Help with engine bay restoration

[Rick T.]

I am finally getting the engine bay of my 72 sb convertible cleaned up and decided to repaint the underside of the hood. This project has seriously gone beyond what I originally intended but I'm in it now so here we go. This was my dads car and he had already done some interior work and had a repaint (original color) done about 12 years ago. Now the car looks very nice on the outside but under the hood, not so much. My project started out with the intent of just fixing everything that was leaking, oil, power steering fluid and exhaust fumes, but turned into a "pull the motor, remove intake and valve covers, repaint engine, paint engine bay, rebuild A-arms, replace all bushings"....and the dominos continued to fall. I plan to have my car Flight judged with my local chapter as soon as it's done. This will be it's first judging event and depending on how it goes I may head to the Regional in Oregon in September. Luckily I have a mechanic that I have known for more than 10 years and I trust him and his work. We are finally at the point of reassembly and we have some decisions to make.

Did GM paint the engine bay and fire wall first and then paint the body color?

It looks like the underside of the hood was painted body color first, then the outside edge was taped off and the center had the black-out painted on. Does this seem accurate?

Should any of the hardware, front hinges, hood support, or hood latches, have over spray of body color or black-out, or both?

How much does this really matter with respect to judging points?

I like the way the hardware looks cleaned up and all the pieces are original so maybe this is just something that I put back together the way I want. This car is very original with respect to the pieces but it's in no way a Bowtie candidate. I really respect what NCRS stands for and wish my Dad and I had gotten involved much earlier. But, I also want the car to be safe to drive and it needs to last so I can pass it on to my son who is now 13.

Thanks in advance and here are some pics of the hardware as it looks now....

[Terry M.]

Re: Help with engine bay restoration

I am finally getting the engine bay of my 72 sb convertible cleaned up and decided to repaint the underside of the hood. This project has seriously gone beyond what I originally intended but I'm in it now so here we go. This was my dads car and he had already done some interior work and had a repaint (original color) done about 12 years ago. Now the car looks very nice on the outside but under the hood, not so much. My project started out with the intent of just fixing everything that was leaking, oil, power steering fluid and exhaust fumes, but turned into a "pull the motor, remove intake and valve covers, repaint engine, paint engine bay, rebuild A-arms, replace all bushings"....and the dominos continued to fall. I plan to have my car Flight judged with my local chapter as soon as it's done. This will be it's first judging event and depending on how it goes I may head to the Regional in Oregon in September. Luckily I have a mechanic that I have known for more than 10 years and I trust him and his work. We are finally at the point of reassembly and we have some decisions to make.

Did GM paint the engine bay and fire wall first and then paint the body color?

It looks like the underside of the hood was painted body color first, then the outside edge was taped off and the center had the black-out painted on. Does this seem accurate?

Should any of the hardware, front hinges, hood support, or hood latches, have over spray of body color or black-out, or both?

How much does this really matter with respect to judging points?

I like the way the hardware looks cleaned up and all the pieces are original so maybe this is just something that I put back together the way I want. This car is very original with respect to the pieces but it's in no way a Bowtie candidate. I really respect what NCRS stands for and wish my Dad and I had gotten involved much earlier. But, I also want the car to be safe to drive and it needs to last so I can pass it on to my son who is now 13.

Thanks in advance and here are some pics of the hardware as it looks now....

Welcome to the addiction Rick. Most of us have had to deal with the "mushroom effect" that is how a project mushrooms.

The engine compartment black-out operation was after body paint. The hood was installed on the car; so hinges were in place for body color and black-out, but the hood prop and latches were not installed until after black-out. There should be some body color on the outside of the hinges because the mask that was installed to protect the body/hood from the black-out paint extended over the outside of the hinges. That mask slipped over the edges of the hood, so the outer edges are body color. The break line for the body color to black on the underside of the hood is at the outer junction of the hood reinforcement and the hood. It should be a fuzzy line, not a sharp edged masked line. There are pictures (in color) in the 1970-72 TIM&JG that will do more to describe what that line is like than my words can. You would be well off to invest in that book. It i9s available from the NCRS store and can be ordered from the links at the top of this page.
The hood latches are plated gray phosphate as are the nuts, bolts and washers that secure them. The hood prop is clear zinc (silver color).

Best of luck with your car. I look forward to seeing the results in Oregon in the Fall.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Help with engine bay restoration

Rick,

1. Buy the new 5th Ed JG as Terry mentions.

2. Look at these links:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYhVebu

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk67cL7h

for a couple of unrestored base motor 1972s.

FYI, your parts look good. I would use something like CRC 350 or similar on the hood latches, and the gray phosphate will really shine.

Patrick

[John S.]

Re: Help with engine bay restoration

Patrick,
Don't mean to hijack the thread but what is the story with the green car. Really neat piece. You can pm me if you want or tell it here.

[Rick T.]

Re: Help with engine bay restoration

Thanks Terry for they explanation and for letting me know I'm not alone in this mushrooming project. It's just tough when you fix something up and then it makes the thing next to it look like crap. This hobby is tough for people like me who's OCD tendencies vastly exceeds their income stream and/or skill set.

Patrick, thanks for the compliment on the hood hardware and for the recommendation on how to shine them up. I also shared your flicker links with my shop and I'm sure we will be referencing your pics quite a bit. Those cars look amazing!!!

Rick