Technical TOOO much bling ?

I've gone for a bit of chrome with black, in satin black engine bay.

 

I concur!

 

If it counts, this morning I dropped off my Desoto valve covers, wire covers, oil pan and valley pan at the chrome shop for a fresh coat of bling on the new hemi project motor.

To paraphrase Duke Ellington;
"it don't mean a thing if it aint got that bling"

 

I gotta admit, hemi valve covers look pretty righteous chromed.

 

I truly don't have a dog in this fight (yet) but it's a question of balance to me. Two virtually identical cars could go to either extreme and still be attractive in their own right. Mr Poteet's Miller is a thing of beauty, but there's no way I could manage that level of detail in real life. My Jag Special only has it's factory aluminum head and valve covers right now, and, if I can manage it, somehow I'd like to get a set of the smooth valve covers to replace the squared-off ribbed ones. No other reason than looks, because they affect the function in no way whatsoever.

 

Something cool about a HEMI with bling !

Ok, now when you have loads of polished alum, is there ANY method of coating that helps to cut down on oxidation / cleaning ??

 

Now available in the industrial size!

 

Try living near the ocean with an engine covered with cast aluminum..... holy moley.

 

Or any exposed aluminum for that matter I suppose. One of my OT cars has aluminum heads, intake, water pump, alt, that I ground all the logos off of and took them over to Portland to have them tumbled by Russ Meaks. Once tumbled to a cool sheen he clear coated everything. That was 7 years ago and they look perfect to this day with nothing more than the occasional wipe with a micro fibre towel. It is a cool engine bay and easy to care for.

 

Looks like chrome firewall and frame?

 

^^^If lovin that is wrong I don't want to be right.

 

Looks like chrome firewall also?..

 

Is chrome old school billet?

 

Well , did it almost kill hot rodding? then there's your answer.. no chrome requires hands on craftsmanship which is part of the appeal.. imo..

If your good you could dip a complete motor in chrome.. tins block and all..

I'm not an expert so this is a question but did old chrome look better?

 

During the rebuild I removed a lot of "bling" and went with the unpolished look.

 

Well crap, that looks awesome! I hate being proved wrong!

 

Wow 396 that looks good , is it sandblasted or paint ?

 

Thanks, blasted with walnut shells -no paint... Then a little Gibbs worked into all of the surfaces.

 

Styles change, that's a fact. In the 60's I tried to chrome everything on my car. I'm sure your blown hemi looked great all polished and such. Now, the style has changed and you went with a satin finish. You did a great job and the engine looks BITCHIN ! Outstanding work.

 

Too much bright work for ya here??

 

I appreciate your comments, it did look good polished, but needed a change...

 

I think it's the contrast that catches the eye, chrome against a dark color, aluminum polished or satin against dark paint, heck even contrasting paint colors can grab the eyes and say 'LOOK HERE!". I also think you can overdo the contrast, especially if you have a lot of contrasting colors, it diminishes the effect as the brain searches for the most distinctive separation of colors. I like to try and stay with as few differing colors as I can. Not always possible since chrome and polished aluminum will have a different shine to them, but they are close enough to accent against darker paints.

 

Chrome adds horsepower, right? Unfortunately I'm so old and tired I don't even wash my junk, much less polish it.

 

Sometimes totally stock is best...

 

It seems that now I am facing a chrome problem. Yesterday, I took the coupe out for another test drive around the block and smoke started coming from the generator. I had it chromed with a finned aluminum cover over the voltage regulator and red reflective tape between the fins. I like the look and it is era correct (sorta). I've got over $100 in the generator and it probably will cost me another $100 to fix it. Or I could just cut my losses and spring for a chrome 1 wire alternator for that same $100 and it will work much better. Hate problems like this.

 

The generator looks so ''right''. IMHO, well worth keeping. Unless you have room to hide an alternator down low.

 

Looks tidy for a common sbc

Sent from my SM-T805Y using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Custom jewelry^^^^^^......

 

Hello,

When we had the 58 Impala, the motor was huge inside the compartment. Much larger than the normal 283 SBC motor that we have been used to seeing in hot rods. It was the standard bright red/orange block, heads and oil pan. Even the valve covers were stock red/orange from the factory. That was just too much for one monotone motor.

We tried the individual chrome caps on each carburetor, but it looked too plain and odd. Plus, the small chrome caps made it sound like a leaky, hissing snake upon acceleration. So, we went back to the stock factory, 3 screw, black, dual inlet, air cleaner. We also chromed the top plate cover.

We then had the 348 valve covers chromed and added aluminum Moon Breathers on top of the covers. We did lose the cool, stock factory, 280 HP stickers upon chroming. But the ones we got for replacements did not look right on the big chrome valve covers.

There was just enough surrounding black paint. Then the red motor stood out with chrome highlights. Plain and racy without too much shiny stuff or red/orange paint.

Jnaki

Our 671 supercharger for the 40 Willys coupe build was a diesel store display model. But, we had it taken apart and had it tuned/reassembled to racing specifications by Reath Automotive. The surface was left the factory sandblasted look with new nuts and bolts. In the gas coupe, it was plain and simple, with go fast being the goal, despite no show quality bright stuff.
Thanks Bones Balogh photo 1960
6, cleaned up Strombergs, polished finned valve covers + Moon Breathers, black motor paint, silver painted headers all showcased the race car look in our 1940 Willys coupe, too.
1960
There is/was an old saying: “If it isn’t fast, chrome it…”