those who cleaned and painted their engine bays

[88_GT_5_oh]

anyone here who has yanked their motor and cleaned up the bay by filling holes etc. what did you do to fill the small holes? i was just gonna fill them with a MIG then sand it down and put some bondo to fill in the imperfections.

if anyone has any before and after shots as well i wann a see them to get an idea of what needs to be done. i am gonna prime it my self and get it looking as good as i can then i'm gonna take it to get profesionally painted

i'm just waiting for my hoist to get here so i can start doing some stuff

 

[Aaron]

Mansonozz has a very good example posted on his website. Here's a link: http://www.soniccherry.com/enginebay.html

 

[Ozz]

Your idea is basically what I did, only I used All Metal instead of Bondo. No experience with Bondo personally so I can't really say anything about it.

Welding the little holes shut will be best, the less possible filler to crack or raise - the better!

 

[88_GT_5_oh]

i am not sure i am gonna use bondo i just throught that out there cause it was the first thing that poped into my head. i want my bay to look like yours.... well minus all the bling cause i'm poor lol

 

[Ozz]

Well you can polish everything for just the cost of materials. That's what's great about it. Enough compounds, sandpaper and wheels to do the job can be had for under $40 if you shop well. Use that combined w/a regular hand drill and you're all set.

But any kind of metal filler should be as good as any other kind of metal filler. Ask a metal shop/body shop about a steel body filler and see what they recommend.

 

[blue5.0vert]

i'd just use the all metal, prolly look better longer than bondo. Thats what im doing to mine.

 

[2000xp8]

I was going to, it's just too much work for me. I don't have the patience for that kind of labor.

When you get the engine out, you'll see what i'm talking about. There is ALOT of holes.
I sanded down the light rust and discoloration (almost all where the battery tray was), and just repainted the whole thing. Not an award winning job, but alot better than it was.

 

[88_GT_5_oh]

i know its alot of work but considering i have from now till the time the snow melts i should be a ble to do a good job.... just can't use the filler in the cold unless i crank the heater for a couple hours. i had the motor out before so i know how many holes there are, i just never had time to do it last time

 

[LS-what?]

 

[88_GT_5_oh]

whats the easiest way to pull the wiring harneses back throught he firewall? i'm gonna do that tommorow but it almost looks like i need to take the dash out

 

[caseywan]

There's like a 50 page thread over on Corral.net about engine bay smoothing and detaling, I'd grab the link for ya but I gotta run...

 

[RS200]

whats the easiest way to pull the wiring harneses back throught he firewall? i'm gonna do that tommorow but it almost looks like i need to take the dash out

The easiest way to pull the harness through the firewall...is to pull the harness through the firewall (I've done it many times). My dad has done an engine bay cleanup before..just tack 'em up, grind and bondo. Looks great.

 

[88_GT_5_oh]

ya i was looking at it again and its easier than i thought lol..


oh and BTW i am gonna be posting on heights soon about getting my engine bay (possibly whole car) sprayed. do ya know anyone in town thats reasonable and does decent work?