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WHY do people insist on hiding car parts on CARS?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Groucho, Jan 13, 2011.

  1. I'm curious. Why are you hiding wires, master cylinders and other parts. It's a CAR! It's supposed to have parts. I think all that stuff lends itself to making the car look mechanical, like the machine it is. When I was younger, and more curious, I wanted to see how things worked. I wanted to see the "workings" of a car's different areas. I wanted things exposed, not hidden. Hidden master cylinders behind dashes, where they dangerously never get checked for low fluid due to inconvenience? Polish/nickel plate/chrome it and hang it on the firewall where it belongs. Hidden wires, making diagnosing a nightmare? Discuss.
     
  2. LIL.TIMMYUser Name
    Joined: Jan 30, 2009
    Posts: 741

    LIL.TIMMYUser Name
    Member

    preaching to the choir here boss. if you can't get at it, it's a PITA when you need to service something.
     
  3. oldrelics
    Joined: Apr 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,727

    oldrelics
    Member
    from Calgary

    Hoodless cars need to be clean looking, to show off the engine, hooded cars stuff can be exposed.
     
  4. gladeparkflyer
    Joined: Jun 16, 2009
    Posts: 396

    gladeparkflyer
    BANNED

    i think moving parts somehow offend the delicate sensibilities of the general motoring public.... they want MAGIC! which to most of them means shiny psuedo-chrome plastic covers for EVERYTHING.. by the way, LOVE the vette in your avatar!
     

  5. Some of it is a show car thing I think.
    Its all dumb, make it clean and don't worry about it.
     
  6. red baron
    Joined: Jun 2, 2007
    Posts: 596

    red baron
    Member
    from o'side

    some people prefer a clean and simple look, that will make people stop and look at it to try and figure out how stuff was done. Different strokes, for different folks.I am about in the middle of this arguement, I like things clean and tidy, but I am not gonna hide plug wires etc...
     
  7. '51 Norm
    Joined: Dec 6, 2010
    Posts: 829

    '51 Norm
    Member
    from colorado

    I always wondered why some cars seem to have two hoods, an outside metal one and an inside plastic one. The new car makers seem to be going in that direction.

    My son has a new charger with a hemi. I was very disapointed to open the hood and not see big valve covers with spark plug holes in them.
     
  8. xmlc216x
    Joined: Oct 5, 2007
    Posts: 488

    xmlc216x
    Member
    from MS

    All part of trying to clean things up I guess. If you can't do it neat, hide it?

    I will continue to tuck wires and hide master cylinders because I can't afford to chrome everything so I hide things to get it clean.
     
  9. 4tl8ford
    Joined: Sep 1, 2004
    Posts: 1,087

    4tl8ford
    Member
    from Erie, Pa

    It's easier to clean and polish after pushing it from the trailer to the parking spot?
     
  10. jrod60
    Joined: Jul 20, 2005
    Posts: 91

    jrod60
    Member
    from Katy, TX

    Wait, you mean we're supposed to check stuff occasionally??:confused: What nerve...

    There are times (mostly on fancy show and magazine cars) where all that underhood gobbledy-guk looks better when you can't see it. But there is a limit, as always, where things start looking OCD.
     
  11. Hack Attack
    Joined: Nov 11, 2004
    Posts: 240

    Hack Attack
    Member

    Blame it on Boyd Coddington......didn't he start the SMOOTH craze?
     
  12. In some cases it is a matter of not fitting on the fire wall. Ex: 31 model A channeled the width of the frame(4") The guy wants swing pedals and power disk brakes but he has a 392 Hemi stuffed in the engine bay. Where do you mount the master and vacuum booster??
     
  13. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Never understood it either! I too like the mechanical "ness" of stuff. I always try to use interesting components for exposed stuff too. One of the things that receives most comments about my avatar when I open the hood is the Wilwood triple master cylinder set up. All cool looking race stuff, aluminum, names and numbers ground off; but why so many?! (clutch, front brake, rear brake) But, like you said, I check them - they are incredibly functional.
     
  14. OHV DeLuxe
    Joined: May 27, 2005
    Posts: 360

    OHV DeLuxe
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Norway

    After working on all kinds of crappy small cars with tight spots and sharp edges for freinds and family, i would NEVER hide something as wonderful as classic mechanical components on a state of the art American car.
    Neat parts needs to be seen and to be servicable. At least that is my opinion.
     
  15. tripleduece
    Joined: Jan 29, 2007
    Posts: 1,159

    tripleduece
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Im with ya for the most part..but wires and such..If you cant make them look neat..Hide them!
    I am one of "those guys" I guess..I have ditched brake boosters on past stuff and am doing so on my new "a" to clean it up..some things just dont look right. I might even shove the mc under the dash untill I find two old chrome single stages to mount together on the firewall. Something says "cool" when its all Engine! lol:D

    On Ot cars (stangs) I like to hide the wires in the fenderwell...just looks clean.
     
  16. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member


    Why would he need power brakes?
     
  17. KJSR
    Joined: Mar 7, 2008
    Posts: 2,494

    KJSR
    Member
    from Utah
    1. Utah HAMBers

    I choose to mount my master and booster on the frame as I thought the firewall looked much cleaner without it. Plus it gives me more room to get in there and work. Good point on the fluid though....I never check mine...but it's only brakes, right? Haha

    My wiring is not hidden but it is very cleanly ran. It runs right down the top of the intake, etc. While I think it looks nice not to have any showing, I'm pretty lazy and didn't see the payoff for the time involved in doing so. Plus I don't open my hood unless asked....
     
  18. I prefer to leave the mechanicals exposed, but am a bit OCD on making the wiring neat.

    Sometimes, you'll see a nice looking car, but then under the hood, wires aren't bundled and are haphazarly laying all over the place. That just seems sloppy to me.

    It only takes a little more time to focus on the details and have a nice clean car.
     
  19. carcrazyjohn
    Joined: Apr 16, 2008
    Posts: 4,843

    carcrazyjohn
    Member
    from trevose pa

    Its sort of like putting a heater in a roadster ,Why
    Old relics hit the nail right on the head.
     
  20. There's an ass for every seat. Everyone has has their own style or preferences. If we all built the same car it'd be a dull hobby
     
  21. Da Tinman
    Joined: Dec 29, 2005
    Posts: 4,222

    Da Tinman
    Member

    because I want it that way, or a customer is paying me to make it that way.

    Not everything needs to be hidden, but it should all be tidy. Some shit is too ugly to be tidy so you hide best you can.
     
  22. 26 roadster
    Joined: Apr 21, 2008
    Posts: 2,019

    26 roadster
    Member

    I get request all the time to hide all the wiring? I like to think it looks good when I'm done. But it is your money your choice.
     
  23. breeder
    Joined: Jul 13, 2005
    Posts: 10,948

    breeder
    Member Emeritus

    And we have a winner! :)
     
  24. 26 roadster
    Joined: Apr 21, 2008
    Posts: 2,019

    26 roadster
    Member

    chocolate or vanilla, choose your flavor!!!
    Truer word were never spoken
     
  25. g-lover51
    Joined: Oct 23, 2006
    Posts: 587

    g-lover51
    Member
    from Dallas Ga

    I am of the opinion that if it wasn't meant to be there, such as a master cylinder on the fire wall of a pre 55 Chevy, and there is a good upgrade that can be installed in the stock location then why not use the stock location? I undertand that it can be more difficult to get to for servicing but I just like a clean engine bay. Thats to say not only clean as in free of dirt and painted nicely, but wrapped and routed wires correctly done, and functional. By no means am I going to go out of my way to hide anything, I would just rather clean it all up and make it look pretty. It means that I have taked the time to look over everything and inspect it to make sure it works as advertised as well, and that I maintain the integrity of the part or parts. Thats my 2 cents.
     
  26. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    I thought I was the only one to think that.

    I think it's a street rod thing. I went through that faze back in the early 70s but I came to realize how much I love the earlier rides. I want the period looking parts to be out where they were when we built them back then. I want to show them off. I go to a lot of trouble to find that perfect looking part. Every part that I use is critiqued for looks before it is ever bolted on. Why in the hell would I want to hide it??

    I hide the modern shit like the electronic ignition module but I put the ballast resistor for it out where it can be seen usually on the firewall like we did in the 50s. I'm using a genuine 56 Ford ballast resistor simply because it looks cool.
     
  27. LANCE-SPEED
    Joined: Aug 10, 2006
    Posts: 2,259

    LANCE-SPEED
    Member

    I would rather look at a nice, clean, organized engine than a clusterfuck?
     
  28. cicciobilly
    Joined: Sep 29, 2009
    Posts: 109

    cicciobilly
    Member
    from italy

    it's cool to see a smooth firewall and a clean engine compartment, but sometimes I just think "how the hell this thing runs?"
    I'm waiting for a rebuilt engine for my '53 chevy, and I'm thinking at a lot of things right now...It's hard to figure how to hide some things leaving them in the right place...
     
  29. Salty
    Joined: Jul 24, 2006
    Posts: 2,259

    Salty
    Member
    from Florida

    I'm middle of the road on that one....I never liked the way the more modern master and booster assembly looked on the firewall of my AD project and moved it back to the under the floor....that said I went OCD on it and have a chromed booster/master and everything is plumbed symetrically and correct....HOWEVER I'm going out of my way to ensure it is totally servicable from the topside (flip up seat/ access panel)

    There is some stuff that no matter what you do it just dont look right....so hide it...
     
  30. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    Don't know about you, but I build it the way I like it. I could care less about what anyone else thinks. Back in the day, all anyone cared about was if it worked and did it make your car go faster. Now a days, there's more concern of how it looks rather then how it functions. Just like the several HAMB threads I've read of making a 350 SBC look like a 265. What a waste of time and money. I couldn't be bothered. What difference does it make what engine is in your car? Who really cares? Nobody and besides its no one business.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2011

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