I recently cleaned up my engine prior to dropping it into my 84 T/A. The wiring and coolant line mess above the valve cover was insane! I found out that the coolant valve was linked to the A/C system that I've removed, so I got rid of the valve too. I'm also going with headers without AIR tubes, so the associated box has been removed. As soon as I get an AC Delete pulley, the compressor and air pump will be removed as well. Well here it is:

 

I also ran new wire loom to the injectors and rerouted the wires that go to the starter. They were originally routed from the rear of the engine, over the valve covers, down between the accessory brackets, and along the bottom of the head to the starter. I cut about 1-2 feet of length off and went directly down behind the head and to the starter. As a result, the wire loom above the valve cover is about 1/2 the diameter of what it was stock. I also placed it behind the PCV line.

I still have to add one coolant line that will go from the throttle body to the heater box, but it should still look pretty clean when done. I cleaned the valve covers the best I could, but they're scratched up and I'll be looking to replace them. The dent in my runner is also driving me nuts. I'll look to get a new runner and polish the TPI for next year.... right now I just want it in my bird and running! Let me know what you think

 

I think there was a "golf ball" trick to removing the dent in the runners. I would give that a shot.

 

You have my interest... what's the "golf ball" trick?

 

Looks good. You planing on painting any of that?

 

Well... as it turns out.. the runners are actually smaller than a golf ball, so that won't work.

After some searching I found a guy who put a hammer in a vice upside down and worked out the dents that way. They turned out pretty nice too.

 

Golf ball trick hmm isnt that off south park lol

 

Nah, what they do is take some metal ***** (lol) and push them through the runner to straighten the dent out. I got a runner with some dents too. I used it to try polishing for the first time, good learning experience.

 

I remember the early Vettes had a really clean looking TPI engine, well engineered. For some reason the Camaros were pretty trashed up with all the hoses and wires right on top of the engine. Looks much better to have all that stuff tucked away to gone completely.

 

This Golf Ball trick

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...sPageName=WDVW

 

Can I just remove my A/C? I don't need a different pulley? I want it gone!

 

doh! sorry double post..

 

Steve this is why I have the group purchase on sogm.ca in the Classifieds. It is the A/C delete pulley. All you need is this setup and a different belt, and get rid of the A/C compresor and everything else. Makes for a much cleaner and less cluttered engine bay.

 

nice

 

I may be taking off the valve covers and repainting them before installing the engine and tranny. I want to get under there anyways to lubricate the valvetrain since the engine hasn't been run in nearly 2 years. I'm also going to replace all of the coolant lines with new hose. As for the TPI itself, it's gonna stay as-is for this year. At this point, I just want to drive it ASAP so I'll work on improving it's appearance next year.

Those metal ***** are kinda pricey on Ebay at $50. I could probably replace the dented runner with a good condition used one for less. It's a decent idea though.

 

If you're going to replace the runners anyway, might try an old motorcycle trick. Real common to beat up an expansion chamber on the dirt bikes. Rig up something to seal the ends, put some air pressure in the pipe and heat the dented area until it comes out. Have to heat steel nearly red hot, but the aluminum should need much less heat.

 

Could you or anyone tell me more about this coolant valves purpose and how exactly to route the hoses after removel?

Thanks

 

The heater control valve (HCV) is vacuum activated and it sends coolant from the intake manifold, directly to the heater core (when open) where it then gets routed back to the radiator.

When the valve is closed, the coolant does NOT go to the heater core, but rather it just loops back to the radiator.

If you look at the HCV, you'll easily notice the one line coming of the side that comes from the manifold. on the other side you'll have two lines. You'll see one runs to the heater core/firewall, and one runs down to the frame rail where it intersects with the heater core return coolant line.

The HCV delete mod has one line running from the manifold directly to the heater core, and one line running from the heater core back to the radiator. This means you'll ALWAYS have hot coolant running through the heater core. Originally I thought that even with the heat OFF, you might feel some warm air coming out of the vents but this is NOT the case. I think this is a GREAT mod and it really cleans up the engine bay.

I have NO AC, NO emissions and NO HCV. I can easily reach down the passenger side of the motor and grab the Y pipe!!!


Here's a cool diagram. If I'm not mistaken, the oil cooler routing is slightly off, but it clearly shows the HCV and how it's routed.

 

Thanks man, i think that im going to do this mod when i delete my a/c and lt1 intake swap next week!

 

So let me get this straight in your diagram it shows HOT coolant running to the oil COOLER am i missing something?

 

Well the oil cooler is worthless for the most part, at least from the factory. Anything is better than nothing I guess.

It's actually NOT my diagram, but I've just done some checking, and it IS correct. I had originally thought the OC was a little off, but it's right.

 

yup, the diagram shown is exactly how everything was set up on my engine from an 88 Formula 350. I've thought about just pulling the engine oil cooler because it appears useless. It doesn't really get in the way though. The only thing i need to do now is to get the hard line that runs on the passenger frame rail and doesn't have an opening to attach the line to the bypass valve. I have the part #, now I just have to see if it can still be purchased anywhere.

 

I always wondered how the hell people manage to dent the runners anyways?