Under hood dress up
Discussion
Picking up a blue 450 next Saturday It's had a full body off respray new screen new roof and new dash.
I would like to dress the engine bay up, it already has ally rad and braided brake lines.
So any pointers on polished swirl and header tanks also the chrome Chimaera top rad cover,
Blue hoses and HT Leads any info on where these can be supplied from greatly appreciated.
I would like to dress the engine bay up, it already has ally rad and braided brake lines.
So any pointers on polished swirl and header tanks also the chrome Chimaera top rad cover,
Blue hoses and HT Leads any info on where these can be supplied from greatly appreciated.
Hi Tony91
I think polishing the swirl and header tanks looks very good.
Silicon hoses are available at ACT Performance Products, my preference is black ones.
Blitzracing has the HT lead issue nailed on the head, don't use low resistance racing leads on a single coil ignition system, it can impair performance of the coil, I use bog standard Bosch leads.
Another nice addition is to replace the oil, water and petrol caps with alloy ones, Leven products at Prestige Performance or Racetech Direct supply these.
Finally if you've got PAS you can change the plastic reservoir to an alloy one, looks much better.
HTH
A
I think polishing the swirl and header tanks looks very good.
Silicon hoses are available at ACT Performance Products, my preference is black ones.
Blitzracing has the HT lead issue nailed on the head, don't use low resistance racing leads on a single coil ignition system, it can impair performance of the coil, I use bog standard Bosch leads.
Another nice addition is to replace the oil, water and petrol caps with alloy ones, Leven products at Prestige Performance or Racetech Direct supply these.
Finally if you've got PAS you can change the plastic reservoir to an alloy one, looks much better.
HTH
A
My 450
The exhausts rusting is the biggest eye sore, I got busy with a grinder, battery drill with various attachments then finally wet and dry to 2000 and lastly the excellent Solvol metal polish.
As it's going to rust again I have to get some scouring pads on them every now and again, then wash off, Solvol and it stays good for another 3-4 months.
I love opening the bonnet to a clean engine bay, rewarding and easy to see problems like leaks instantly.
This is all much easier when the cars in bits but once it's done it's pretty accessible to keep clean with a few rags etc.
I enjoy it as part of my personal ownership experience.
Over time it inevitably goes darker but hey
The exhausts rusting is the biggest eye sore, I got busy with a grinder, battery drill with various attachments then finally wet and dry to 2000 and lastly the excellent Solvol metal polish.
As it's going to rust again I have to get some scouring pads on them every now and again, then wash off, Solvol and it stays good for another 3-4 months.
I love opening the bonnet to a clean engine bay, rewarding and easy to see problems like leaks instantly.
This is all much easier when the cars in bits but once it's done it's pretty accessible to keep clean with a few rags etc.
I enjoy it as part of my personal ownership experience.
Over time it inevitably goes darker but hey
ClassiChimi said:
My 450
The exhausts rusting is the biggest eye sore, I got busy with a grinder, battery drill with various attachments then finally wet and dry to 2000 and lastly the excellent Solvol metal polish.
As it's going to rust again I have to get some scouring pads on them every now and again, then wash off, Solvol and it stays good for another 3-4 months.
I love opening the bonnet to a clean engine bay, rewarding and easy to see problems like leaks instantly.
This is all much easier when the cars in bits but once it's done it's pretty accessible to keep clean with a few rags etc.
I enjoy it as part of my personal ownership experience.
Over time it inevitably goes darker but hey
Looking good how are your fans fitted to the ally rad as the one I am buying has a black fan mounting plate that fits over the top and down the back of the ally rad.The exhausts rusting is the biggest eye sore, I got busy with a grinder, battery drill with various attachments then finally wet and dry to 2000 and lastly the excellent Solvol metal polish.
As it's going to rust again I have to get some scouring pads on them every now and again, then wash off, Solvol and it stays good for another 3-4 months.
I love opening the bonnet to a clean engine bay, rewarding and easy to see problems like leaks instantly.
This is all much easier when the cars in bits but once it's done it's pretty accessible to keep clean with a few rags etc.
I enjoy it as part of my personal ownership experience.
Over time it inevitably goes darker but hey
The original metal rads have the fan shrouds as yours, my alley rad was From Powers Performance and it looks like the same top mounting points as for the original shrouds, as you can see mine has an alley plate welded to the rear of rad and the two fans connect directly to that via riv nuts.
It's lighter
It's been about 4 odd years ago now and I can't remember how the originals fix to the shrouds, possibly nuts and bolts etc.
It's lighter
It's been about 4 odd years ago now and I can't remember how the originals fix to the shrouds, possibly nuts and bolts etc.
davetripletvr said:
Elbow grease and can't beat autosol as mentioned before
I would shop around for your silicon pipes as act can be expensive in my experiance, there are plenty of other suppliers out there
Do you find that the wrapped exhaust helps dissipate the heat from the engine bay but just sends it further along the pipe or does it just run cooler? When I had my Griff before my wife in the summer used to sit with her feet up on the seat as it was so hot in the footwell.Tony91 said:
davetripletvr said:
Elbow grease and can't beat autosol as mentioned before
I would shop around for your silicon pipes as act can be expensive in my experiance, there are plenty of other suppliers out there Do you find that the wrapped exhaust helps dissipate the heat from the engine bay but just sends it further along the pipe or does it just run cooler? When I had my Griff before my wife in the summer used to sit with her feet up on the seat as it was so hot in the footwell.Did you close the vent in the footwell ? I find that it helps, dont have a problem unlees stuck in traffic, mine has a turbo so more heat than normal and i have also had fitted a fan over-ride switch and uprated fans to deal with these issues
Tony (OP) I'd certainly recommend OBP (Optimum Balance Products) from Huntingdon/Cambridge for polished alloy tanks of all shapes & sizes. They make a fair range of stock tanks but will make pretty much anything to a drawing for what (i think)is a very reasonable price.
They made both my oil catch tanks and the supercharger traction fluid reservoir on mine in this picture. The standard coolant header & expansion tanks polish up nicely with a bit of time & effort.
They made both my oil catch tanks and the supercharger traction fluid reservoir on mine in this picture. The standard coolant header & expansion tanks polish up nicely with a bit of time & effort.
Edited by Richard 858 on Monday 28th November 19:22
Richard 858 said:
Tony (OP) I'd certainly recommend OBP (Optimum Balance Products) from Huntingdon/Cambridge for polished alloy tanks of all shapes & sizes. They make a fair range of stock tanks but will make pretty much anything to a drawing for what (i think)is a very reasonable price.
They made both my oil catch tanks and the supercharger traction fluid reservoir on mine in this picture. The standard coolant header & expansion tanks polish up nicely with a bit of time & effort.
Very nice where did you get your Braided hose covers and end pieces.They made both my oil catch tanks and the supercharger traction fluid reservoir on mine in this picture. The standard coolant header & expansion tanks polish up nicely with a bit of time & effort.
Edited by Richard 858 on Monday 28th November 19:22
Do the end pieces slide over the exsisting jubilee clips?
Thanks Tony
I got the braiding & hose finishers from Speedflow, the ends slide over the hose and braiding and then clamp up. Proper measurement of the overall diameter of the complete hose & braiding is needed as the ends have a fairly limited range of fitment.
Be careful when trimming the braiding, the strand ends are sharp! Tape the area to be cut first and a good strong pair of sharp scissors will do the trick.
I got the braiding & hose finishers from Speedflow, the ends slide over the hose and braiding and then clamp up. Proper measurement of the overall diameter of the complete hose & braiding is needed as the ends have a fairly limited range of fitment.
Be careful when trimming the braiding, the strand ends are sharp! Tape the area to be cut first and a good strong pair of sharp scissors will do the trick.
Richard 858 said:
Thanks Tony
I got the braiding & hose finishers from Speedflow, the ends slide over the hose and braiding and then clamp up. Proper measurement of the overall diameter of the complete hose & braiding is needed as the ends have a fairly limited range of fitment.
Be careful when trimming the braiding, the strand ends are sharp! Tape the area to be cut first and a good strong pair of sharp scissors will do the trick.
Thank you do the end clamps tighten up enough to make a good hose seal I see on their web site that they are 50psi max pressure.I got the braiding & hose finishers from Speedflow, the ends slide over the hose and braiding and then clamp up. Proper measurement of the overall diameter of the complete hose & braiding is needed as the ends have a fairly limited range of fitment.
Be careful when trimming the braiding, the strand ends are sharp! Tape the area to be cut first and a good strong pair of sharp scissors will do the trick.
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