The LS1 to LS7 Engine Bay idea thread

[Tenrocca]

Following some discussion on Pecals "finished" thread, I thought I would open a topic regarding dark side engine bays - what can be done to pretty them up?

This is what mine used to look like - it was OK for a start and worked, but was certainly busier than it needed to be:



Did a bit of a remodel last year while the car was at Phil's place for some mods. Just as valuable as the use of his shed, was being able to pick is brain. He has a great eye for this type of thing and I lost count of the number of times I sat there scratching my head for ages before he wandered up and said "why dont you do this..." and made it all seem so simple. I tried to hide everything I could, simplify what I could without redoing everything and spending a fortune, and use only 2 colours (black and silver).





Changes made:
* relocated the coils back to the top of the heads under the edelbrock covers
* painted the intake manifold, power steering pump, and water pump in wrinkle finish black
* Simplified the wiring harness where I could and covered in black braided sleeve
* Covered all the vacuum and breather hoses in black braid sleeve
* polished the TB - painfull
* Simplified the radiator hose setup (took out the inline fill point - just fills from an external tank - same style as P\S reservoir on opposite side)
* relocated the vapour canistor purge valve to the back of the left side head
Other minor stuff like and alloy knob for the dipstick and AN plugs in the heater hose outlets.

Still to come:

* Still have some silver an fittings Ill replace with black
* Black or silver billet fuel rails
* Redesign of the intake - really made a rod for my own back with the sloped radiator which limits ideas for intakes, but want to come up with something that is simple and efficient and suits. Still has MAF currently but that will change down the track.


So what have you done to turn your ladette into a lady?

cheers

[leroy17]

For me this is a good topic to get some ideas on where to improve/alter/hide etc all the little things that I want to get to.

I didnt build mine however I have done countless things to hide wiring, re-wired for shorter runs, removed the wiring for unused conectors. Simplified pulley set up, water pipe re-done, filler neck, hoses, relocate washer bottle etc etc.

But there are plenty of things which still need to be addressed. More wiring hiding, AN connectors in either silver or black, rocker covers, breather and overflow tanks powdercoated to match wheels, all allloy with brushed finish to be clear anodised, simplify rocker cover breathers, and much more.

Open to any suggestions.

Unfortunatly a recent household change puts all this on hold, lets just call it a work in progress.

[Terry1]

...great work guys! I really like the 'functional' look in both of your cars. I did black wrinkle finish for the 327 Chevy in my '23-T bucket back in '72. The simplicity of color contrasted with the milled highlights really snapped. No glitz and understated and not nearly as nice as either of yours but the look really worked well for the day. ...got the idea from the Mercury Marine engines.

[Merv and Sharon]

Nice looking motor Leigh. The only thing I don't like about the look of the Holden motors is the mass of induction 'tubes' on the top. It reminds me of the plenum on the Ford 302. Nice to get rid of them, if you can for a more traditional look.

[sambo]

Great timing, I just ordered the first of my engine bay improvements.



Some great ideas already shared. Where are those throttle bodies from Leigh? Andrew where did you source the black braided hose from?

Merv, it looks like Ford has taken GM's lead on those intake tubes with the new Coyote engine. I agree about the traditional look but at least the factory intake flows/performs well.

I'm about to order these brackets so the coils can be relocated to the back of the heads. Just need wiring harness extensions and custom ignition leads to complete the kit.

LS2 coil relocation bracket side mount LS3 Camaro NEW!! | eBay

[Tenrocca]

Leroy - that intake is awesome. I was looking the other night and noticed they also do a vertical stack for LS1\2. The vertical doesnt look as good though IMHO with the large void in the middle.
StackInjection.com.au - EFI Individual Throttle Body Manifolds for Chev, Holden, Ford V8 Engines

Did you drive your car with the stock intake, and can you compare how it drives?

Cheers.

[Merv and Sharon]

You're right Paul. The after market in throttle bodies is booming.

[Tenrocca]

Found this one a while back - commodore engine bay - a different take. You can detail the hell out of those coil packs - but they still look better out of sight IMHO:

[DaveW]

This is the direction i'm going in, photo shopped it from a scanned pic. its a Kinsler injection set up, the carbon fiber covers are Katech.


Another Kinsler set up


And another from Vette Mag


Harrop Manifold produced for HSV427 Monaro

[Rob. Smith]

I learnt a long time ago that wrinkle finish paint is nice to look at when it's new and clean. As it gets older you have to clean it with a soft toothbrush and lots of soap and running water. I did it for a while but the enthusiasm just seemed to run out when it was more fun to drive. This was on my old datsun 1600. The only wrinkle finish I have on the Cobra is on the steering wheel boss. I hope it will only get dusty ...rarely.

[PeterAllen]

Still very much a 'work in progress'.

Basically I'm trying to hide everything under a faux intake scoop. I am making an over-the-radiator (OTR) cold air intake for actual induction to the functioning throttle. I have relocated the coils to the inner guards (near the firewall) and pretty much out of sight when the bodywork is on.

I'm planning wrinkle black for the rocker covers and a flat black for the sheet covering the fuel rails. I will probably need to drill a few vent holes to allow the heat to escape the top of the motor.

[Modena]

Peter how is the GTO coming along?

[leroy17]

Originally Posted by Tenrocca

Leroy - that intake is awesome. I was looking the other night and noticed they also do a vertical stack for LS1\2. The vertical doesnt look as good though IMHO with the large void in the middle.
StackInjection.com.au - EFI Individual Throttle Body Manifolds for Chev, Holden, Ford V8 Engines

Did you drive your car with the stock intake, and can you compare how it drives?

Cheers.

Yeah thanks, I am happy with it. I agree that the vertical has too much gap in the middle, would also want to check height as the front tubes are very close to the bonet.

As far as driving goes, initially it was not great, spent alot of time making sure the cable, linkages and butterflys were spot on, now it is smooth, I feel that its very responsive and then there is a distinctive induction sound.

Thanks Merv, the more I look at before and after pics I realise how much stuff I have cleaned up..... still a long way to go though.

DaveW, those setups are just awesome, I remember seeing that Harrop 427 at the Bris motor show.... was just in awe.

[750hp]

Leigh, with all the Cobra and GT40 engine bays on display on the day you took those pics, I kept coming back to yours. The intake is obviously an attention grabber, but all of the other work to clean up the overall look has really paid off.

[PeterAllen]

Lokar dipsticks are a nice touch. With the dollar exchange at the moment you could probably import for half the price being asked on Oz eBay.

At the risk of yet another rocker cover photo.

[Mando]

Tenrocca, all I can say is "magic", what a great looking engine bay! Well done.
DaveW, I love the shadow black used on a couple of those engine bays and with the throttle bodies the look is unreal. I'm expecting your engine bay to look as good as some of those.

Regards

[Donunder]

This is a terrific thread, and one that will assume more relevance, at least here in Australia, as time goes on.
The LS motors lend themselves so readily to modern day Cobra application that this thread could become a valuable resource for all things LS -- installation, performance, engine bay detail, accessories etc.
I think the thread deserves "sticky" status to allow ready reference.

[Aussie Mike]

I figure most folks on here have seen mine on here at one time or another but here it is again.



Made a few changes since this pic. Revised the cooling system and put the filler neck and pressure cap directly on the water pump. Unfortunately I've got to pull it off and re weld it as there's a pinhole in the weld that weeps coolant.




This setup let me delete the header tank and just have a catch can. The catch can is plenty big enough so that no coolant will get dumped on the track in the case of a boil over.

Here's the belt arrangement. Nice and simple.



This is going to change a little with the addition of an under drive balancer and a power steering pump. The PS and water pump will most likely run of the 6 rib belt and the alternator will run off a separate 4 rib belt where the AC would normally go. I had this in mind when I first set up the mount, Note the long pulley on the alternator. I just don't think I will have enough belt wrap for the PS pump and crank pulleys with the current arrangement.

Cheers

[750hp]

I like the way you're taking your crankcase pressure out of the manifold valley, Mike.

[sambo]

Here's another take on things. Plenty more photos here.