Help me with an engine bay theme!
Help me with an engine bay theme! Hey guys....I just bought wheels and tires and am now poor, however that doesnt stop me from wanting to do something to my trans am. I decided i was going to tackle some underhood appearence issues this weekend since its pretty much just paint, sandpaper, and my time. Anyway, right now I have FRC's that used to be silver, and ended up having a few pinholes in them once they got hot. I ended up using textured paint on them and spraying them gloss black 
they really dont look all that bad but they might be a limiting factor when it comes to your guys opinions. with that being said. either they need to stay black like they are....or i just dont put them back on. the car is NBM...so im looking for some suggestions (cheap) for some underhood appearence. mainly limited to painting intake manifold, valve covers, coil brackets, and coils themselves. I really want to polish the TB, MAF, fuel rails, and AC dryer but i dont really know how anyway heres how it is right now.
they really dont look all that bad but they might be a limiting factor when it comes to your guys opinions. with that being said. either they need to stay black like they are....or i just dont put them back on. the car is NBM...so im looking for some suggestions (cheap) for some underhood appearence. mainly limited to painting intake manifold, valve covers, coil brackets, and coils themselves. I really want to polish the TB, MAF, fuel rails, and AC dryer but i dont really know how anyway heres how it is right now. FRC's suck IMO. Get some valve covers, relocate the coils, paint the intake, and get some Mothers polish and hand rub anything that's metal. You dont need to have stuff polished by a pro to make it look better.
I dont like FRC's myself either. I like plain, simple, mechanical looking engine bays. I know this is an extreme case, but this is what I strive for......
See below for pure sex:
Andy
See below for pure sex:
Andy
I don't think the FRC's look bad with the paint you used. We have a couple of inexpensive polished stainless parts that can help with your engine bay & FRC's 
FRC strips (custom etching avaliable): http://store.specializedstainless.co...t/Detail?no=97
Intake manifold plate (custom etching avaliable): http://store.specializedstainless.co...et/Detail?no=5
I would also suggest the !wire mod...
Let us know if you have any questions
FRC strips (custom etching avaliable): http://store.specializedstainless.co...t/Detail?no=97
Intake manifold plate (custom etching avaliable): http://store.specializedstainless.co...et/Detail?no=5
I would also suggest the !wire mod...
Let us know if you have any questions
wow everyone skipped the painfully obvious wire mod
search and you will find a write up, you can do valve covers if you would like but i think you just need to paint your frc's a gloss color silver is a great accent on nbm cars i would look at sanding them back down and getting them nice and glossy paint them silver or body match them you could pull of black but the point of an accent color is for it to stand out. the way they look know kinda of cheapen it for me. just an opinion. which you asked for, get some metal polish for that ac dryer that will make a huge difference.
thats about as good as it gets on a budget
search and you will find a write up, you can do valve covers if you would like but i think you just need to paint your frc's a gloss color silver is a great accent on nbm cars i would look at sanding them back down and getting them nice and glossy paint them silver or body match them you could pull of black but the point of an accent color is for it to stand out. the way they look know kinda of cheapen it for me. just an opinion. which you asked for, get some metal polish for that ac dryer that will make a huge difference.
thats about as good as it gets on a budget
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Here's a link to when I polished my TB & MAF: https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...light=polished
Basically, just use a Dremle w/ a carbide grinding bit to knock down all the casting marks. Wet sand it to get it as smooth as possible. Hit it with an aggressive buffing compound and a 6" buffing wheel, then the same thing w/ a finishing compound. It takes a long time but looks great in the end!
You can also take the wire loom off your brake lines and polish the ABS block and lines
Basically, just use a Dremle w/ a carbide grinding bit to knock down all the casting marks. Wet sand it to get it as smooth as possible. Hit it with an aggressive buffing compound and a 6" buffing wheel, then the same thing w/ a finishing compound. It takes a long time but looks great in the end!
You can also take the wire loom off your brake lines and polish the ABS block and lines
Last edited by SPECIALIZED STAINLESS; Jan 25, 2008 at 03:25 PM.
Have you ever heard of anyone who's done it correctly have any problems with it? I never had problems and have never heard of anyone having any. Just wrap everything w/ electrical tape, secure it to the underside of the wheel well and make sure you replace your plastic wheel well cover
i actually did my wire mod without going through the inner fender i ran it under the ac lines and dryer. never had any problems it was like that for better part of 4 years i think. course now that i started my swap all of that is torn apart and now all you see under my bay is engine and the wires running off of the injectors thats pretty much it
thanks i wanted to do the mod but didnt have access to a lift. so i pulled the battery and re routed that bundle of wires out and around and if you run it under the dryer it would work even better but i didnt figure that out until i wasl pulling the motor out there is a lot of space to tuck those wires you just have to disconnect most of it first then route it but i will not lie it was a pain to due and the car was a v6 and the time not sure how well this could be pulled off with all of the air hoses and such in the way i imagine if a man had headers he could get it done though
well i started. i painted the TB and MAF ends an aluminum hi-temp color. looks really good, and a lot like powdercoat. spent about 5 hours removing casting, sanding, priming, sanding, and painting. i think it looks hawt! also removed FRC's, polished AC dryer and removed the loom on the brake lines. ill polish them too.
now what? im thinking about doing the valve covers gloss black, and then the coil brackets and fuel rails the same color as the TB and MAF. heres a pic
now what? im thinking about doing the valve covers gloss black, and then the coil brackets and fuel rails the same color as the TB and MAF. heres a pic
you have a good start. i would suggest removal of the A.I.R. system (tube on drivers side inner fender) and the !wire mod. it really cleans up the bay. once the entire A.I.R. system is gone, the bay will look much nicer...
heres mine for some ideas, i know my !wire mod isnt done yet, and its not the nicest engine bay, but fairly clean still.
heres mine for some ideas, i know my !wire mod isnt done yet, and its not the nicest engine bay, but fairly clean still.
