Boy o boy do I love it when this comes up.

First off, I'd say to search a bit, as there are a lot of threads on what to do. But, since I'm always getting compliments on my engine bay, here's what I have to say.

1. PICK YOUR COLOR SCHEME NOW AND STAY WITH IT. Remember, Red/Blue/Silver/BLack are easy to find for almost anything. Green/Purple/Yellow are a bit harder. White and pink, even harder.

2. STAY AWAY FROM COLORED WIRE LOOM! Look at DTN's car. I love him like a gay brother, but that car looks like a muppet threw up in the engine bay.

3. For engine cleaning, go at the engine area with a low pressure water and a soft brush. Clean up all you can, then use a can of THIS stuff you can get from Autozone.



Follow the directions on it to the LETTER, and your engine will be beautiful.

4. Nice things to spice up your engine bay?

Heheheh...

System Upgrade oil cap. Nicest I've had, ask Java, he loves his too.
http://www.kdmstuff.com/shop/step1.php?number=857

System Upgrade BBTB.
http://www.kdmstuff.com/shop/step1.php?number=856

Beta 2 Valve Cover swap.
http://www.kdmstuff.com/shop/step1.php?number=788

Maintec GT Headers.
http://www.kdmstuff.com/shop/step1.php?number=691

4-2-1 Racing Headers.
http://www.kdmstuff.com/shop/step1.php?number=677

That's just a start.

I'd recommend you get a set of Samco Sport Radiator Hoses from Options Auto (Special Order), and some replacement vaccum line to swap out for some better lookin stuff.


I guess what we need to know is, what do you have done right now?

 

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Redz your Bbtb link Goes to the 1.6 alpha bbtb Just a heads up dont want anyone gettin the wrong part by accident.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, right now I have Magnecore wires in blue, power pulleys in blue and a cam pulley in blue that is covered!! a chrome injen CAI and a blue voltage stabilizer.

The engine is stock looking but because of the alpine supercharger on a right hand drive car, all the wiring and vacume hosing is all over the place. I can't even find a decent place to mount my FPR!!

I think I will re-route the wiring and vacume piping first and then steam clean the engine.

Is there anywhere I can get the valve cover in blue?

I will get the engine oil cap too.

I will take a picture, the engine bay is absolutely diabolical..... watch this space for the pics.

 

The best thing to do is hide all wires completely. Black loom, and tuck them in the corners. All people want to see anyways is the motor and mods. You don't want anything to distract them from that.

Simple Green works great! Although, that is something you only want to use one time, then you need to maintenance the bay from then on. The reason is that Simple Green puts a nasty white film on everything, especially polished and aluminum parts. After getting the grease off, you need to go back over everything to remove the film.

Colored parts are ok, but there's a limit to how much you can coordinate. Personally, I don't like to put too much color in at all. Chrome is always something people like. But again, in moderation.

Something I recently found, was the Powerball by Mothers. I have a few polished peices and it took over an hour to polish them by hand. But took less than 10 minutes using the Powerball.

 

Don't forget a brush, 409, lots of rags and when you really want to make it shine, use some armorall. If you would like a bit of a duller shiney look use some son-of-a-gun.

I've used degreaser before, but it damages the paint. Silicone lube seems to work best to clean, but only liquid wrench brand. The others have harsh solvents which will damage paint too.


Don't hate... So, I over did it with the wireloom, but you're still the gay one.

 

Have any of you figured out how to get those stupid decals off the front? I think one is the emissions diagragm.

 

^^^
I'd think you could just get the edge up with a razor, then peel it up and use Goo Gone or something on the adhesive. Try soaking one in WD40.

 

I tried, it's stuck pretty good, and only comes up small pieces at a time.

 

Oops! is the best stuff to remove anything from anything else. I'm really partial to the stuff.

 

That Black Magic 2 in 1 Engine Shine that Redz mentioned is the best stuff I've ever used. Just this last weekend I cleaned my engine compartment for the first time since I've owned the car. I installed my CAI and was embarassed at the way the rest of it looked. Whoever owned the car before me must have used some kind of engine dressing that turned into a sticky goo that was attracting dirt. I started off by using a whole can of Gunk Foamy Engine Brite. It didn't work worth sh*t, even after scrubbing with a toothbrush. Then I tried the Black Magic, let it soak for 15 minutes then scrubbed what I could reach with a toothbrush. Rinsed it off as per the instructions, and the nasty crap just melted away. It looks like a completely different car. I'm definately sold on the Black Magic stuff.