must run an alternator black or as cast is far better than "Chrome" on a 50s style rod/custom.
We are talking hypothetical period correct right?

 

This is the closest thing I can find to stock spark plug looms.

 

A couple of suggestions on source materials: Keep a lookout for "Spotlite" books from the early 1960's. These little pamphlets are a series of mini-textbooks on how things were done in the late fifties/early sixties right before go karts/super stocks/musclecars blew away traditional rodding for a while.
The coverage of really good street, competition, and custom cars is detailed and intensive, with how-to titles on fuel systems, electrical wiring, custom engine compartments, and on and on for maybe fifty titles. Whether you are building a fuel altered or a sled with rolled&pleated battery covers, you will find LOTS of good ideas in these. Also look for early HRM annuals--there were series covering roughly 1954-61 and then another series, plus a couple put out in '51-3 before they thought of calling them annuals--these are heavily illustrated introductions to the state-of-the-art cars of their times.
And if you have a Chevy, get hold of some Corvette resto catalogs--these supply a whole set of answers on dress-up and wiring tricks that were used just as commonly as speed equipment in the fifties.

 

Hey Bass, check it out. A Rambler motor disguised as a Corvette unit!



Well sorta...

Gotta get rid of that sticker on the coil.

 

Thanks for the input, it gives me some ideas on how I want the look of my 254 Flathead 6 in my 51 F1 to look

 

This was a good one. still have not make much progress on my motor, hope to have it in paint in about 2 weeks.

 

Wow, I always find somthing interesting on the HAMB. I was just talking with my Dad on how I wasn't happy with the "look" of the SBC in my Hudson. I was thinking of trying to disguise it as the V8 Hudson never made. Paint it gold like the 308; loose the square chrome VC's and chrome air cleaner. Anybody have any suggestions as to what to use in their place? Hudson had a straight eight for a while, if decals exist for that engine maybe put them on some smooth painted valve covers? Were any of the SBC covers more rounded than the others? I thought I would use one of the repo Olds style air cleaners but now I'm not so sure. I suppose when that "alter-ator" comes out it will be big $$, so that may be out. Also want to go with the short water pump, I think that will help. Oh and a Pertronics in an old points dizzy to get rid of the big HEI.

 

this is a good post that should be brought back up.... it took me awhile searching for this old post.

 

Since this has come back to life, I will add a pic of the motor I finished since this was started..

First one while still on the stand and the second is installed with all the things that clutter it up.. (hoses, lines, wire etc...)

 

Check out the plain stamped steel 60's valve covers. The "327" ones have a small pad in the center for a decal, or there are "plain" versions that look just like the script covers, just without the script and two bosses for PCV mumbo-jumbo. If the PCV stuff offends your tastes, just cut 'em out and weld 'em up.

For the air cleaner, just look at factory air cleaners from the late 50's until you find something that strikes your fancy.

Anyway, I think you have a neat plan and these are just some ideas to look into.


Ed

 

Maybe you could splice one of these (eBay #4653031108) into your aircleaner top. One would look good against an eggshell black oil bath unit. Hudson in those days used block lettering so that would be easy to stamp or paint on a plain steel valve cover. H U D S O N or
C O M M O D O R E in black or red would look "right" on a gold valve cover (although the one restored Commodore Eight I found on eBay had an ugly gray engine).

-Dave

 

The post about period air cleaners was right on. The pseudo Olds/Caddie air cleaners have become cliches.....they almost belong with the billet stuff they're so common. While many of the '50's air cleaners were oil bath types, they can be converted to a paper element air cleaner. If you go about halfway down on the following link you'll see how one guy did it for inspiration:
http://www.indfloorcoating-repair.com/1948plymouthenginerestoration.html

To fit a GM or Moipar one to a Holley or Edelbrock from some of the 4"+ throat carbs might take some fabbing to get it up to 5 1/8". Mid '50's Fords (ie: 55-57) might already have a 5 1/8" base hole.
Food for thought.

 

The Small Block Is Bad Ass In The Shoebox..

 

Wow…it’s been almost a year and I’ve got basically nothing done on this car. I spend the whole winter sourcing parts/overhauling the AMC front suspension in my ’50 P/U. Oh well, I did get the engine painted as close to Hudson Gold as I could find. Scuffed, primed and painted the chrome V/C’s too. They look better than I thought they would. Still a little squarish, But I’m going to try making up some “Hudson Eight” decals with my printer and see how they look. I may paint the Alt black as suggested, and I still need to find an old oil bath air cleaner to use. My other thought…now don’t hurt me too bad…is to find an old Cross-Fire fuel injection set up from an eighties Camaro/Corvette and put it on with a couple small (6 cyl) oil bath air cleaners painted reddish-orange (Original Hudson color) on the throttle bodies. Then the “Twin-H-Power” emblem on my trunk would be true. Sort of.

 

Here's a somewhat recent picture of the 350 that's in my '54 truck. The block is an early 70's truck 010 casting, ported 492 heads w/ stainless 2.055 valves, xe268 cam, holley vac sec carb, eddy perf rpm intake, points distributor w/ hidden hei, etc.

I would really consider headers if I could find something other than a block hugger that would fit on the driver side.

The engine is painted with HOK epoxy primer & a mix of HOK silver & gold bases w/ HOK clear overtop. Chopolds was a big help painting and assembling this engine.

The air cleaner is a neat mushroom shaped one similar to those that vaphead sells.

Linkage is from a '55 Chevy car w/ a home made rod connecting the pedal to the carb. Heim joints at both ends for that go-fast look.

The firewall has a lot of time in it spent filling holes and getting it smooth w/o losing the factory ribs.

I'll be changing a few things on the engine once the truck is on the road. The valve covers are early script pieces with Eastwood Aluma Blast paint. I don't think there's enough contrast between them and the block, so I plan to repaint them gloss black w/ the Chevy script done up in seafoam green to match the body color of the truck. I want to change the return springs on the carb for something a little less "street rod". The timing pointer is chrome and I'd like to paint that black w/ the numbers detailed in either white or seafoam... all little stuff I'll do later down the road. At some point I'd like to pull off the master cylinder and repaint it. I sprayed it with clear when it was new, but that hasn't stopped it from rusting. The radiator support is still a welded together mess that needs to be finished, blasted, and painted.

So anyone have any ideas or suggestions? This is by far the prettiest engine I've ever owned and it runs pretty good too.


Ed

 

This is a great thread - touched a lot of 'way-back-when' buttons....

Just to add some fuel for thought; if you're lookig at period magazines for inspiration remember 2 things:

First, what your are seeing is the 'best of the best', what the average guy ran was probably a lot more 'lo-tech'

Second, most of the cars featured in the magazines were from the West coast, and there were regional differences in the way things were done.(spoken by someone who has lived 35 miles north of Phila PA all his life)

As an 'aside', the very first modified car (hot rod) I ever laid eyes on up close (this was in 1957) was a beautiful '55 Chevy silver 2dr hardtop with a 'continental kit spare tire, the type where the bumper wrapped around the tire. Since a lot of this discusion is abut air cleaners, this car had 3-2's and the air cleaners were small individual chrome units. I believe the engine was a 283, and this car was not a 'kid's car', but professionally built for a local newspaper publisher.