Hi everybody,

Can anybody give me some advise regarding getting my engine department on my 69 vette detailed? Cleaned,painted,ect.

The car is a matching number car and looks like the engine has never been out of it, so it looks 40 years old. It runs great but just looks dingy.

I am looking for advise for people near Orange County California.

Who does a good job, and who will not want my life saving to do it..lol


Thanks for any advise.

 

If it's really greasy, get it steam cleaned.

 

As the sayig goes, it's in the details. It also depends on how much you can do yourself.

I took my 72 LT-1 down tot he block and heads, and then just cleaned and painted e3verything and replaced a lot of the little detail parts that add up to looking like it should when done.

It took some time to do it but was well worth the effort. A lot of cleaning, scraping, scruffing up and painting.

 

Before giving a lot of $$$ to a pro, try doing it yourself. Grease tends to keep paint pristine and chrome unrusted underneath.

Use Simple Green or Gunk Foamy Engine Brite. Remove air cleaner for access, clean it off the car. Spray on cold engine, then scrub with tire brush, and toothbrush for tight spots. Rinse GENTLY with fine spray of cold water. Keep away from the distributor unless you have HEI.

Replace air cleaner, start the engine and idle or drive for 15 minutes. Let it cool.

Remove air cleaner again and spray everything, paint, hoses, plug wires, battery, fan shroud, bare metal with a white silicone protectant and let dry for a while. I'm partial to Son of a Gun.

Wipe off excess. Polish and wax any chrome items. Reinstall the air cleaner.

Now you're good for up to 5000 miles. Next time you do it, you'll loosen more dirt, farther into the crannies. Eventually it'll look perfect!

 

Hi Elway,
As people have said, "it's in the details".
Things need to be REALLY clean. The various things in the compartment besides the engine need to be cleaned and painted, too. A really great looking engine needs a great looking compartment. The more you take apart the better the job turns out.
It's hard to get someone to do this because it's more TIME than anything else, so it gets expensive fast. You CAN do it. There are some pretty good books at the larger book stores that can give you some detailing ideas and help.
Regards,
Alan

Chevrolet Orange, Semi Gloss Black, Cast Blast, High Temp Cast Blast, Alumi-Blast. $35 gives you a good start after it's all clean.

 

LOTS of work.......... .............but worth it!!!!!!








DIG in................ & git er done............

Hammadown

 

Like the other guys have said, you CAN do it. To do it right by someone familiar with corvettes will cost in the thousands, to do it right. Most of that money will be labor.

I have my 70 apart right now for detailing the engine compartment. If you are going to do it make sure you have an AIM. That way you will be sure of how things go back together.

I love all the products by Bill Hirsch. Their engine enamel is the best in my opinion. They also make an excellent degreaser among other things. I can tell you from experience that if you use the right brush with his enamel there are no obvious, if any brush marks. I did pull the intake and have it redone since they tend to get pretty messed up over 40 years or so. All other accessories are completely removed from the motor leaving basically a bare block. I even pulled the oil pan to properly clean it before detailing. (It is not NCRS but I recommend the one piece oil pan gasket) Keep in mind that I do spray a lot of parts too but make sure everything you do not want paint on is really covered up! For example I spray the oil pan, since it is smooth, off the car and use an artist brush for the hardware after oil pan is reattached. yes the hardware is completely cleaned up too before painting.

I am not a big fan of power washing. My recommendation is to get a pile of latex gloves, some old clothes, some scotch brite pads and a variety of medium to soft bristle type brushes. Spray the degreaser on a small area at at time working from top to bottom. After I do this and I get is squeaky clean, I use lacquer thinner and wipe everything down I am going to paint.

I also used it as an opportunity to correct anything that may have needed repairing or rebuilding at the same time. Starter restored. Power Steering pump, Alternator etc. U do not want any PS leaks on your nicely detailed engine If the timing chain has never been done now may be a good time.

Take you time and have fun with it.


Bill

 

Hi Hammerdown,
I noticed the pump to carb fuel line in 2 of the pictures. One looks like I'd expect, what's the other one?
I ask because the proper one always seems to cut too close to the upper heater hose connection on the intake.
Always Curious!
Regards,
Alan

 

Alan........... I'm not sure of your question.............. there is only one metal fuel line going to the carb










Hammadown

 

The Engine compartment is a perfect place to learn about cleaning, painting and detailing.
You can can bite off as much as your comfortable with. 69VETT

 

Like everyone says, it's all in the details.

It is much easier to clean the compartment up with the engine out but it can be done with everything in place.

A little cleaner, paint, polish and desire is all you need.

 

Hi HD,
Thanks for the additional pictures. For some reason, in 2 of the first pictures you posted, the line seemed like it had a different bend which I wondered about. I see now it was just the position of your camera.
As I said, the fuel line on my 71 passes right over the heater hose and is so close the line puts a mark in the hose. And did from new.
Thanks Again!
Regards,
Alan

 

I did mine in the car along with the firewall. Quite the pain but worth it in the end. I like Dupli-Color which I used on everything.....

 

Sevnt6 - that looks real nice.

 

Thanks Brother... It all started when I went to paint the air cleaner assembly. Six months & a few $$$ later......

 

looking at all the pics everyone did a great job...I really mean that!!

 

Wow, Great work by everyone Anyone have any ideas on how to clean my intake without removing it from the car?

 

Some aluminum wheel cleaners are very effective and will not damage paints, rubber or seals. You can try it on a small dirty part of your intake manifold to see how well it works.
The access would certainly be much easier if you could at least unmount the carbs and fuel plumbing all together.
This wouldn't be the hardest job to do and you would spare a lot a time and make the cleaning job faster.
If you remove the carbs, don't forget to seal perfectly the intake manifold to avoid any liquid to spill inside the engine, or parts to fall inside

 

Detailing an engine compartment isn't expensive if you want to stay with the stock look. Mostly it's just investing a lot of time and elbow grease. If you want to go non-stock it can get pricey depending on the tin you want on the engine. A few days with a good cleaner and a hose will work miracles and from there it's just a matter of picking colors and spraying paint. Give it a try before you throw money at someone who will try to do it as fast as possible in order to maximize their profit.

 

They all look professionally done, really, really nice. We are getting closer on ours. I am in the very near future going to get to help a very close friend of mine really begin the restore on a orange and black Challenger with a 383 in it that he bought a few weeks before he went to Veitnam. He said it is totally original except he had to replace the water pump. He bought it for $3,600.00 new, and told me he would have bought the hemi or the 440 but the Marines at that time didn't pay enough to pay the note and the insurance. Looking at the great work all you folks do on these corvettes is not only great encouragement but a wonderful inspiration for us all. The people on this forum are great help went we run into those little things we aren't sure about and need help.
Thank you all very much,
Have a wonderful Christmas,
Ray/aka/Pa