Tech | Small Block Engine Bay Restoration
On any classic Ford project there are three areas of major concern from a visual standpoint; the exterior, interior, and the engine bay. Because we sometimes have to ask an owner to pop the hood, that is often the order in which we see them. On many cars we see that the paint and body is nice, with the interior not far behind. It seems that often the engine bay is last on the list of priorities. This was certainly the case with the nice '68 Torino GT that we recently acquired.
Careful maintenance over the years had preserved the original paintjob on the car while the vehicle's interior has had some tender loving care as well. Under the hood the car was also in original condition. However, it was clear that there had been very little in the way of care or maintenance to keep it looking nice. Perhaps the previous owner wasn't a car show or cruise night type of person and didn't care what the underhood appearance of the car was. On our car, the engine bay was the major glaring deficiency and we definitely wanted to do something about it.
One of the first cars that...
One of the first cars that caught our eye at the Fabulous Fords Forever show was George Savin's '69 Mustang SportsRoof. This car has a stroked Windsor opened up to 427 cubic inches and is detailed to the highest degree. The formed steel radiator hoses and vacuum lines certainly offer a cleaned up effect, especially with the vinyl end clamps. The body color engine bay and hood hinges give the Mustang a modern flair, while the hidden wiring keeps things looking clean.
Before we began with the underhood refurbishment on our car, we wanted to look at some examples of what other people are doing to enhance their classic Ford engine bays. For our field study we toured several area car shows as well as the annual Fabulous Fords Forever show held at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, because we knew that some of the best examples of what we're looking for would be there. In addition, we spoke to several different professional car builders to discover what procedures they use to create the ultimate engine bay on some of their project vehicles. We knew going in that the range of options would be wide, with some vehicles sporting a cleaned up look that used the stock appearance as a basis while other projects would be far more customized with colorfully painted engine bays featuring carefully concealed wiring, and coolant and air conditioning hoses. We also expected to see many elaborate induction setups that added to the car's visual appeal as much as to its performance.
While we all know it's easier to achieve a nice result when money is no object we also knew that, because of our presently modest means, we'd have to undertake our engine bay project on a fairly limited budget. We also wanted a result that was appropriate to the rest of the vehicle so you won't find any bug catchers sticking out through the hood, not that we don't like bug catchers. Although we plan to remove the engine in our car in the future to do a complete and proper detailing, we wanted to achieve a result that would keep us from being too embarrassed on cruise night without having to pull the engine for cosmetic purposes only.
Because we had our '68 Torino...
Because we had our '68 Torino GT in the back of our minds we were very interested when we came upon this car. This Torino GT is also a '68 but it's equipped with a 390 FE engine, whereas our car came with the new-for-1968 302 V-8.
Join us as we take a look at just a small percentage of what was on hand at Knott's Berry Farm in the way of great engine bays, and we'll also visit a professional installation to see what is done when the demand for underhood elegance is high. Finally, we'll have a look under the hood on our Torino and see what can be done to spruce things up a bit for just a couple hundred bucks.
Sema Show Level Detailinga
You might wonder just what goes into some of the higher-end results we saw. For a closer look at the construction of a show car engine bay we dug up these photos we took during the build of a 2007 SEMA vehicle at Autoworks International in Lakeside, California. Autoworks International works on classic Ford vehicles including many SEMA show exhibits. Let's look into its shop while it prepares the Dynacorn-based Phantom show car for Dynacorn's SEMA exhibit.
The view of the 390 engine...
The view of the 390 engine in this Torino shows several nice enhance-ments. Clearly this car is enjoyed as a driver by its owner and the engine bay benefits from a little chrome in the form of an Edelbrock signature air cleaner and valve covers. All new hoses and a nice-looking MSD ignition system combined with good detailing work gives this car a nice underhood appearance that we wish our car had.
We thought that John Lefave's...
We thought that John Lefave's '65 Mustang engine bay looked especially good. The 347 short-deck engine is dressed for success with a polished intake, a K&N air-cleaner assembly, and steel braided hoses. The chrome tower brace and Monte Carlo bar also add to the mildly customized theme.
Here's another approach to...
Here's another approach to engine bay upgrading. This owner has done some interesting paintwork on his engine and valve covers. This idea looks terrific and represents a large investment in labor, but not money. It's the level of workmanship that stands out here and not the amount of money expended. This project is another example where the work was obviously accomplished with the engine out of the car and done as a part of a greater whole.
This '63 Falcon is owned by...
This '63 Falcon is owned by Al Dufek and it's one of our favorite customized classic Fords. This photo was taken at the John Force Holiday Car show in Yorba Linda, California, a while back.
Looking under the hood it's...
Looking under the hood it's easy to see why this car is one of our favorites. Dufek somehow manages to combine tasteful with outrageous using polished components, super clean surfaces and plenty of chrome. The engine bay is finished in body color and shows off the jewel-like engine to maximum effect. Even the spark plug wires are color keyed. The extra effort that went into this engine compartment really shows.
At Autoworks everything is...
At Autoworks everything is done top flight. The freshly painted Dynacorn body shell shown here is the basis for the spectacular engine compartment planned for the car.