First-time classic car owner here of just a few months...
I just took the engine and transmission (both original) out of my 67 400 because 1) everything (engine, bay, etc) was so greasy and grimy and I want to detail the bay and paint the engine, and 2) I want to take care of any replacements/updates that are good idea with the engine out. I'm looking for advice on a few things as I want to make the most out of this (eg, I don't want to take it out again!):
1- What's the best way to clean the engine and bay? It's got grime caked on. Just scrape the grime and then use a wire brush and degreaser of some sort? Should I powerwash the bay? Any tips/tricks that you have learned, including products?
2- What do you suggest I think about replacing with this opportunity? Mounting bushings? Steering box? Others?
3- Anything else you suggest I do while the engine is out? If so, any suggestions on how to do it, and again, any products that worked well?
4- Suggestions on how and with what to paint the engine? I've read about POR-15 as well as spray can paint.
5- Any tips and tricks to any of the above that you've learned that I can take advantage of as a first-timer?
I'm brand new to this and want to make sure I make the most of this opportunity. I've already learned a lot from the collective wisdom in reading previous posts, including great advice on removing the engine that I used. That, coupled with an experienced friend visiting, made it happen. Not quite sure how I'm going to put it back together but I'll deal with that later.
Thanks in advance. I know there's a lot in this post...
Welcome to first gen. You sound gutsy , thats good. if you look in the Ramblings section you'll find my thread "notes from Bill V's garage" I have lots of pictures from when we pulled the motor and cleaned just what your talking about. Our trick to cleaning, My 60 year old wife got in the empty front end and scrapped the whole thing and wiped it down. I tried to power wash it and only had marginal success.
if your going to pull the whole front end off, its a good time to change out the subframe bushing if you think they need it. My wife and I changed ours one at a time just lifting with a pry bar. with the motor out , it is doable. We didn't go crazy on paint, our's does not look like a show car motor compartment. It cleaned up real nice and is painted nice . the result, really clean driver quality. I used Bill Hirsh paint,flat black
good luck, you got lot of cleaning to do
69 Firebird Convertible (wifes car since 1979) Goldenrod Yellow, 350, plain Jane Car was stored in garage since 1990
I need help, if anyone see's I'm going down the wrong road--Straighten me out!
Hi While I am not a Firebird expert , I have my first one here for a total rebuild , I have been restoring cars for almost 40 years .
Rubber stuff , oil breaks down rubber over time , so , if it is looking worn or brittle I would replace what I could . It's so much easier with th engine bay empty .
Cleaning , I like simple green or purple power . I have a steam Jenny so that makes things easier but you can clean it with a garden hose and a semi soft brush .
Eastwood sells engine paint , or you can use spray bombs if you don't have spray equipment . POR 15 is more for floors and that sort of thing you have to see how much rust you uncover in the cleaning process .
I have seen a lot of firebirds with a semi gloss engine bay and fire wall , so I am guessing that that's the way they came . Some one else can answer that better , while you're in there look for things like steering issues and the firewall seals , much easier to do with the motor out .
You're gonna need some heat if the bay is to grimey.Get a steam cleaner, if you can.There have been some who have had problem pressure washing their engine. be careful.
I used Duplicolor D1616 Pontiac Metallic Blue. Not as sexy as some of the other brands others have recommended, but it works well for me.
I assume you pulled the radiator. May be a good time to upgrade to an aluminum rad.
Good time to clean up and paint all the pulleys. I used a low bloss black...same on the bay. Gloss is a bit less than "satin" finish....but not flat.
Also, a really good time to do the water pump mods described in other posts.
Consider changing some of the visible bolts to stainless steel. I think it adds a nice detail to the engine. I used SS hardware with Pontiac logo on heads.
You might want to replace the motor rear seal and maybe the oil pan gasket. That requires motor removal. Most other things can be done with the motor in
I threw my stripped body/chassis combo onto a trailer and towed it to a professional place with a powerful power washing system. After completing the engine compartment, they used an engine hoist on the front of the subframe to lift the car up to get all the crud off the bottom. It worked well.
I noted that the crew at the Fantom Works shop does the same thing on TV.
2012 Mustang Boss 302 #1918, Competition Orange. FGF replacement 2006 Mustang V6 Pony, Vista Blue. Factory ordered. 2019 BMW X3 (Titled to the wife, but I'm always driving it for her. So I'm claiming it) Old projects, gone but not forgotten: 1967 FB 400, original CA car. After 22 years of work, trashed by the guy who was supposed to paint it. I had to sell it. 1980 Turbo Trans Am 1970 Mustang fastback, 351C 4Bbl, auto 1988 Mustang GT, 5 speed 1983 F-150 4x4, built 302 1994 Chevy K2500 HD 4x4, 454 TBI
1. Fix oil leaks Look for clues to where the grease/grim came from. Oil gets on the car and then the dirt sticks to it.
2. Typical oil leaks: - Front seal (crank) on engine timing cover - Rear seal (crank) - Rear transmission seal (drive shaft) - valve cover gasket - oil pan gasket - oil sending unit - transmission pan, lines - rad tranny oil cooler connections - Power Steering hoses - PS pump - Engine gaskets (depends how much you take off
3. Cleaning & painting - that purple climate friendly stuff works the best. Buy a spray bottle and pour undiluted cleaner into bottle. Spray it on and keep it wet. Scrape, rinse with water using pressure sprayer, spray cleaner again and cycle until it's clean. - Once you have removed the dirt and grim it's time to prepare for paint. Clean all the parts you intend to paint with wax & grease remover. Then sand the parts, clean with wax & grease remover, final wipe, then spray with paint. Use a good epoxy primer and top coat.
4. Preventive maintenance - take your alternator and starter into Auto-electric company to give you a quote to recondion these parts. Never trade your original parts for a knock off . - recondition ignition system, carb, fuel and brake lines (replace/recondition), gas tank?
Good idea taking the engine & tranny out.
Good luck!
Last edited by Gus68; 07/10/1801:15 PM.
Engine Test Stand Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoxyUwptUcdqEb-o2ArqyiUaHW0G_C88 restoring my 1968 Firebird 400 HO convertible (Firedawg) 1965 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon 389 TriPower (Catwagon) 1999 JD AWS LX Lawn tractor 17hp (my daily driver) 2006 Sequoia 2017 Murano (wife's car) 202? Electric car 203? 68 Firebird /w electric engine 2007 Bayliner 175 runabout /w 3.0L Mercuiser__________________________________________________________
Bill V - for the subframe bushings, when you say front end off, do you mean all including the sheet metal or just the center section that holds the radiator, hood latch, etc? I read your "Notes from Bill V's garage" post andthere was talk of things coming out of alignment if too much was taken off? I don't want to make this job any bigger than it already is...
Bronze Bird - I literally laughed out loud at the missile launchers. That was great.
Gus68 - for the cleaning and painting suggestions, are you referring to the bay or the engine? or both?
I'm talking about the whole sub frame. I didn't have the guts , muscle , knowledge to even think about trying that a few years ago. now, I might. If you look under the car where the doors are you'll see the front sub-frame is bolted into the main body at 2 points on each side. They are located approx even with the front of the door and at the rear of the door. Between the sub- frame and the main body are rubber bushings, if they're old,cracked and deteriorated they should be replaced. we did each side sereretly leaving the other side tight. we had no problems.
I can tell you this, I'm a rookie and if I needed info the guys here are always willing to help. They've talked me through many proceedures , so don't be shy, ASK!
bill v
69 Firebird Convertible (wifes car since 1979) Goldenrod Yellow, 350, plain Jane Car was stored in garage since 1990
I need help, if anyone see's I'm going down the wrong road--Straighten me out!
I've started working on the bay and have a couple more questions:
What is the best way to handle the rust? Some seems to be surface rust that has shown up after I cleaned the area (I think the cross member) while other rust has been there for some time (battery tray area and heater core box). I was going to sand it down and use a converter on whatever remained, but some of the rust is on painted surfaces and something like POR-15 is meant for bare metal. I was not planning on stripping everything down to bare metal.
I do have a couple of holes under the battery tray area (red circle). I don't have a welder, so what's the best way to address these? Get a welder and learn how to use it? Get a new inner fender just for these small areas? Use some POR-15 with fiberglass (after stripping down to bare metal)?
I'm going around in circles researching this so I thought I'd post some pics and ask you all...