Engine dress up questions , Need input

[Mowdigger]

I am wanting to dress up the engine in my truck. I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a serpentine set up. What have you guys done to dress yours up? I'm going to put an edelbrock carb and aluminum intake on and start dressing from there. Who sells a good kit for all the pulleys and accessories also. Everwhere I have looked seems to be piece by piece on the pulleys. Give me some input and some pics of yours for ideas.

Thanks

[1968SWBBigBlock]

Intake valve covers and carbs and air cleaners are all fairly cheap
Pulleys start getting exp quick
march and billet specialties make good pulleys
do not buy cheap pulleys you will regret it

[Mowdigger]

I noticed that the pulleys were expensive. Thanks for the input.

[Jim_PA]

Run the plug wires under the headers. It will look super clean 8)

Get some thick cast aluminum covers, and as stated, don't cheap out on the pulleys.

[cdowns]

i blast my pulleys then a couple of coats of enamel then bake them in an oven at 300 for 90minutes //less than a dollar each


cleaning painting and detailing is cheap//i relpace every bolt i can with stainless and spend a few seconds buffing them up with a drill mounted buffing pad//cheap buffing kits at sears kmart walmart or harbor frieght

[unclewatts]

One way to dress up your engine is the wiring in the engine compartment. I used that plastic corrugated split loom stuff and zip ties. Came out good and didn't cost very much.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by cdowns

....I replace every bolt I can with stainless and spend a few seconds buffing them up with a drill mounted buffing pad//cheap buffing kits at Sears, KMart, Walmart or Harbor Freight

Speaking of this, does anyone know if the "complete set of stainless bolts" you can buy from eBay - for say an SBC (like I have) are worth a damn, or junk?

[cdowns]

i prefer buying my stainless at a marine supply store or the local fastener shop//i just measure what i need make a list of what i dont have onhand //i always buy extras so i have common sizes available when needed//i dont require show polishing finishes rather just a bit shiny is good for me


another thing that really dresses up the engine compt if you have castiron manifolds is to clean them up real good and apply a coating on them it's much better than rust

[independentcustoms]

I'm personally not a big fan of serpentine belt setups, or much billet in general. I think the best thing you can do for your engine is make sure its super clean, not leaking anywhere, and well painted. I think I just like a super clean, stock looking motor.

[PowerPro]

Originally Posted by independentcustoms

I'm personally not a big fan of serpentine belt setups, or much billet in general. I think the best thing you can do for your engine is make sure its super clean, not leaking anywhere, and well painted. I think I just like a super clean, stock looking motor.

Ditto, but the sandblasting of the orriginal pulleys and baking the enamel on would make that look really good too. I'm assuming the previous poster just used black enamel?

[big_al_71]

I hate the way I cleaned up my engine compartment.....

[Dan in Pasadena]

Big Al,
Looks outstanding, congrats.

I will be doing mine shortly and I'm lucky because my truck came with nice (if a bit outdated) Edelbrock Elite valve covers, billet pulleys, spark plug wire organizers, assorted appearence stuff; its just that they all need cleaning up.

Your intake manifold looks GREAT. Did you do anything to it or is it new? Paint it? Bead blast it? If you painted it, what prep and paint brand did you use? If blasted, did you clear it after or anything?

I have a Holley Contender intake on mine (online research says its nearly the same as a Street Dominator) and it runs great so I don't really want to change it out. But it is painted black and is gnarly, nasty looking.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oops, here's my nasty "Before" pictures. With all the appearance stuff, I SHOULD be able to make this look a LOT better (see how bad the intake looks? Ugh!)

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oops. By the way, the battery is no longer in the engine compartment.

[big_al_71]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Big Al,
Looks outstanding, congrats.

I will be doing mine shortly and I'm lucky because my truck came with nice (if a bit outdated) Edelbrock Elite valve covers, billet pulleys, spark plug wire organizers, assorted appearence stuff; its just that they all need cleaning up.

Your intake manifold looks GREAT. Did you do anything to it or is it new? Paint it? Bead blast it? If you painted it, what prep and paint brand did you use? If blasted, did you clear it after or anything?

I have a Holley Contender intake on mine (online research says its nearly the same as a Street Dominator) and it runs great so I don't really want to change it out. But it is painted black and is gnarly, nasty looking.

Dan Thank you....The manifold looks like that from the flash of the camera..I installed it the way it came from factory....As far as your carburator or anything else for that matter there are some great cleaners that you will be amazed at how good the stuff comes out. There is something that we used in our parts washers that I have cleaned greasy, painted, old stuff and it comes out outstanding....Post some picts of your progress...

[Dan in Pasadena]

Al,
DOH! I was hoping you were going to post some "miracle concoction" that made your intake look like that, ha, ha.

I will take a first hack at clean up by using the Castrol Purple stuff or Simple Green and a small brush, shop vac, rinse and wipe method. I'm sure I can get it "clean" but to get it looking as shiny nice will take more than just elbow grease I think. You painted your compartment? Rattle can or "real" paint? Did you pull your engine or was this a little-by-little job? Again, outstanding results. I'd be VERY proud to pop my hood and have it look like that.

[Mowdigger]

I think it looks damn good Al. I'll be happy if mine ends up that nice.

[independentcustoms]

Originally Posted by big_al_71

I hate the way I cleaned up my engine compartment.....

That does look good. I think if you're gonna do anything to clean up under the hood, you need to go all out. By that I mean degrease everything, nice paint, clean wiring, etc. Don't half a$$ it, and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money

[big_al_71]

Originally Posted by Mowdigger

I think it looks damn good Al. I'll be happy if mine ends up that nice.

thank you

Originally Posted by independentcustoms

That does look good. I think if you're gonna do anything to clean up under the hood, you need to go all out. By that I mean degrease everything, nice paint, clean wiring, etc. Don't half a$$ it, and it doesn't have to cost a lot of money

I agree 100% do it right do it once....