Making your Pontiac engine compartment show-ready doesn't mean you have to spend a ton of money or know how to operate a professional auto-painter's spray gun. In fact, a show-quality makeover can be managed in four days and change the look of your engine compartment from drab to fabulous for little money, using basic spray-painting skills. Although the results won't pass the inspection of concours judges at a national convention, they will make you proud to lift your hood at shows, and your Pontiac may even become a popular-vote trophy magnet.
Repainting your engine and its compart-ment is just part of a great presentation, how-ever. If you're going for a stock appearance like the example in this story, you'll want to examine any aftermarket replacement items that found their way under the hood over the years. Although they're fine for maintaining functionality in the mechanical and electrical systems, generic auto-store parts, such as hoses, belts, wires, battery, and cables, take away from the stock appearance. Replacing them with factory-correct reproductions can make a big difference come show time. You can decide how much budget to dedicate to that process. For example, belts and hoses are relatively inexpensive, but a repop battery requires a more substantial investment.
A '59 Pontiac Catalina equipped with the 345hp NASCAR Tri-Power engine is our subject, but the basics will apply to most vintage Pontiacs. Notice the typical cosmetic no-nos: peeling engine paint; rusty exhaust manifolds; fuel-stained intake; fluid-stained frame; incorrect hoses, clamps, and radiator cap; and modern-era battery (not shown). Although this big muscle Catalina could hold its own on the street and the strip, it wasn't a pretty sight at the car shows when its hood was raised.
If your Pontiac is modified, then your imagination is the limit regarding visual underhood enhancements. You can simply clean and repaint what's there, or you can experiment with different colors and finish types to personalize your Pontiac further. Regardless, the basics in this story will still help you.
Steve Dietz of Florida Pontiac (www .floridapontiac.com) will use rattle-can and brush-application paints to create the stun-ning engine bay for this story, and he will do it in about 25 hours. "For a concours job, I'd use a paint gun and spend 100 or more hours on an engine compartment," Steve says. "But many guys want their Pontiac to score great in popular vote and to enjoy it on cruises throughout the year. With spray cans, any Pontiac hobbyist can accomplish the results shown in this story with two weekends of work and a $400-or-less budget [not counting reproduction replacement parts]."
This story will show you what paints work best for a (nonconcours) engine makeover, with the assumption that you already know how to remove engine components and reinstall them correctly. Follow along as Steve makes this engine compartment a potential show-stopper in the popular vote category.
A Few Tips From Eastwood
We asked Eastwood for a few comments; here is what the company had to say.
"It starts with a thorough underhood cleaning. A pressure washer is preferable, but a biodegradable degreaser, a stiff brush, and a garden hose can work, too. Securely seal all openings that shouldn't get wet, such as the carburetor. Protect all electrical connections. Remove all of the surface dirt and grease; then move to Nylon Scuff Pads.
Here are some of the Eastwood products we used for the engine makeover. We'll discuss each one, as well as others not shown, as they're used in the story.
"On bare metal items such as exhaust manifolds, carburetors, hood hinges, brackets, and such, use stainless brushes. A final surface cleaner such as Eastwood's PRE is an excellent way to prepare any part-bare metal or painted-for painting or powdercoating. This will remove dirt, wax, polish, grease, silicone, buffing compound, and even road tar.
"While cleaning out the gunk, take note of leaking fluids. As you remove the layers of dirt, leaks such as oil, coolant, and brake fluid will become more obvious. Since you're in there, this would be a good time to fix any trouble spots that you didn't realize needed fixing. Repairing a brake master cylinder or power-steering pump is much easier in a clean engine compartment than in one coated in dirt and road grime. And who wants to go back and replace fluid-filled units such as these once you have the engine bay restored and presentable?"
Conclusion
"Originally, the assembly line workers had the benefit of working with each part individually, but with the proper coatings and attention to detail, the same look can be had even if you leave the engine where it belongs," says Eastwood. We found that to be true with this story. Though this engine compartment was detailed to the taste of its owner and not to please a concours judge, the overall effect is a clean, stock appearance that should impress cruise-night spectators and show-goers alike.
Eastwood now makes the correct Pontiac engine paint under PN 10022 Z, available in quarts.
REPRO PARTS TO IMPROVE VISUAL IMPACT Item Price Battery ${{{240}}} Battery cables (set of three) $73 Radiator hoses, clamps, and cap $77 Valve covers $50 Spark plug wires $75 Distributor cap $26