ENGINE MAKEOVER PROJECT

[Born_Fast]

Hi everyone,

with the end of winter not too far ahead, a new season of classic Mopar enjoyment is about to begin.

Last season i completely renewed the interior of my 70 Chally, installed new Flowmaster 40s for a mean sound and had the tranny rebuilt. Now the only "weakspot" left on her is the engine bay.

The 383 is running strong without any troubles, but its looks a far from showcar quality and i plan to improve that.

Here are some recent photos, so that you can make yourself a picture of what i got under the hood today.

[Born_Fast]

So first of all i'd like to tidy up the engine bay by replacing, repainting and relocating some parts.

Since the motor has no technical issues, i'd be happy if i don't have to pull it completely. (but would do it if required)

I already have some ideas of what i need to do, but i'm not an expert like a lot of you guys, so i'd love to yhear your thoughts as well.

So here's my plan so far:


Replace the yellow ignition cables with black ones and eventually wrap them with metal mesh tubes.

Replace the valve covers with those black, finned ones from Mopar Performance.

Eventually replace the airfilter with a black, finned one from Mopar Performance.

Reposition all wires and cables for a cleaner look.

Repaint the radiator.

Replace the alternator with a new one. It's too weak ayway.

Replace the cooler liquid tank and hose with new parts.



I trust all this should already make quite a difference. Are there any other important details i overlooked? I'm mainly looking for things that can be changed with reasonable effort and budget, but improve the looks significantly.

[Born_Fast]

When i'm done i hope the result looks somewhat like this, except for the blue cables (which i'd prefer in black or silver as well). 

[cudabob496]

Here's somethings i've done to spiff things up, improve performance.
Battery to trunk
Alum waterpump
Alum rad and electric fan (lose the mech fan)
lightweight alum brake master cyl
tuck coil between valve cover and carb
move the starter solenoid and all wiring under dash.
all electronics under dash
plug wires around back of engine, or under water pump
elim water bottle
elim power steering (saves power and 60 lbs)
Install cold air induction from ramairbox.com Good for 30+ hp!!
elim all kickdown linkage and go to manual valve body
elim water hoses to heater.
heat shield on master brake cylinder
run all headlight wiring outside engine compartment

Goal was to open hood, and see nothing but engine!

[Born_Fast]

Cudabob: That sounds awesome. If possible please post some pics.

What was your estimated investment of time and $$ to get all of this done?

[cudabob496]

Cudabob: That sounds awesome. If possible please post some pics.

What was your estimated investment of time and $$ to get all of this done?

Hi, ya, will try to post a picture. Its just stuff I've done over the
last 21 years I've had the car. A lot of the things I did cost very little,
but took a lot of tinkering time. Just a hobby!! Other stuff purchased
probably was in the $100 to $200 range.

[cudabob496]

Dang, my photos are over 300KB. Any suggestions to make them fit??
Bob

OK, got a photo to fit. Used Imageshack.com

[Jamiez]

I recommend an image hosting site like Photobucket or ImageShack.  There is a tutorial for Photobucket somewhere (Site Suggestions maybe?) but the interface recently updated and a lot of people don't like the new version.  For ImageShack, I know Topcat posted a video tutorial of it a while back.

[72cudamaan]

I would think carefully about any suggested changes before you do anything. If you don't understand
the implications of the change you might end up very unhappy (ie. remove power brakes etc.).I could add other things but this
 isn't a pissing match about one's opinions so I will leave it at that. Putting hoses and wiring (not plug wires) in
braided sleeves will improve looks tremendously for you. Nice valve covers and air cleaner show well also.

[cudabob496]

If you make a change, and don't like it, you can put it back the way it was.
oops, I did eliminate the power brakes (vacuum was sometimes inadequate), but I meant to say elinimating power
steering saved horsepower and 60 lbs.

[Tonker1]

I'll be interested to see how the engine bay looks once cleaned and with the ram air box!
Where did you route the air inlets through? the middle headlights? wheel wells?

[moparman82]

hey dreamcruiser, if you go with the mopar air cleaner, you gonna sell the k&n?

[cudabob496]

So first of all i'd like to tidy up the engine bay by replacing, repainting and relocating some parts.

Since the motor has no technical issues, i'd be happy if i don't have to pull it completely. (but would do it if required)

I already have some ideas of what i need to do, but i'm not an expert like a lot of you guys, so i'd love to yhear your thoughts as well.

So here's my plan so far:


Replace the yellow ignition cables with black ones and eventually wrap them with metal mesh tubes.

Replace the valve covers with those black, finned ones from Mopar Performance.

Eventually replace the airfilter with a black, finned one from Mopar Performance.

Reposition all wires and cables for a cleaner look.

Repaint the radiator.

Replace the alternator with a new one. It's too weak ayway.

Replace the cooler liquid tank and hose with new parts.



I trust all this should already make quite a difference. Are there any other important details i overlooked? I'm mainly looking for things that can be changed with reasonable effort and budget, but improve the looks significantly.

For repainting, get a gallon of water based enamel from you hardware store, matched to color you want, and after a good cleaning, just brush in on your engine firewal and inner fenders.  Looks great and costs you about $25