I own a nice 71 red roadster, beautiful paint, nice interior, etc, but I need to make under the hood look as good as the rest of the car. I guess I need to paint the motor and intake, etc. Can someone give me step by step instructions as to the best way to make under the hood match the rest of my car? If I decide to have this done, what is a fair price? I live in central Florida.
TIA,
Brad

 

That question has as manay answers as there are members on this forum. I will give you my take on what I would do. I would start by doing as good a job as I could of detailing the engine compartment. Clean everything you can, get all the dirt and grease, oil leaks fixed, etc, put rubber protectorent on all the rubber hoses and replace any that is beyond recovery. This will give you a good base to go futher. If you want to stay original or customize, you will then know what parts you may need. As for having it done, ask around and find some local corvette restoration shops or garages and talk to them. Labor rates can vary greatly, $35 to $100 an hour. One thing you said was "I guess I need to paint the motor and intake" , is the paint missing or just under dirt and grease?

 

I have degreased the engine and it looks like the paint is gone

 

i am planning to start doing just that task next week. i ordered the engine detailing kit from por15. has all you need to make it all perty again.

 

Many of the 'black' parts under the hood can be repainted using Krylon # 1613 semi flat black (available in most any hardware store) after properly cleaning and prepping.
Some parts are supposed to be flat black, some gloss black and some semi flat black and some semi gloss black. When I did my restoration I never knew there were so many shades of black. (Can drive you nuts) If you want to be that fussy, I suggest you buy the NCRS Technical/Judging Manual for your car (www.ncrs.org) and it will tell you EXACTLY what color and shade every part should look like. I found it to be extremely helpful, if you want the original appearance.
Kurt

 

exactly

 

7 years ago this engine bay was shiny and painted. Still had some more to do and now got to do it all over again.

The intake manifold used to be polished and the valve covers were freshly painted.
Now what I'm doing this winter is nickel and copper plate everything that fits in the bucket. Aluminum anodized.
You can do this yourself with kits from caswell but you need to be doing a considerable amount to make it worth it. There is a considerable amount under the hood.
The rear end that broke 7 years ago is the seed that started this plating project.
Was thinking about machining my own aluminum pulleys but don't need to now, plate the steel ones.
Master cylinder, hood latches water pump, alternator, various brackets
valve covers... yada yada yada. If it comes of its copper or nickle or, not sure yet on the anodizing.
Why this need to nickel plate? The rear end was rusted and the engine bay is too. Paint just don't last long enough for me. Nickel if it does rust takes a whole lot longer.


If your manifold is aluminum you can polish it, if iron you still can but needs clear coat. Really depends on how far you want to go off the deep end.
The right strut rod is copper but don't show well in the picture. Copper plating over nickel is to make it smooth. Smooth is SHiiiiiiiiiiny.

 

Red 71 roadster, what a nice car This is about what my engine looked like when I started on it. A little paint, a few new parts, and a dab of chrome and this is what I ended up with. Just take your time and don't paint everything the same color black. Use contrasting shades for the best results.

 

TonyQT,
Well said and extremely well done.
Very nice engine compartment.

 

I have seen many ways to do it. I did it when I rebuilt the engine. A lot easier to clean everything with the engine out. I had everything I could powdercoated. All the black paint is either POR-15 or Rustoleum Satin Black. It looks neat and tidy but is not exact NCRS.

I have also seen people who left the block in and removed the accesories, pressure washed the engine bay. Painted the engine, taped up the engine and painted the rest of the engine bay, then put it all back together.
Here are my pics:
Before

After


Cheers,
Pete

 

Thanks for all the responses and great pictures
How did you get your alternator to look that good?
Mine seems pitted
Anybody used the POR15 kit?
Were you happy with it?
TIA,
Brad

 

I've used Por15 on rear suspension parts. I brush painted these parts. I'f you want to spray Por you've got to get a professional inhalation mask. Once you've got it brushed on, it tends to tighten up as it dries so the brush marks disappear. Por15 is, loosely speaking, is Superglue with pigment. It doesn't dry by evaporation like most paints. I dries by combining with atmospheric moisture. That's why you don't want to breath it. When Por15 paint spray is inhaled and combined with the moisture in you lungs, it hardens and causes serious health problems....Bottom line. If you want to use Por15, paint it on. (If you get it on your fingers, It'll take a couple of weeks to go away since it is basically...superglue.)

I bought my Chevy Orange paints from Eastwood.com. They sell a spray can and also a 2 part Chevy Orange paint that is supposed to be really tough (two part - paint plus catalyst). They sell a Preval Spray can ( an aerosol spray gun that allows you to add the paint you want to spray). You mix the two part Chevy Orange into the Preval Spray can and away you go. PS The Easwood Chevy Orange in the 2 part can is described as "Vermillion." This means it has a definate red tint. There's a lot of Chevy Orange paints for sale. Unfortunately they differ in color. Some of them are more towards an yellowish orange and some are reddish-orange. What is the correct tint??? If I had to guess, I think the reddish-orange color is correct.

I have a ZZ4 engine and the engine is BLACK!!!. I plan to paint it Chevy Orange. And then it will go into my 1968. The ZZ4 has crayon markings,etc. If I paint it orange, will I destroy it's originality value??? (I'm making a weak attempt to be humerous here!)

Comments about Chevy Orange tints??

 

I used Quanta paints for my Chevy orange engine in my 68. I tried many others first and they seemed to contain to much red tint. They also seem to change color slightly after being run repeatedly due to heating of the engine. Quanta has a website and also sells fanbelts and gas tanks and other restoration items.
Kurt