Trick ways to spruce up an engine bay

Hey folks,

I'm looking for some good ways to spruce up the engine bay in my Fairlane. I'm trying to find some good ways to reroute my heater hoses, I debated on getting rid of them all together but I don't want to forgo having heat. I plan on getting the appropriate fuel line adapter for the edelbrock that will drop the fuel line down by the valve cover and getting some wire looms to get the plugwires down and out of the way, what other cool things have you guys seen to hide of dress things up? also, what ways have you all gone about cleaning the carb and intake w/o having to remove them?

Here is what I'm working with:

 

Well you can paint the firewall and master clyinder and get a diffrent air cleaner for sure. You can use some wire loom the color of the car to hide the wires in and paint the dis cap and get matching plug wires and polish all the chrome. Hope this helps.

 

A new air cleaner is in the works, finned oval, hopefully it will cover some of that gigantic dizzy. I also plan on upgrading that M/C for a dual soon, when I do, i'll slap the new one with a coat of paint, and the firewill will get painted then as well. The car is red so the wire color and cap color are working, my biggest problem is some of the wires are a little short and some are a little long, I've tried swapping them back and forth to get the appropriate length but nothing seems to work, I'll probably just end up buying a universal kit and redoing them all over to get them to sit nicely. the plug ends are straight which doesn't help much. If I run them under the headers do I need a heat shield?

 

I'd ditch the HEI distributor all together. Replace the heater hoses with regular black ones when you reroute them. Replace the fuel line with hard line down the intake manifold with the heater hose along there aswell. Put regular black plug wires on there and run the wires neater, especially around the cap. A different distributor will help keep the wires tighter together for a neater look. Some paint or chrome on the shock tower braces would be nice, along with some fresh paint on the firewall. Some carb cleaner would brighten the carb without removing it.

 

Not if you make sure they have plenty of clearance.. But over the valve cover with a nice set of looms always looked good to me. If youre car is red then gor for red accents on things with the black they always look good together.

 

Tidying up loose wires and taking time to route heater hoses are a simple way to clean things up. You can run your heater hoses along the side of the engine bay and use some clamps to keep them secure. That really helps a lot.

Plug wires are easy to clean up too. I ran a set of these wire looms on a previous car and keep the routing clean. Just make sure your wires will fit. I had thicker wires and had to drill out all the holes...but it still came out nice.


http://www.made4uproducts.com/v-8 kits.htm

 

What about routing the heater hoses down low across the lower edge of the inner fender to get them out of view, fab up a couple clean black hose spacers/supports to keep them parallel - one down from the radiator and the other out the front low over the side to pick up the first one (spacer) across the lower inner fender (spacer/support) and rise up (spacer) to the heater core.


I like to use Gates power grip hose fittings, granted they are one time use and need to be cut off when changed out but they are black like the hoses and make for a clean installation.

I leave the block side of the lower radiator hose as a clamp so I can drop the coolant if I need to and that connection is typically hidden anyway.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Gates-Power-Grip-Hose-Clamp-1-3-4-Inch-2-Inch-OD,9298.html

 

The "Pep Boys" look is definately out of style.

Clean, detailed OEM look is in style.

Black hoses, black or grey wires, OEM or round open-element air cleaner, painted or powder coated accessories, little to no chrome or billet.

A Cross-Fire cap will help get HEI wires neatly routed. Previous posters have given some great suggestions on heater hose placement and alternative plug wire locations.

I am very fond of the Chip Foose "jewelry box" engine compartment concept - plain, black firewall and inner fenders which allow the engine itself to be the "jewel".

This approach depends upon a clean, neat layout and careful detailing instead of bright colors and shiny "bling".

But... Don't expect just everybody to "get it". The OEM engine compartment approach doesn't have the Oooo-Ahhhh appeal of one with lots of chrome and polished billet, but it just oozes class.

Good luck!

 

stand back a little bit further, and take another picture....

Contrasting colors help. If the engine is black, then the engine bay maybe should be painted the color of the car. Or vise-versa

HEI in a ford looks funky, no matter what.

Other than that, just do like they said and put a normal dist in it, run the wires carefully in front of the valve covers. Run the black rubber heater hoses down and then back. That will help a lot

 

just got back from the parts house, hopefully in a few hours I'll have an updated pic for you guys, gotta get some more heater hose though, that will be the next project. thanks for all of the sound advice!

 

Thanks for the Info.Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

One way to make it look like CRAP is to have a dirty engine and bay and throw those awful chrome valve covers and air cleaner on there.

Best way to have a good looking engine bay (in my opinion) .. flat black firewall, fenders.. and just a nice clean, painted original looking engine.. highly detailed, new hoses, wires, etc. "The Devil is in the details".. as they say. Take the time.. forget the chrome..

.. just my 2 cents..

 

Me too, mine should sparkle

aint nothing wrong with an HEI.....



http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=421572

 

I hate to argue but that engine would look excellent with a dual point dizzy thrown in there. I think that HEI looks terrible. Just my humble thoughts but hey you all asked.

That is a very nice looking engine though minus that HUGE distriubutor!!!

 

I myself have run HEI's in the past and hated them truly and dearly. They work ok but look like a hemorage or something. I have also run em on chevies where they are in the back and out of the way. I still dont like em. but way out front is an Eye sore.

Millersgarage. that is a very tidy engine compartment you have there by the way. I keep going back and looking at it. lots of good little tips in that picture worth a thousand words!!!!

 

You're right, it matches the traditional serpentine setup nicely.

 

HTML:

aint nothing wrong with an HEI.....

They were ugly in 1976 and never got any prettier.

 

Touche'

 

No matter how much you do that HEI dist. just takes away from the engine,the first thing you notice in the picture is the huge dist,sorry man you asked.if nothing else paint it black.

 

Word!

 

I hate to break up this HEI-bashing party - and I understand that the OP was about appearance - but it's tough to beat an HEI when it comes to street performance, dependability and serviceability.

The red cap is a bit much, but there's no need to throw out the baby with the bath water. A black cap - a Cross Fire cap, for example - and black coil cover would minimize the bulky look of the HEI while retaining its many admirable attributes.

No, the blocky-looking HEI will never be svelte and sexy, but I think they are as good as it gets in the areas that are important to me. Form, in my mind at least, should always follow function.

 

first thing I'd do is put the distributer in back where it belongs.

 

49ratfink

AMEN !

We better hide now....

 

ford had a good ideal putting dist in front to work on it , but then the hei came along and no more work

 

haha, no reason to hide, i'm usually a chevy guy but I just like anything old and cool and this fairlane kinda found me. I agree the size of the dist is a bit much, but I do like the idea of toning it down by painting it black, this winter the engine is going to get a good scrubbing and the firewall painted, i got rid of a lot of the pepboys crap today. and the V/C are finned aluminum, i know they arent cal customs but they fit my budget.

 

I understand, but the guy asked what would look good. HEI's have their place. Under a shut hood where no-one can see 'em. I have one in my F-1. I never open the hood, and when I do it's to check the fluids when no -one else is around.


Put a Mag in there and it'll go from eyesore to eyecandy.


Squirrel you are cracking me up today.

Tim

 

He He, I never pegged you for a Y block fan?


Tim

 

To each their own on the HEI deal.....if they were crap, why can you get them for a flathead?

Cleaning is good and keep it simple!

 

No one said they didn't work good, but there are plenty of people who own flatheads that have poor taste...that is why they make them for a flathead!!

HEI is flat ass ugly on any motor!!

 

the HEI was a great investment for the performance it added for my budget, it was $40 shipped. When my wallet gets a little fatter, I'll look into something a little more grand.