engine bay prep work

[88stangmangt]

while the engine is out i plan to fill in all those litttle ugly pointless holes with bondo. Also get it painted Snow white to later match the rest of the car.Also i want to hide as much of the wires as i can to make for a much cleaner look once everything goes back in. Has anyone done this? how much would it cost rough estimate to get the engine bay primed and painted? it doesnt look to hard to hide the wire's i will probally just run them through the wheel weels under the dust cover's.

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

It all depends on who is actually going to do the priming and painting of the engine bay. I'd guess $300-$400 depending on how much actual work needs to done.
Hiding wire could cost you $3-$5 depending on how may wires you extend.

 

[hllon4whls]

while the engine is out i plan to fill in all those litttle ugly pointless holes with bondo. Also get it painted Snow white to later match the rest of the car.Also i want to hide as much of the wires as i can to make for a much cleaner look once everything goes back in. Has anyone done this? how much would it cost rough estimate to get the engine bay primed and painted? it doesnt look to hard to hide the wire's i will probally just run them through the wheel weels under the dust cover's.

There are some good posts on hiding the wires, you may want to check them out by searching.

 

[Ozz]

A quick how-to I've done:

http://mansonozz.corral.net/wires.html

Everything goes into the fender wells, there are no tricks and no set way to do it. All you need to do is know where the harnesses ENTER the wheel well, then you make it work on your own from there. Put the rear of the harness thru the back of the strut tower (in the holes, which probably need to be enlarged a little) and the frontmost end of the harness through the holes near the headlight panel, and attach in the middle. You need to remove most harnesses from their tape/loom jobs and route them on your own, then loom them up and tape them again. Only this time they'll be less tangled and give more slack, as well as beable to be put into the fenderwell.

I've heard of someone paying $300 for the welding and smoothing of his bay and $500 for paint. I filled my holes with All Metal and sprayed it myself. All Metal & supplies cost about $60 (thanks Almost Stock ), and the paint will vary depending where you buy it.

The only hole I wasn't able to fill were the giant ones on the pass. side, but i've got a welded panel in the same shape/style that is to be bolted on and give a stock appearnce - but smooooooth!

 

[88stangmangt]

right, so i could push the harneses back throught the gromet's? or would they have to be cut? im sure it wont be as confuseing once the engine is out. also another question i have is there is a ledge in the engine bay behind the intake it goes all the way across the top. How do i get rid of this? die grinder? dremel? looks like $hit i hope i can grind it down.

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

That's your pinch weld it's what holds the bottom (floor pan) and top half of the car together. I wouldn't grind it off or down if it were me.

 

[88stangmangt]

ok so i guess that has to stay.

 

[Ozz]

Correct. Some have done that, but they also weld it back up and smooth it. That's ok if you do it yourself, but $$$$ otherwise. I'd leave it or maybe grind 1/8" off to make it a little sleeker. As well, it looks better once it's painted and clean instead of dirty and grimy. As well, you can use that thing to your advantage when you hide the wires on your firewall. Just tuck them underneath, and it'll force them to stay down. Unless you want to be like Almost Stock, he tore his entire interior apart and took a few months to ENTIRELY remove all that crap from the engine bay. He isn't human

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

I wouldn't remove it.
Once you install your motor it really isn't that noticeable, with the motor out it looks like a sore thumb.

 

[88stangmangt]

i jst want it as nice and clean as i can get it because i am seting up a show kinda look. my block is geting painted as well as the engine bay. And i would rather not have that rat's nest of wire's and hoses all over the place.I guess when i pull it out i will just have to set down and look at things and see how i want to do it.Without extendind as many wire's as i can my father says that is just asking for problems? is that right? maybe i should solder them?

 

[Ozz]

You don't *have* to extend the wires to hide them. Just the AC plug was too short for me, but I routed it thru the bay. It's not bad.

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

When I did mine the first time I only cut and extended 2 set of wires.
(1) Set to the A/C compressor.
(1) Set to the over flow bottle
I'm not a big fan of cutting and splicing wires, and I try to keep that part to a minimum.
I'll agree with your dad; the more wires you cut and splice the more potential there is for problems.

 

[stang22]

Yep, I tend to place a lot of blame on Paul! It's only as fun as you make it... you could really sink some money into it if you wanted. I am up to about $700.00 in tools alone to include the welder, but I don't mind because they are mine and I will have them if I ever need them again. Hiding/running the wires is the easiest part. Taking everything apart is where all the hard work it. Of course remembering how to put it back together is another story. I figure I could just buy Paul a plane ticket to sunny Florida and he could sit around in a lawn chair and soak up the sun and tell me what goes where... if I can't remember! haha

Here is where I am at on my current engine/engine bay project. Basically the same direction Paul went with his engine bay. Should be fun!

 

[Ozz]

Bah! Do it with the engine still in the car, then you can complain about "hard"!