Engine bay cleanup/restoration advice

[Stainless]

Last weekend, I attended my first car show that had another DeLorean. It gave me the opportunity to compare mine with another and it motivated me to do attempt some cosmetic improvements in my engine bay. Below are a couple of pictures of my engine area as of a couple of years ago:
19799 19800

I'm looking for some input on what I can do to clean up the look of my engine in addition to what I have thought of. I am trying to improve the look of the stuff that you see at the surface and not disassemble much. Here are some of my observations:

Vacuum sticker on engine cover is yellow, wrinkled, and ugly - can replace with new sticker
Cover over ignition coil was broken and poorly repaired by PO - looking for a used one, but may have to buy one from a vendor
Retaining brackets and clips on lower engine cover are rusty - easy to refinish or better to buy new?
Air filter assembly looks dusty, even though it's clean - can this be refinished with paint?
Air filter assembly sticker is old and peeling - can replace with a new sticker
Coolant tank cap is rusty in the pictures, but I replaced that last year already
Bracket that holds the resistor is rusting with black paint flaking off - would like to remove and refinish
Lots of rusty bolts in multiple locations, like on the intake manifold, compressor, fuel lines, etc. - Is it easier to replace or refinish all of these?
Engine bay light has never worked since I owned the car. Where do I start with troubleshooting this? Is it controlled by the switch by the resistor?
Coolant hoses - although they are not in need of being replaced, they look faded. Any recommendations on making them appear new again?


What else do you see that I failed to mention in my list?

[DMC81]

Last weekend, I attended my first car show that had another DeLorean. It gave me the opportunity to compare mine with another and it motivated me to do attempt some cosmetic improvements in my engine bay. Below are a couple of pictures of my engine area as of a couple of years ago:
19799 19800

I'm looking for some input on what I can do to clean up the look of my engine in addition to what I have thought of. I am trying to improve the look of the stuff that you see at the surface and not disassemble much. Here are some of my observations:

Vacuum sticker on engine cover is yellow, wrinkled, and ugly - can replace with new sticker
Cover over ignition coil was broken and poorly repaired by PO - looking for a used one, but may have to buy one from a vendor
Retaining brackets and clips on lower engine cover are rusty - easy to refinish or better to buy new?
Air filter assembly looks dusty, even though it's clean - can this be refinished with paint?
Air filter assembly sticker is old and peeling - can replace with a new sticker
Coolant tank cap is rusty in the pictures, but I replaced that last year already
Bracket that holds the resistor is rusting with black paint flaking off - would like to remove and refinish
Lots of rusty bolts in multiple locations, like on the intake manifold, compressor, fuel lines, etc. - Is it easier to replace or refinish all of these?
Engine bay light has never worked since I owned the car. Where do I start with troubleshooting this? Is it controlled by the switch by the resistor?
Coolant hoses - although they are not in need of being replaced, they look faded. Any recommendations on making them appear new again?


What else do you see that I failed to mention in my list?

In case you have not seen it this, this thread is great! Alex did an amazing job, lots of good info here. http://delorean6575revisited.blogspot.com/2013/01/reconditioning-engine-compartment-front.html

[Rich]

A few answers here:


Air filter assembly looks dusty, even though it's clean - can this be refinished with paint? A: Dusty? It looks like it has the typical nylon injection molding swirl patterns in it. You can try to wet-sand it with 600 or higher paper and see if it looks better. Try a part of it in the back first. Don't paint it.
Coolant tank cap is rusty in the pictures, but I replaced that last year already. A: Replace it again. And keep the car dry.
Engine bay light has never worked since I owned the car. Where do I start with troubleshooting this? Is it controlled by the switch by the resistor? A: Yes, that's the switch. Bad lamp, bad ground, bad socket, bad switch? Easy to troubleshoot.
Coolant hoses - although they are not in need of being replaced, they look faded. Any recommendations on making them appear new again? A: Try any one of a number of good rubber restoration sprays. Wet a rag and rub it in. Black Again is one. Meguire's Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner is another. NOT ArmorAll or vinyl "conditioner". If the hoses are old then replace them instead and solve two problems.

[Rich]

What else do you see that I failed to mention in my list?


Old, grey-colored A/C drive belt. Replace.
Missing the red cap on the A/C Schraeder valve (recharge/gauge fitting) behind the A/C compressor. Blue cap is visible.

[NightFlyer]

Considering the rusty coolant overflow cap, I'm surprised at how new looking your stove pipe is - did you replace it?

[Mark D]

Considering the rusty coolant overflow cap, I'm surprised at how new looking your stove pipe is - did you replace it?

My recommendation is to ditch the stove pipe and hot/cold diverter valve all together. Chances are the valve is broken anyway and is doing nothing but blocking flow in your intake plumbing. Spectre makes cold air intake ducting that fits perfectly to create a cold air intake. Or the DMC vendors sell essentially the same cold air intake duct kit. It's good for maybe a HP or two. It also will give you a little better engine sound.

I'd also disconnect your fuel lines and paint the top of the fuel distributor. You can use regular metric bolts in place of the banjo bolts to make sure no paint gets inside the FD. You can get the banjo bolts replated through a variety of sources to eliminate the rusty look. I sent all mine to Hervey and he swapped them for fresh plated ones when I replaced all my fuel lines, but I've also had lots of parts plated through DMCMW.

Other rusty bolts can be easily replaced, but pay atention to the markings on the heads of the bolts so you don't replace any 10.9 grade bolts with anything lower grade. Also, the intake manifold bolts that attach the W shaped pipe are M7 which can often be tough to find in the right length.

I'm also a big fan of the stainless steel label kit to replace the stock labels that will yellow and wrinkle up over time. If you have a few extra bucks they really do add a lot to the appearance of the engine compt.

[Stainless]

Considering the rusty coolant overflow cap, I'm surprised at how new looking your stove pipe is - did you replace it?

I didn't replace it, but the PO likely did. It definitely looks to be newer than 30 years old.

[NightFlyer]

My recommendation is to ditch the stove pipe and hot/cold diverter valve all together. Chances are the valve is broken anyway and is doing nothing but blocking flow in your intake plumbing. Spectre makes cold air intake ducting that fits perfectly to create a cold air intake. Or the DMC vendors sell essentially the same cold air intake duct kit. It's good for maybe a HP or two. It also will give you a little better engine sound.

Ditto on ditching the stove pipe and hot/cold diverter valve.


I'm also a big fan of the stainless steel label kit to replace the stock labels that will yellow and wrinkle up over time. If you have a few extra bucks they really do add a lot to the appearance of the engine compt.

I believe that Tamir is the sole source of the stainless steel label kit, and while I don't have one (yet), I've seen a few installed and they are definitely extremely nice and highly recommended!

[Stainless]

My recommendation is to ditch the stove pipe and hot/cold diverter valve all together. Chances are the valve is broken anyway and is doing nothing but blocking flow in your intake plumbing. Spectre makes cold air intake ducting that fits perfectly to create a cold air intake. Or the DMC vendors sell essentially the same cold air intake duct kit. It's good for maybe a HP or two. It also will give you a little better engine sound.


Do you have any pictures or links so I can see it?

[Mark D]

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3341459/1981-delorean-dmc-12/page-4/

This is a writeup I did a few years back on the cold air intake. Lots of pics and explanation.


You can buy the spectre air duct at Autozone
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Spectre-Black-air-ducting/_/N-25h5?itemIdentifier=422454_0_0_

The part number is 8741. It's the 4" black duct...you can get chrome or blue if you prefer also...I'd stick with the black

In this pic you can see a small chunk of the duct that I cut off sitting on the intake manifold. The length it comes in is slightly longer than you need. The rubber boot ends thread on and off so it's easy to cut to length.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=19804&d=1371067712

Here are pics of the diverter valve for anyone not wanting to click the cardomain link. In my humble opinion it's a complete piece of crap.
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=19802&d=1371067709
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=19803&d=1371067711
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=19805&d=1371067713

[Mark D]

The part number is 8741. It's the 4" black duct...

Derp. Actually it's 3" duct, not 4". Please excuse the typo

[Stainless]

Derp. Actually it's 3" duct, not 4". Please excuse the typo

I never knew what the stove piping was for, so this was very informative for me. Living in Utah, like Wisconsin, it gets very cold in the winter, when I imagine the stove pipe would make the biggest difference. Have you noticed any change since you changed over to the alternative 3" direct duct and eliminated the diverter valve, or was this change only for looks? While I really like it, I almost feel that if it ain't broke, I shouldn't bother with it right now. But $20 for that duct is a small price to pay to make that part of the engine compartment look much better.

Is the part on the exhaust manifold hard to get to? I don't think I've ever looked at that part of the engine for access. How difficult that portion of it is may determine whether or not I go down this path.

[Mark D]

The only differences I have noticed are positive... A few extra horsepower and a little more responsiveness on the throttle. It's had no ill effect on idle in cold weather.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I've always understood that the intent of the stove pipe setup was to reduce CO/NOx emissions during engine warmup.

I got rid of it mostly for performance reasons but it also cleans up the engine bay nicely... especially if the stove pipe has started rusting. The main issue I have is that it is very restrictive to air flow. If the flapper valve gets stuck it makes things even worse.

You don't need to remove the metal intake shroud that is bolted to the passenger side exhaust manifold, but since mine was rusty and crappy looking I took it off. It's just a couple of bolts that are relatively easy to get to.

I think the whole process took me about an hour.

[Stainless]

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far. The stainless stickers from Tamir are a no-go for me right now. I can't justify the price.

I believe there is only one remaining question from my first post that I still haven't gotten an answer to:

-Retaining brackets and clips on lower engine cover are rusty - easy to refinish or better to buy new?

I reviewed the blog at http://delorean6575revisited.blogspot.com/2013/01/reconditioning-engine-compartment-front.html and saw the full restoration, but I don't know if I want do do the whole thing as the top of my engine cover looks great. I was hoping to only improve the look of the brackets on the back side at this time.

Please keep the recommendations coming if you have any more.

[Stainless]

A few answers here:


Air filter assembly looks dusty, even though it's clean - can this be refinished with paint? A: Dusty? It looks like it has the typical nylon injection molding swirl patterns in it. You can try to wet-sand it with 600 or higher paper and see if it looks better. Try a part of it in the back first. Don't paint it.
Coolant tank cap is rusty in the pictures, but I replaced that last year already. A: Replace it again. And keep the car dry.
Engine bay light has never worked since I owned the car. Where do I start with troubleshooting this? Is it controlled by the switch by the resistor? A: Yes, that's the switch. Bad lamp, bad ground, bad socket, bad switch? Easy to troubleshoot.
Coolant hoses - although they are not in need of being replaced, they look faded. Any recommendations on making them appear new again? A: Try any one of a number of good rubber restoration sprays. Wet a rag and rub it in. Black Again is one. Meguire's Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner is another. NOT ArmorAll or vinyl "conditioner". If the hoses are old then replace them instead and solve two problems.


Thank you! Any particular reason that you don't recommend painting the air filter assembly but instead recommend wet sanding it?

[Bitsyncmaster]

The #1 thing for engine clean up is to get those harnesses from crossing the front of the engine. Remove the engine lift rings (they just get in the way). Cut the extra metal off your brackets and castings.

[SS Spoiler]

When I did the valley I took the time to grind/sand all the sharp edges of the intake manifold. Using finer and finer abrasives I got it down to a shiny polish. It really dresses up the motor and doesn't cost a lot, just time.

[Stainless]

The #1 thing for engine clean up is to get those harnesses from crossing the front of the engine. Remove the engine lift rings (they just get in the way). Cut the extra metal off your brackets and castings.

I believe I have seen write-ups on how to perform this mod, but do you know where I can find it?

I'm not sure I've heard about the engine lift ring removal or cutting off extra metal off brackets and castings. Can you go into greater detail about those?

[Bitsyncmaster]

I believe I have seen write-ups on how to perform this mod, but do you know where I can find it?

I'm not sure I've heard about the engine lift ring removal or cutting off extra metal off brackets and castings. Can you go into greater detail about those?

The engine lift rings just unbolt. Save them if you ever need to pull the engine.

The throttle bracket has places for things not used. Just take a hacksaw to it. My resistor bracket has removed the relay so I cut that also. I use the volvo ISM so no bracket is needed to hold it. If you need photos, I can take some to post.

[Farrar]

If you remove the engine lift rings, where do you clamp the negative cable when you jump-start the car?

[Mark D]

If you remove the engine lift rings, where do you clamp the negative cable when you jump-start the car?

This was my first thought as well. I use that front lift ring when I hook up my battery charger after the car has been sitting in winter storage.

[Bitsyncmaster]

This was my first thought as well. I use that front lift ring when I hook up my battery charger after the car has been sitting in winter storage.

Just use any metal part bolted to the engine block. I've never jumped my car so never thought about it. For battery charging I use the cig-lighter.

[Tillsy]

Just use any metal part bolted to the engine block. I've never jumped my car so never thought about it. For battery charging I use the cig-lighter.

Surely the wiring for that socket wouldn't be rated for that much current?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Surely the wiring for that socket wouldn't be rated for that much current?

My charger (lab bench power supply) I just current limit at 5 amps but it never needs that much anyway.

[Ozzie]

A topic near and dear to me. I don't know why, but I also like to detail my engine bay.
I'm late to this post, but you've gotten some great advice here already.

Check out my blog where I dedicated a posting to the same topic. It also has details of the engine harness re-route.
"Cleaning up the engine bay over time" (http://delorean2109.blogspot.com/2009/01/cleaning-up-engine-bay-over-time.html)

It has been a work in progress over time, here is a more recent picture 2109's engine bay for ideas/reference.
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=200&d=1306341131

[ALEXAKOS]

DAMN!!!
Wait where are my sunglasses! I need to take a closer loo at that engine!!!:approve:

[Stainless]

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3341459/1981-delorean-dmc-12/page-4/

This is a writeup I did a few years back on the cold air intake. Lots of pics and explanation.


You can buy the spectre air duct at Autozone
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Spectre-Black-air-ducting/_/N-25h5?itemIdentifier=422454_0_0_

The part number is 8741. It's the 4" black duct...you can get chrome or blue if you prefer also...I'd stick with the black

In this pic you can see a small chunk of the duct that I cut off sitting on the intake manifold. The length it comes in is slightly longer than you need. The rubber boot ends thread on and off so it's easy to cut to length.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=19804&d=1371067712

Hey Mark,

I am doing this mod today. I noticed that you put a silver colored clamp of some kind around the new tubing where it meets up with the air box. Mine feels nice and snug, but I would prefer that it not come off in the future. What clamp did you use?

[Mark D]

Hey sorry for not answering sooner on the silver clamp, I've been out of town this past week.

I don't remember exactly where I got the clamp from that you're seeing in the photo but it's just a standard worm drive hose clamp that you should be able to find at your local hardware store. I clamped the flexible duct in place with the air box off the car so I could have the nice plain silver part facing upwards with the clamp screw rotated out of sight.

[Stainless]

I have been busy working on the look of the engine bay. I have a lot of bolts that have surface rust on them. I have cleaned up a few of them using a wire wheel and they look brand new. My fear is that if I just reinstall them after this that they'll get rusty again. Is cleaning them up and then reinstalling them a good option, or should I take additional steps to ensure the look lasts?

[Farrar]

I have been busy working on the look of the engine bay. I have a lot of bolts that have surface rust on them. I have cleaned up a few of them using a wire wheel and they look brand new. My fear is that if I just reinstall them after this that they'll get rusty again. Is cleaning them up and then reinstalling them a good option, or should I take additional steps to ensure the look lasts?

You could cover the threads with tape and spray the heads with paint or clearcoat... or send them off to have them professionally zinc-plated before you reinstall them... or just buy new zinc-plated bolts... depends on how much time and money you want to spend on the project.

[Stainless]

You could cover the threads with tape and spray the heads with paint or clearcoat... or send them off to have them professionally zinc-plated before you reinstall them... or just buy new zinc-plated bolts... depends on how much time and money you want to spend on the project.

What would be a good clear coat to use that can withstand the head of the engine?

[Farrar]

What would be a good clear coat to use that can withstand the head of the engine?

VHT makes one. A friend of mine used it to clearcoat his valve covers at one time. Sorry, I don't know the exact product name or number.

Edit: correction, it wasn't VHT. This was a few years ago and my memory is fading. Oops.

I know Rustoleum makes engine enamel. See if they have one in clear.

[David T]

VHT makes one. A friend of mine used it to clearcoat his valve covers at one time. Sorry, I don't know the exact product name or number.

Edit: correction, it wasn't VHT. This was a few years ago and my memory is fading. Oops.

I know Rustoleum makes engine enamel. See if they have one in clear.

I don't think there is a "high temp" clearcoat that won't start to yellow. Depends on how hot. A better way to prevent oxidation of aluminum is anodizing.
David Teitelbaum