gleaming engines

fly944 · 01-03-2002, 08:22 AM

I am currently in the process of detailing out my engine bay I would appreciate any suggestions or photos. I am also trying to figure out whether or not to polish out the fan & shroud or paint.
Also where is the best place to get some good heat resist. heater hose.

vesnyder · vesnyder's Garage

Attached is a link I found useful in planning my own engine compartment detailing.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/tom_sharpes/911_engine_comp1.htm

Browse around in here, you'll find a couple more!

Leland Pate · 01-03-2002, 09:18 AM

I'm no detailing god, but I spiffed up my engine a bit for very little money.

Polishing the fan is allot of work and requires periodic detailing to keep it looking nice, but I think it is the only real option... paint and powdercoats seem to wear away.
I did paint the shroud, thinking that it would not see the same amount of abuse that the fan does.
I also took a grinder with a polishing wheel on it to shine up the shroud band (it's steel)
I also painted up my intake runners with hi temp aluminum paint, and did a neat little job on my valve covers.
I painted them hi temp black, then took a sanding block and sanded down to the aluminum on the PORSCHE lettering.
Looks pretty good.

Heater hose can also really dress up the appearance of the compartment. I hate the factory cardboard hose and would also like to know where to get some of that shiny Aluminum hose.

You also might want to install a new set of plug wires and sound pad.

Harold_89_911 · 01-03-2002, 10:38 AM

Wow Leland. Now I understand better why you were nominated several times for the DIY award. That engine looks very cool...

Jdub · 01-03-2002, 10:43 AM

Leland:

Beautiful engine. For the heat ducting, you might check an HVAC supply house or anyone who provides hose for dryers.

Not to nitpick, but that is an awful lot of thread showing above your valve cover nuts...is this stock or did you replace those studs? I know you know not to overtighten those bad boys!!

I've still got your P&Cs here in my office BTW. Slowly assembling all the parts I will need for an engine rebuild. But ya know what; now I am thinking hi-comp and upgraded cams just as you were.

John

Leland Pate · 01-03-2002, 10:54 AM

Hey thanks for the compliments guys.

For some reason, in that photo you can really tell that i didn't have the cam housings hot tanked. They look grimey.

Jdub,

The reason that the studs look strange is because I took the photo before everything was "really" done.

The cam housing covers and valve covers are really just "sitting' there. With no gasket.
If you look closely, on the lower valve cover you can see the one redish nut holding the cover on, temp.

The thing with the hose that has always pissed me off is because no one seems to just seel you a length long enough to cut and do a whole engine. They want to seel you each individual section seperately. I get so damn confused, trying to remember which piece is what and so on.
HVAC might be a good place to look, but I don't know if they stock Hi temp stuff.

Thanks, and good luck with that rebuild, I really hope the P/Cs work out for you!

R22tech · R22tech's Garage

AND IF YOU JUST WANT THE CLEAN, ORIGINAL CONCOURS LOOK:

No paint or polish, just lots of elbow grease and nasty solvents.

RoninLB · 01-03-2002, 03:39 PM

I use Aircraft Spruce hoses. Stock hoses embarass any 911 owner looking at them. I also used stainless nuts and bolts on various eng. extremities. For the neurotically inclined I also used safety wire on dizzy cap clamps, elec. panel wing nuts, etc.

SK · 01-03-2002, 04:08 PM

I just used Simple Green and water

pwd72s · 01-03-2002, 04:48 PM

Me too, just rags & elbow grease over many years. But man! Leland's engine? BEAUTIFUL! Though I have to admit, I don't understand the look of these new injection systems.

Superman · 01-03-2002, 04:57 PM

Leland, keep looking for hose. My local German car shop gets it, bulk. The hose running to the flapper boxes endures incredible heat and it also must flex when the engine shakes, so OEM makes sense there. But most of the hoses in the engine compartment are pretty easy to replace with bulk hose, you just have to find someone who stocks it. A really good VW place will, though they may not stock fancy, colored, teflon or plastic hose. They will stock the silver stuff you mentioned.

Raynald · 01-03-2002, 05:29 PM

Hi Leland,
your engine is very nice your are a example for me,can we see the rest of the car? this is my new one ... i am eager to hear the sound of it!...(is it goog english?)
i hope that you can see my picture
Raynald

Leland Pate · 01-04-2002, 04:09 AM

Hi Raynald, thank you for the compliments although I must admit that things look nicer in photographs.

I'm sorry but I couldn't get to your link because of the computer system I am currently on. They still have allot of stuff blocked.

As far as the hose goes... I just don't like looking at cardboard.

thanks for the tips!

vesnyder · vesnyder's Garage

I've found the aluminum heater hoses at Performance Products. I bought the stock hose from Stoddards and it looked used when I picked it up! I needed one bad and did not want to wait for mail order, but the aluminum looks a thousand times better.

Leland - nice addition to a beautiful engine!

Alan.UK · 01-04-2002, 05:15 AM

Hi all

It's not real detailing but, over a couple of days, I cleaned up the engine bay in my 67, sprayed the tin ware and shroud, painted the fan, added a some new fuel line and other bits.
Cheap, quick and effective.

Alan

T Bird · 01-04-2002, 05:26 AM

I prefer the OEM heater hoses. However, this summer, I installed SSI heat exchangers and the OEM hose would not fit over the opening in the left side heat exchanger. As a result, I used Loprene heater hoses (18") which fit quite well. I have used Loprene before, in the connection between heat exchanger and heater control valve and have found the material to be durable (although a bit pricey). Stoddard also sell a heat proof hose called "super hose." It looks like loprene but doesn't have finished ends. It's also a lot cheaper than Loprene- about the same as OEM.

KTL · 01-04-2002, 05:42 AM

Never done it myself, but whenever this heater hose issue is posted, someone invariably recommends visiting the nearest aircraft repair/supply shop. Maybe i'll take my advice and check it out one of these cold, boring weekends.

911_Dude · 01-04-2002, 07:52 AM

Here's my 2.7 that I rebuilt last year. Besides just cleaning off 26 years of grime by previous owners I refinished the Cadmium plate parts with Eastwood's Cad Paint Kit. It does a fairly good job once you get the hang of it. Also I polished the fan and housing and clear coated it. After a year the fan is starting to look a bit dull. Not sure how to keep it mirrior shinny. The metal seems to oxydize over night if left uncoated. And the clear coat just slowed it down.

Leland Pate · 01-04-2002, 08:06 AM

... wow.

yeah, i'm gonna go hide now...

Jamie79SC · 01-04-2002, 12:32 PM

Warren, Roland, and company,

Was the fan on my '79 originally cadmium coated? There's still some gold color near the hub. What alloy is the fan made of?

I called a local metal finishing shop and he said that he could cadmium plate the fan, strap, and miscellaneous little gold colored bits in the engine compartment for about $150.

There is a catch. He said that any magnesium alloy would look like crap plated. He said that if the fan is magnesium alloy, that it probably had a film coating, not plating.

I'm sure someone out there knows why I've never hear about refinishing the fan as original, as opposed to powder coating, painting, polishing, etc...

-Jamie 79 911 SC