Cali Z

We have been working hard on keeping the GTA on the road throughout the winter, and time and money are becoming kind of problem. Replacing a starter here, having to replace another cat there, the wallet is draining out and now the appearence is needing attention. We just put on a new intake for her but it still looks kind of "dingy" you could say. Is there any cheap, affordable tricks we can do to help bring the engine compartment and such to a more cleaner level? Thank you for your help, and here's the pic.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

well polishing and elbow grease is free so i'd get to some wet sanding if i were you on most of the cast parts. if you aren't willing to do that then painting or powdercoating along with ceramic coating is a nice option as well. cheap new canisters for your washer and coolant will make a huge difference too.

i have only $320 into the appearance part of my old engine bay seen here.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

uthe key to the above picture is to polish as much as you can by hand. you can do the braces, the a/c parts, intake, valve covers, etc and all it costs is sand paper and your time but it works well!

therckid

well regular elbow grease got my engine bay looking much better then it was.

therckid

another

Cali Z

thanks for the replies guys. The plenum we got came powdercoated, but our runners were just cast, so it looks kind of off. When I try to buff out marks or grease stains on some of the accessories and such, they hardly seem to come out. Also, having rusted manifolds still on it doesn't help much but we have slp headers waiting to go on. Can I try using some kind of cleaner that wouldn't be harmful to the surfaces? Thanks again

therckid

goto a parts store or a walmart, and get engine degreeser. Works like nothing i'd never seen before. Also get you some green _____(forgot the next word, maybe its magic) but it cleans the tanks off very nicely.



shane

F-Body Tim

with 1 hour of sanding i terned my 17 year old (dirty, black) altenator into something that you could look at, it could use more work but it is too cold. i'll probeble buy a chrome one off of ebay for a couple bucks... it's better than frezing my ***** off.

F-Body Tim

i could use those too. (isn't it only like $30 for two new ones) check out the washer fluid too...

Kandied: where is your battery???

Cali Z

I think we'll try some degreaser in the future pretty soon, as soon as we can find the time! My brother has to drive the gta to school everyday(ucdavis) and we rarely have any time for detailing it. Having a 70 el camino that always has problems takes up alot of time too, plus the gta always has problems building up. we need to find a beater but we just don't have the cash right now. It feels like a no win situation all the time right now. what really pisses me off is when ever I spend an hour washing it, the next day it seems like it just magically starts raining. then I get to watch the calcium deposits accumulate along the bottom of the black fenders. I think some sacrifices will have to be made to get this engine looking better and if that's what its worth than I'm willing.

therckid

degreesing only takes less than an hour. All you need are 2 aerisol can of degreeser, and a hose.


Shane

Cali Z

then if I used a hose, wouldn't all the dirt and stuff just seep onto other parts of the motor and dry?

therckid

no!!!!!! You cover the things that arn't water proof. Then just hose down everything real good. The thing is make sure you do it late in the day cuase you dont wanna run the car for the rest of the night. The sensors will get wet and need a nigth to dry off. if you turn it on..... short cirucit and they break. But wait the night and you'll be safe. I myself used a pressure washer on the engine bay but the hose with a nossle works just fine also.



shane

F-Body Tim

another tip.... with my engine bay i took tire-shine and a sponge and whent around all the hoses, brackets, ect... ( it worked with black. color ) i did the tire-shine thing a month befor the pics so it wore off some, i need to touch it up.

therckid

thats a very good idea, tire shine huh? I"'m gonan try that tomorow after school. Maybe now.


Shane

1bad91Z

iTrader: (1)

A little elbow grease and repaint you valve covers........

Here's a pic of my engine bay.....

F-Body Tim

i discoverd it by accident, i had the tire-shine in my hand, walking around the car to do the tires on the pass. side when i droped some on the air lid. so i get a spong to wipe it up and eureka. :lala:

therckid

cool. thats awesome

***goes to get his tire shine and shine up the enigne bay***


be back in a ahile witht he results guys


Shane

F-Body Tim

i'm glad i could help.

therckid

well theres not enough light outfor the pics to turn out properly guys. Flash ads too much light. And no flash and the pics are really fussy. I'll wait until tomorow and take more pics guys.


Shane

Cali Z

I'll try that too, I just happened to have some with me right now. I'll post some results when I get a chance, its raining right now.

IROCThe5.7L

Alot more polishing come this spring

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

i paid $16 for both my new canisters from gm and are you knocking my red wiper fluid......? my radiator fluid is red too now.

well polishing is your best bet for overall apearance. if you want to clean the actual bay it's best to cover all the electrical with either bags or something water proof and use a good cleaner. a 50/50 mix of simple green and water is the only thing i'll use on it as the other chemicals will cause paint damage......so will simple green if it's left to dry but doing the mixture it's the best option out there. if there are some really dirty areas i use a toothbrush or otherwise and i use it very sparingly. never the quarter car wash stuff or many other over the counter chemicals.

for black plastic i use a plastic cleaner and polish. i don't even use tire products on my tires as they cause damage so i definately won't use them on my engine. if your parts are that faded, dirty or damaged they should be replaced. same with hoses, you shouldn't put chemicals on them to make them look better. you should replace them before a problem happens.

i clean my engine twice a year and i use only polish and cleaner chemicals with the exception of the 50/50 simple green and water.

F-Body Tim

well if the tire-shine f*cks every thing up, what should i use... armor all???

F-Body Tim

one more thing... Kandied91z is your battery in the spare tire well??? if so did you need some sort of "firewall"

TunedPort 335

Like he said, use a plastic polish or something like that. I've also found that Eagle One Aluminum polish works well on plastic too.

therckid

blue magic Metal Polish Cream works very well on plastic.


look what it did to my dull tail lights,

formul8!!

I use Simple Green and brushes, rags, and the hose. Oh yeah, and lots of time. (10 years worth!)

Cali Z

Your guys' engines are awesome! If only I had some good weather We got some good power out of it, now we just need it to look good!

therckid

i just noticed something, why is my stock alternator so clean comapred to everyone elses stock ones? I mean its an 86 for christ sake.





Shane

therckid

and also, am i the only one that is so cheap that he leaves a broken AC compressor in the car, with just no belt connected to it? I seemt o be the only one stupid enough to do such a thing. Dunno why.

If you are wondewring why i dont use it, back in the last day it was connected the compressor seised up and the belt was just making smoke until it broke of, there are still peices of it in there some places. I just cant get to them. We couldn't just get to the side of the road quick enough when we saw the smoke, and it just melted i gues and broke. Never put a belt back on, but the compressor isn't seized anymore, i cant turn it with my hand. Maybe that means there is no, gas left in it. Does it?



Shane

Cali Z

Your guys' engines are awesome! If only I had some good weather We got some good power out of it, now we just need it to look good!

therckid

uh how in the world did you double post with a 10 minute time increment? I measn i've never heard of thatbefore unless your i-net connection is just super slow my friend.


Shane

F-Body Tim

i saw your alternator and thought it was new. when i got my car mine was black than i rubbed a rag on it and the turned black . mine still looks like @$$....... WTF

therckid

as far as me and my step-dad knows(he was a certified master mechanic back in '87) its stock. That is what they ordigianlly looked like he says so, i gotta belive him. Plus before i fdrgreased it it was almost black. Leave that shizzle on for 30 minutes and it stipps all the dirt off man. No matter how far underneith the suface.




Shane

F-Body Tim

thats why....................i never let the degeaser sit long enough.

F-Body Tim

i don't bother to read instructions.

therckid

well the instructions said to leave it on for 15 minute, i decided to go 30. I mean it couldn't really hurt.



Shane

formul8!!

DO NOT LEAVE DEGREASERS ON THE PLENUM OR INTAKE PARTS VERY LONG OR AT ALL!!!

It will most likely stain or discolor the aluminum and will require removal and professional polishing to remove. The aluminum is very porous and will trap dirt causing stains.

I speak from experience.

therckid

did you see my plenum, dont look like it does **** my friend. I think your theory is wrong.



Shane

A88GTANotchback

i dont think its a theory.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

firewall????i'm not sure what you mean. i have my battery relocated to the trunk for weight transfer and more or less to run that custom cai.

as far as tire wet and the rest.....you guys can certainly use what you want. i'm just sharing my experiences over the years. if your parts are already sunfaded, cracked up, stained, etc. i suppose it really doesn't matter what chemical or otherwise you use. however if the parts in question are in good shape these chemicals will only ruin them. use the proper clean products and polishes and the parts will look good for along time.

my rule of thumb is if you touch it and your hand is left greesy or you can feel that a chemical was used then your using the wrong product. everything should be smooth and clean to the touch at least on parts that don't involve grease!

this is also an inside secret as well at major shows judges will touch various things to check and if anything is left on their hands you'll loose points. so why use something that not only ruins your parts but leaves things in such a way? well alot of car dealerships use the products your describing because they have fast working chemicals that really break up the dirt and grease particles to make cars look newer then they really are. they use tire wet, belt dressing and the rest to give undersides that sparkling new look but it doesn't last long and it doesn't look nearly as good as if you do it right the first time....

F-Body Tim

Kandied91z......... yes firewall, i could be wrong, but if the battery is inside the car, the cockpit/ passenger area and the spare tire well counts, you need some sort of firewall to protecte you. this is a rule for NHRA i think or SCCA... i could be wrong so don't quote me on this.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

don't know, could seal it in a box i suppose however at the time i did it a drycell was enough. i've had it for 5 years like that with no problems on or off the track.