Advice needed, engine clean up and detailing

[Juggino]

I am about to drop my 3.0 engine and would like to pretty it up along with the engine compartment in general. Here is the current state of disrepair what cosmetic upgrades can I do????? Please feel free to upload your engine pics.....Thanks...

[HFR_Racer]

[timmy2]

Here are a few of my '78 backdated heat and cleaned up after replacing the lower head studs.

[timmy2]

Here's a couple more: Notice the duct running under AC compressor mount, gotta love friends with a plasma cutter...

[Brown747]

Heat backdated, de-smogged, A/C delete, cruise control delete, shaved intakes of unused mounting pads, new sound pad... ...

[Sparkman]

Cleaned up my 78 SC last year. Not completely done but stripped 30+ years of grime off. It's so much nicer to work on a clean engine compartment. I found a powder coating place that took dirty parts like engine tin, engine mounting bracket and pull covers and degreased, sandblasted and gave back fully coated parts! Most places I contacted only wanted clean parts. I bead blasted the fan and housing, turbo valve covers, and many other parts. Used mineral spirits,paper towels and lots of elbow grease to clean the rest. Not shown is backdated heater mods that removes a bunch of air plumbing from the top. New braided plug wires and Carrera chain tensioner kit helps to clean up more. Cleaned up the exhaust components past the cat and hit with high temp paint. Wipe out the engine compartment with mineral spirits, added new (clean) braided brake lines and new rear shocks while in there. New sound pad, ac and air pump delete (passed NV smog with flying colors). Much cleaner and many of the 101 projects are a natural part of that process.

Before:

After:

[Dr J]

If you have it out, I would suggest some basic maintenance as well:

1. Put Sound pad
2. Check/replace vacuum lines
3. Adjust valves (much easier with the engine out)
4. Check bushings on accelerator linkage in the engine- every plastic bushing will fail at some point in these cars
5. Replace oil pressure switch, breather hose cover gasket and possibly thermostat gasket
6. Have the fan and shroud powder coated. I am partial to a black housing with a silver or grey fan.
7. If AC is non-functional, remove the compressor.
8. Clean the tranny as well.

[mschwien]

Stock 83 SC - just been keeping it clean since a top end and head stud replacement.