Rookie question - more to follow

[j. brian mulloy]

I would appreciate some information regarding the best method of removing the surface corrosion from the all the engine compartment magnesium (alloy?) components and suggestions as to how best to maintain a polished metal appearance. Incidentally about the only thing left in the engine bay is the bare bones block itself. It is my first Porsche (1970 911T) and it needs a bit of labour intensive cleanup work. Thank you all and I look forward to hearing from you.

[vesnyder]

My wrench swears by Simple Green for cleaning everything. I have not had a lot of success with standard Simple Green, but I got this stuff at the Auto Parts store that is SG for Auto, and it works much better than the standard stuff.

Good Luck!

[304065]

Mr. Malloy,

Welcome to the board.

Simple green is not recommended for long-term use on metals like magnesium and aluminum, as it tends to be corrosive.

You will find the search feature to be a valuable tool. Do a search under "polishing fan" and you will find a couple dozen threads that go into great detail about the various metal components: the case, the fan shroud, and the fan itself. They are made of different things, and polish (and stay shiny) in different ways.

Good luck!

[scottb]

Regardless of what you use, be careful not to get it on the paint.

[ChrisBennet]

Welcome to the board. 911 motors are very easy to remove. If you have someplace indoors to work on your car you might consider removing the motor rather than disassembling it in place.
-Chris

[j. brian mulloy]

Many thanks Guys. I was surprised and pleased at the rapid response time to my query. Would any of you recommend having the aforementioned parts bead blasted (soda or some other media type cleaning) and painted with some temperature/abrasive resistant paint (clear coat, preferably). The reason I ask this is the parts are out of the car and could be ready to go to one of the specialty shops that do this kind of work. Once again, Thanks and I look forward hearing from you again.
Brian

[BGCarrera32]

I have bead blasted my intakes, valve covers, etc. They look fantastic for a few weeks, but then revert back to their old grimy ways. A few guys have had the parts powder coated clear or another color after bead blasting, which I'm sure would hold up fantastic, but if the clear powder coat is too thick they look like they are incased in plastic tubing. If you go the powder coating route, make sure you get someone familiar with automotive applications...they need to pre cook the parts and prep them right to remove any solvents and surface junk (otherwise you get fish eyes and other goofiness). If you have the alternator fan done, make sure the fan edges get taped as the clearance to the surrounding shroud is a really tight fit.

And for crying out loud get your fasteners replated.

-BG

[Dan Morton]

I had my upper valve covers, fan and fan housing bead blasted and cleared with great results. After close to a year, they are still holding up very well. The majority of other parts were powder coated. I didn't have any real corrosion issues but I believe you should be able to carefully bead blast most of those types of parts.

I personally would clear coat anything that is polished since I prefer to not have to continually polish things...having a black car is enough work itself

-Dan

[j. brian mulloy]

Thanks again Guys: Your comments and advice are really appreciated. I am going the bead blasting route with the clear coat. An added note to 'BG', I promise I will get my fasteners replated!
Brian

[ChrisBennet]

BG, you were kidding about the fasteners right?
-Chris

[j. brian mulloy]

What can I say Chris, 'BG' is such a kidder!