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I recently just swapped my 305 to a 350 TPI engine. I have used custom heads, edelbrock headers, TPI's Miniram intake, stud girdles, and the list goes on and on. I am attempting to clean up my engine bay. I have programmed the car to delete the EGR. I am wanting to remove the smog pump and relocate/get rid of the coolant line with the vacuum hose on the passenger side. (See picture attached) Would there be any problem removing these items? What does that vacuum hose run to? I was wondering if anyone have any tips, or anything I do to clean up this obscene amount of hoses everywhere. If you have any more tips to clean up any areas of the engine bay. Thanks in Advance.
Last edited by brando278705; Feb 13, 2012 at 11:34 PM.
What you've got circled can all go.
The A/C isn't hooked up so you could get rid of the rest of that.
Converting to manual steering and brakes also makes some space and removes some of the clutter.
Okay so the top one I have circled is for the AC basically then? I could just get rid of the plastic thing with the vacuum hose on it and route the house straight through then.
I'd double check, but I believe the top circle is the coolant bypass. YOu can bypass it, and you'll have coolant constantly running through the heater core. Not a major issue. ...or you can completely remove all the lines going to the heater core, but of course, you'll have no heat. Not a problem for me, but if it's a DD.......
For the record, before I deleted the heater core completely, I did remove that valve. I wasn't 100% sure about removing the heat altogether, so I ran some 90 degree heater hose bends right off the heater core in the firewall, and routed them along the frame rail. It was a VERY clean look compared to stock. ....but ultimately I got rid of em altogether!
Okay so the top one I have circled is for the AC basically then? I could just get rid of the plastic thing with the vacuum hose on it and route the house straight through then.
No, I mentioned the A/C system in a separate sentence.
The top circle is your heater control valve.
Basically, the heater valve stops coolant flow to the core when you don't want heat, like in the summer. If you keep your heater function you can simply install a ball-valve in line between the intake manifold and your heater core to do the same job.
The bottom circle is the AIR diverter valve that directs air from the AIR pump to your exhaust manifold and CAT.
The rest of your A/C system is attached to and inside the plastic shell on the passenger-side firewall, near your heater core. You can buy or make a block-off plate for that area that still retains your heater function. Just search for it on here.
If you keep your heater function you can simply install a ball-valve in line between the intake manifold and your heater core to do the same job.
Heater Control Valve! HCV. THAT is the term I was trying to remember! ...anyhow, YES, you can install a ball-valve in line to do the same thing, however, you don't need to. You can have coolant running to the heater core at all times. I don't think they started putting HCVs in our cars until 86 or 87. With the heater off, you shouldn't feel any additional heat. SOme people will say they can tell a difference, but again, it's a relatively newer feature. Either way, for the sake of cleaning up the engine bay, I ran the coolant hoses with no vavle.
Yeah Sorry, I re-read about the AC part. Will Remove the Heater Control valve and just let the coolant flow! Any idea where I can purchase a plate for when I remove the whole ac system?
I recently just swapped my 305 to a 350 TPI engine. I have used custom heads, edelbrock headers, TPI's Miniram intake, stud girdles, and the list goes on and on. I am attempting to clean up my engine bay. I have programmed the car to delete the EGR. I am wanting to remove the smog pump and relocate/get rid of the coolant line with the vacuum hose on the passenger side. (See picture attached) Would there be any problem removing these items? What does that vacuum hose run to? I was wondering if anyone have any tips, or anything I do to clean up this obscene amount of hoses everywhere. If you have any more tips to clean up any areas of the engine bay. Thanks in Advance.
do you have emissions testing? if so you might have a problem getting registration .especially if they do a visual
There's quite a few things you can do to clean up your engine bay. I deleted my Heater Valve and rerouted the hoses to get everything off my valve covers. Here's a pic of how I did it
I'm a **** when it comes to my engine bays, lol. I need to do a little more with it but for now I'm happy. My TBI car's bay is even cleaner.
Last edited by robertfrank; Feb 18, 2012 at 08:16 PM.
What do you do for a coolant overflow tank? Just not have one. Run a line to the ground? And what about this vacuum canister. Anything I don't need on here? I know obviously brake booster, fuel tank, pvc valve. But anything I can not remove. I don't have any emissions testing in my state and don't have to worry about it, egr is gone and will remove the smog pump with components.
What do you do for a coolant overflow tank? Just not have one. Run a line to the ground? And what about this vacuum canister. Anything I don't need on here? I know obviously brake booster, fuel tank, pvc valve. But anything I can not remove. I don't have any emissions testing in my state and don't have to worry about it, egr is gone and will remove the smog pump with components.
There's not much that you absolutely cannot do, and certainly nothing in your list above. The question then becomes "do you want to?" after considering all of the factors involved.
In a lot of cases people keep the items and function, but move them so that they are out of the way or less noticeable.
The CCP canister and coolant recovery tank can be moved to out-of-sight locations, though you may have to get a recovery tank that is smaller and shaped differently. There is some space below the battery trays, and some more space fore of the radiator.
Both functions are valuable and are worth keeping to most people.
Another valuable function is the PCV system which has an intake side (vent), and a discharge side (the PCV valve). The vent and discharge are both located on your valve-covers but they do not have to be.
All that is required for a vent is filtered intake air, and all that is required for the discharge side is full manifold vacuum and a PCV type check-valve.
Other sources for these can be either found or fabricated so as to move the function out of sight.
A lot of these things are a lot of trouble, as in time-consuming, and so do not make a lot of sense unless you have the engine out of the car for other work already.
As far as the overflow tank I have one of those cheap autozone universals hidden under the cover in front of the radiator. I'll take pics of it tomorrow
As far as the overflow tank I have one of those cheap autozone universals hidden under the cover in front of the radiator. I'll take pics of it tomorrow
I would like to see the pics even if it is 2 years later lol.
I'm wondering about overflow relocation and hiding my heater valve. On my heater valve the hose that suppose to go to the TB I have a bolt with rtv stuffed in there with a hose clamp to top it off. I blocked it off because I thought the only purpose was to cool the TB which doesn't need cooling and can't on my Holley TB. Do they make after market heater valves with no TB outlet or should I just add more hose and hide it somewhere with my rtv bolt blockage? Or should I connect the TB coolant hose to the manifold?
Recent-ish pic of my bay, I have cleaned up my wire harness mess since
this pic.
stupid air intake is temporary until I get a ram air box. (see the rtv'ed dime on the sensor hole) Holley HP computer is underneath the cone.
Glad you stuck with it, looks much better. I believe the heater control valve for an 80s Monte Carlo does not have the TB outlet, looks the same otherwise.
There's quite a few things you can do to clean up your engine bay. I deleted my Heater Valve and rerouted the hoses to get everything off my valve covers. Here's a pic of how I did it
I'm a **** when it comes to my engine bays, lol. I need to do a little more with it but for now I'm happy. My TBI car's bay is even cleaner.
Hey Man! What does your charcoal canister area look like? Trying to figure out what can go and stay? I think the only thing I really need is a gas tank vent line. Let me know if you have any insights!
I’ve got my charcoal canister right underneath where it used to sit on the drivers side and all I did was enlarge an existing hole so the wiring could get down there and get a longer piece of hose that would reach as well. I used cable ties to hold it In place. I also put a generic smaller coolant overflow
I’ve got my charcoal canister right underneath where it used to sit on the drivers side and all I did was enlarge an existing hole so the wiring could get down there and get a longer piece of hose that would reach as well. I used cable ties to hold it In place. I also put a generic smaller coolant overflow
Alright guys, I have a few more questions on the clean up my engine bay portion of this.
Photo #1 is the check valve for the heater core. To remove this, it looks like I can simply connect heater core to the oil cooler (Which then goes into the radiator), and the other side to the front of the intake. Correct (Photo 2)?
Photo #3 I think is the connector for the AC, which I removed? This is in the same run as the fan connections
Photo #4 is some relay that is mounted near the batter. It reads number 10038311. What is the relay for?
Photo #5 is the other side of the battery, looks to be connected to the fan in a manner, any idea what this does?
Photo #6 is three relays and a connection close to the driver in the engine bay. Looks like the middle on is for the MAF, any ideas on the others?
I am simply trying to find out what I am working with and what I can do with it to clean it up! Thanks in advance!
Hi there, photo 5 is a fuse, yes for the fan and also for the ECM. If it blows, you will not be able to get error codes from your ECM. Ask me how I know that one!
Hi there, photo 5 is a fuse, yes for the fan and also for the ECM. If it blows, you will not be able to get error codes from your ECM. Ask me how I know that one!
Well, couldn't for the life of me figure out why my engine ran like crap, but no check engine light. Couldn't get the codes either. No light at all. Then someone mentioned the fuse on the fender. BINGO!
BTW the relays in photo six should be (from top to bottom in the pic) burnoff relay, fuel pump relay, and MAF relay. Hope that helps.
Well, couldn't for the life of me figure out why my engine ran like crap, but no check engine light. Couldn't get the codes either. No light at all. Then someone mentioned the fuse on the fender. BINGO!
BTW the relays in photo six should be (from top to bottom in the pic) burnoff relay, fuel pump relay, and MAF relay. Hope that helps.
hahah! Fair enough! Much appreciated on the info there.
I'll see if I can't do that this weekend. Since my heater core blew, I have my intake manifold hose going straight to the oil cooler line and no hoses running back to the heater core area at the moment and it is working well right now.
1 word "DAMN"!!! lol. Where did you hide the wiring harness that usually is along the base of the runners going from the throttle body all the way to the back on the passenger side? How did you move it and was there any wire splicing required? I'd love to move mine just to clean my engine up that much more, but I can't figure out how to move that loom.
The wiring which is along the runners is now tucked under the upper plenum behind the runners. A lot of that harness was removed so only the injector wiring and sensor wiring could fit. The large loom that would usually run all along the passenger side has now been re-routed through an already existing hole in the firewall where the HVAC harness came through. Most engine wiring is tucked up behind the dash after I removed all the interior vents and heater box etc...
I don't want to rip out all of the HVAC just to hide wires and i'm leaving my heater core and blower motor in for defrosting reasons. Thanks for the idea of running the loom inside the runners though. I'll have to try that.
Thanks 89FRMLA but I already have that installed on my car. I just want to clean up some of the wiring since it's all over the place. I've started the clean up but the big loom along the base of the runners was part of my issue even with it tucked in between the runners and the valve cover.
This is sick and exactly what I am looking for! Main questions: Where did you get the flat plate to cover your heater blower motor, and what about the fuel line vent? Does it smell like gas?!
Hi i see clean engine no smog or mass air sensor. What did you do with wires or how did you delete the wire so computer an engine will run? Smog has 2 sensors an mass air ? How do you get it to run.
This is sick and exactly what I am looking for! Main questions: Where did you get the flat plate to cover your heater blower motor, and what about the fuel line vent? Does it smell like gas?!
I got the flat piece of tin from lowes and the fuel.vent line is still ran under the car.
Ok so I seen you all talk about using a ball valve in place of the valve going to the heater core but there are 2 hoses going to the valve and one to the block. How does a single valve work with that? Does one get blocked off?
Hi i see clean engine no smog or mass air sensor. What did you do with wires or how did you delete the wire so computer an engine will run? Smog has 2 sensors an mass air ? How do you get it to run.
There's quite a few things you can do to clean up your engine bay. I deleted my Heater Valve and rerouted the hoses to get everything off my valve covers. Here's a pic of how I did it
OK so im removing the valve and doing a straight run to the HC. but how do i block of the bottom line that runs up to it?
secondly this metal air line. What does it run to? Instead of taking out the seized bolts on the rusty manifold I just bought new ones with plugs already in it. But to remove the air tubes off I need to know where the line runs to behind the motor.
Usually the converter is on it's own spur. The one with the Tee is the Melon-Farmer pipe. It goes behind the engine, bolts to both heads, and feeds the driver's manifold. It's a real Melon-Farmer to work around, and remove because it's a one piece steel pipe that is bolted in.
This one is off an 86, thinking 87 until they went to the rubber version were about the same aside from minor changes. This one came out with the engine.
