Well, there it is, an engine bay that nobody's loved for 48 years. Curious how others have tackled this problem. The big accessible parts and panels I'm thinking I'll wire-brush and spray with black satin Rustoleum. But what about the areas under all the wiring, hoses and brake lines? Unclip a little bit at a time and touch up panels underneath? What about the power brake booster, power steering pump, etc.? I might be able to scrub and mask and spray them, it won't be as good as if I remove and restore, but I don't expect it to be show worthy. Any thoughts or wisdom appreciated.

 

Here is a link to part one of six of cleaning up and detailing the engine bay of a C3.

 

Wrap what you dontvwant painted in tinfoil...get some cheap stuff from all mart, super easy to do versus tape and paper. Tape and paper the fenders, hood, windshield etc

 

What Rescue Rogers said.............

 

Thanks, Piersonpie, good writeup. He also uses tinfoil, good idea. I'll start with big chunks and see how it goes....

 

I used this for cover. It has a nice static cling...

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...2n92zc-CYURKSh

Paint wise I went with Dupli-Color engine enamel when I filled & smoothed my firewall..

 

When I first got involved in Corvettes (70s/80s) I was a kid with no money, no tools and no skill. I still have no skill. Anyway, I used to take my cars and pull off as many parts as possible, tape and mask and cover and clean and detail wire brush and re-coat and polish and paint. Buy new items to set things off like master cylinder covers, rubber when necessary and fasteners. And just spend all the elbow grease capital I could.

It was fun, not professional but it looks nice when you are done for the driveway detailer.

 

Sevnt6 - that is beautiful, nice job on the firewall, it's Kindig-like!

Vettebuyer - I hear you, it is just time and work and some cheap materials.

I was just swapping the heads and cam and hadn't figured the engine bay into my schedule, but now that it's half-cleared out, I'll shoot for something in between the Derek Bieri "cover the carb and spray everything" approach and the Kindig Designs treatment that several members are sporting here. I'm thinking about corrosion protection as much as appearance. Will post anything worth looking at. Thanks for responses.

 

If you have the patience, and really want it to look great, I believe it’s all in the taping and masking. Sometimes it’s working with little tiny bits of masking tape, getting every edge of anything you don’t want paint on. I would just say go slow and be methodical about the taping. If you can see it, it’s going to get the spray paint. If it’s visible, but another section of the part is not, it’s gonna show and look bubba. Same with the tin foil. You can cut smaller pieces to wrap around springs, wires, etc, squeezing it around them, then carefully taping the ends/termination points. On a ‘69 I had, You would think I had done a frame off because I spent an insane amount of time to mask everything. With the masking tape, you can also use a razor blade or scissors the cut down the tape so that it is thinner where needed, almost like a thick pin striping tape. You can also use vasolene as a masking agent, if you have something you can not tape. Just make sure to use a little modelers paint brush and only get it where you don’t want paint, staying off where you do want paint. Once the paint cures you just wipe clean the vasolene and the part will be unpainted underneath. Anything you do accidentally paint, if you can get to it, use Goo Gone on a micro fiber or shop towel and it will take off the spray paint. Here’s some great vids on doing the wiper bay, latches, touch up, etc

 

What about the rest of the car you cant see? When you put it up on jackstands in the garage and start cleaning with a pressure cleaner, degreaser, scraper and wire brushes/wheels, while wearing a rain suit and scuba mask, you will realize how crazy you really are about these cars. Have fun!

 

Making some progress, but without pulling the motor completely, it's challenging to pick ending points for cleanup and touchup.

Question about the hood - how important is the insulation mat? I get that it's there for heat protection and sound deadening, but it's also old and ugly. Replacement mats are available, but what I really want to do is clean all the old stuff off, paint the inside white to match the exterior it leave it clean and bare. Anyone miss the mat?

 

I removed my mat back around '79....no problem...

 

I've no experience with a hood mat so can't comment on running without one. My concern would be your idea to paint it white. White seems susceptible to yellowing with the engine heat and possibly staining from grease, oil, or antifreeze. I suppose if it doesn't work out then you could go back to satin black.

 

Just my .02

If you use aluminum foil to wrap wiring and other things make sure you have you battery disconnected. Just some extra electrical safety tip.

Could use the cling type saran wrap.

Have fun and post some after pics and your comments of the project.

 

Lacquer thinner on rag to wipe off all the vacuum lines and wiring. My engine bay had been sprayed black nearly everywhere. But, it can be cleaned up and restored with some simple processes and a lot of 'elbow grease'.


After cleaning and painting it all back to 'original' condition, make sure to give the rubber lines AND electrical wiring a good wipe down with "303" protectant for plastics. It will make everything look brand new and protect the plastic from weathering and UV damage. Great stuff.

 

Nice, clean looking bay 7T1vette!

 

Refurbish was done with engine IN the bay. The intake and heads were removed, making the job easier; but all work still done with engine in place. It can be done.

 

7T1vette - that is impressive considering how packed that engine bay is. I think I've got more room to work with in a '77.

 

If “the proof is in the pudding” 7T1vette just showed us the pudding!

 

Well, it's not as show-worthy as all your posts, but it's much better than it was. I had time to take a bunch of things off and clean/paint/lube and paint surfaces underneath, and added a new aluminum radiator, alternator and some engine parts. Middle left - I deleted the AC (almost useless in Maine), but I haven't decided what to do about the wiring harness, so for now it's just bundled with a tie-wrap out of the way. I might try a small metal cover painted black that'll blend in. Thanks again for all the suggestions.