Under bonnet ugliness-advice, please

[MCNX_BFF]

Hi, Everyone!
Yes, it is greasy, grimy, dark, and "blah" looking. I am nearly ashamed to share the pix! This is my starting point. With your advice and a Subhub's help, I am hoping to make it better. Now before somebody says to go for a V6 conversion or to stuff a whopping V8 in it; the answer is no. :cooler: Would be cool, but no. What I am hoping for is to tidy up and beautify w/out doing anything too drastic. I just want it to look nice and pulled together--a little shine wouldn't hurt either. :wink:

I made an appointment to have it steam cleaned and most likely detailed at the end of this month. After that, what do you suggest? Awww, c'mon...be gentle and play nice! :laugh: Where would you begin? What would get me the most bang for my buck? Thanks in advance for helping me figure out a game plan. It will be awhile before I can pop open the bonnet w/out blushing, but I am confident that with your guidance it <span style="font-weight: bold">will</span> get there. You guys (and gals) rock!--Monica

 

[CinneaghTR]

I'll defer to the guys that steam clean engines, but be careful about getting the ignition system wet. In other words, don't do it.

I would use good old elbow grease with purple stuff/simple green/your choice and clean away until you can dress the rubber/plastic parts with Meguiars 40 and keep things up after that. A coat of wax on all painted surfaces will help with upkeep over the long term,too.

Cleaning the engine bay by hand also allows you to find problems and get the general "lay of the land" of the engine bay.

Good luck.

 

[Dale]

I don't think it looks so bad, but I only have mine to compare it with and I've never detailed the engine on mine. Come to think of it I've never detailed any thing on mine. There's a fellow in Alburquerque can fix you up with a chrome valve cover on an exchange basis. Take a tip from the biker guys "Chrome will get you home." Just have fun, if it's work, who needs it?

 

[Geo Hahn]

My method... transfer the dirt on the car to myself, then go in the house and take a shower. Seriously, that's about it.

I've never had a problem with moisture when using a pressure washer under the bonnet (and would think steam cleaning gets it less wet than a pressure washer)though you probably want to put baggies over the coil and distributor.

It really doesn't look that bad... dirty but not caked with grease & oil.

 

[Brosky]

Have it steam cleaned, but as advised, be ready to dry out the cap and wires. Once it is clean, you can paint and detail away, but that will cut your cleaning time to nothing compared to doing it piecemeal.

After you see how good it looks from steaming it, you will get excited and want to do more. After several hours of hand scrubbing, it is very easy to get discouraged and quit the project.

JHMO and subject to the owners preference.

 

[TR6BILL]

Some may disagree, but this works.

Saturate the whole engine bay with WD40, let sit for a few hours, then wash engine bay with water. Blow-dry with leaf blower.

 

[tdskip]

Wait, I thought it was supposed to be dirty... ha!

Good advice Paul - I've gone the other route and sure enough got discouraged.

 

[Brosky]

Bill,

Have you been watching Caddy Shack again??

 

[philman]

I sand blasted the intake manifold, air cleaner and valve cover and clear coated the intake and valve cover, painted the air cleaner rover gray. I also went to HS6 carbs which look cleaner; although CA may not allow the carb change.

 

[RobT]

I sand blasted the intake manifold, air cleaner and valve cover and clear coated the intake and valve cover, painted the air cleaner rover gray. I also went to HS6 carbs which look cleaner; although CA may not allow the carb change.

Oooh - please be careful sand blasting engine parts. A very little bit of sand left in a crevice somewhere can do an awfull lot of damage!

Rob.

 

[conan69]

No pictures of your new M3 wind blocker for everyone to see?
I will say it does look good on the TR7.

 

[MCNX_BFF]

Thank you all for you advice and input. One more question. I would love to have the valve cover chromed. However, it seems that most pictures I see have them painted or powdercoated a robin's egg blue color (even my cover has some blue left on it). Is this the correct color even on a Spider?! It doesn't coordinate very well with the black, grey, red color scheme. :smirk:
Conan69, when I return from my classroom, I will be sure to post a picture of the windblocker just for you (I don't think that guys worry too much about their hair getting messy when they go for a drive). I agree, it looks pretty darn good on my Spidey. Even my mechanic agrees--and he's a hardcore 6 fanatic. Secretly, he loves my car! --Monica

 

[kodanja]

just keep the bonnet closed and drive the darn thing already!


just kidding' lots of good advise out there, I personally have never had any problems with steam cleaning or power washing'

you may want to use a solvent 1st

 

[MCNX_BFF]

just keep the bonnet closed and drive the darn thing already!

I <span style="font-weight: bold">am</span> driving it daily...and lovin' it! AAMOF, I can see my car from my classroom window and I am trying to resist the urge to leave the schoolwork drudgery to go for a quickie spin around town! Oh, the agony!!--Monica