first of all, thanks to schumacher off here for the inspiration, and useful links...

rght, ive been looking at my engine bay and wondering how i could liven it up. as above, i found a pic of schumachers car under the bonnet, and decided to ask about the ribbed piping he used to cover hoses/wires etc.

found a link on ebay, and £15 later, i had numerous metres of blue piping. i had three sizes, approx 5/16", 1/2" and 1" in diamter, all cut down the middle to wrap around the current hoses and wires. "nice one", i thought, save me the hassle of slicing my fingers to bits

so anyways, i got onto the process of giving various engine bay bits (mostly plastic and rubber hosing) a quick clean with a sponge and some mild warm water. i was on a budget here, so unfortunatley no posh polished bliss goodies. being mothers day i didnt have masses off time.

so heres a few before after shots (not 100% i know but remmeber this engine bays seen 137,000 miles)

before...





and after... (i used some black in a flash gel for the plastic/rubber bits for a little shine, and a little metal polish where safe and reachable)




bonnet before...



bonnet after... (again used black in a flash gel for vents and scoop tray - metal polish for the deflector thing underneath)



i then messed around with all the ribbed stuff i had, and this is what i ended up with...





this is as much as i thought was afe to do. im pretty happy, although i know its not a patch to the hardcore cleaners on here. looks more colourful and a little tidier now.

very cheap mod imho

opinions?

 

Looks loads better Andy. Fancy doing mine? Free coffee & Hobnobs

 

looks better geeza

 

Hmmm actually, u still got a link to that ribbed stuff ?

looks much better

Steve

 

looks like all the blue snakes have escaped from the big blue snake tank at chester zoo

 

Good job there mate, a lot better looking after a quick clean and a tidy up

I used this stuff on my reno 5 gt turbo many moons ago:
RIPSPEED SILVER & BLUE BRAIDED ENGINE HOSE COVER SET on eBay, also Fuel Caps Covers, Exterior Styling, Car Tuning Styling, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 04-Mar-08 21:31:24 GMT)

 

My neighbour has some of that ribbed stuff in his fishpond filter system only its black, think theres some on the back of our washing machine as well.
Personally I think it looks pants, but thats just my opinion so don't shoot me down!

 

To be honest (because you asked for opinions) i'm with scoobmeister. Your engine bay looks better because it's cleaner but your new tubes cheapen the look of the other pipes. Sorry.

 

fair enough, some positive and some negative.

appreciate your opinions thus far guys.

 

personally think sti stickers on a uk car looks pants, but thats my opinion so dont shoot me down!

 

Big improvement m8 (ribbed stuff not for me tho) I started to do mine last week, how many cuts did you get on ya hands I got loads
Oh and I knackered my Knock sensor by getting it wet as it had a crack in it so I cant use the car now till I get a new one.

I spent most of today compounding the car instead of driving it

Its a much whiter white now

 

to be honest, i got a couple of scrapes, and that was it. this plastic piping stuff was quite soft, but very springy, so when i opened it to wrap over the wires/hoses, it re-wraped back over straight away.

again, i expect some to like, some not too, but i personally believe it has improved the engine bay visually for a small sum of money.

 

You can’t have been polishing in the hard to reach areas then if you got very few cuts

Now I have the intercooler off its much easier to clean the engine bay anyway just cover the inlet and turbo first

 

i darent spray the engine incase i flood something.

hence why i used a bottle of water with a spray nozzle, and a washing up sponge thats tecnical enough for me. i wasnt after perfection, just a tidy up, and the more noticeable bits of grime/dirt.

 

Good idea I guess if I had done that I could use my car now

 

Sorry my opinion resulted in a sarcastic comment (They say it is the lowest form of wit) but it is just "MY" opinion on one aspect of what is otherwise a tidy car,

 

i know sorry. constructive critisism taken on board fella.

truce

 

To be fair M8 that was taking the pi**. The second line would have done on its own.

 

andy

Apologies if I join and say that the blue piping looks a bit cack mate. I know what you were trying to do and for the budget, but personally I think either leave well alone , spend some money on gunk and engine dresser (all for a few pounds at halfords) for a really clean engine. (see my notes on scoobypedia how to do it safely) OR use black ribbed piping to keep the colours down. Just my opinion of course and yes I have STI stickers on my car

 

damnit!

but seriosuly, i know its maybe a little marmite mod. wise, but its better than having gone and bought lexus lights

 

On a more posative note, I notice on your pics a few of the brackets and radiator top panel showing signs of rust, I got some of that plastic coat paint (About £10) and repainted mine and it gives a really top quality finish.

 

where from fella. i noticed it pretty bad today. was unsure what to use due to the heat form the engine? any particular shop/brand you would recommend?

 

Andy

If you have a look at the link here

Engine cleaning - ScoobyPedia you will see I have detailed exactly how you can safely clean and protect your engine for a few pounds. Gunk is about £3-4, the Gunk engine protector and dresser is about £4 as well. One power washer or hose with nozzle will do it, some tinfoil and some cardboard and one plastic bag. A load of old towels and you are done.

even though the bays have changed over the years, here is a rough idea of what you can achieve.

Before



after



As to the rust on the radiator fixings etc, yes the plasticote paint is good or if you know any friendly paint shops/enamellers. then ask about getting them all treated.

 

thanks for that chris, had a read and seems simple enough. although i concern myself with the thought of not covering things properly.

 

its not the covering which is the problem, its the bloody forgetting to take stuff off when you turn the engine on which was my downfall

I now check and double check every time I do the engine bay.
This is what happens to your induction kit if you forget

 

I have to say I'm not a fan of the blue piping myself but for a budget mod it's not too bad. And, for what it's worth, Swiss's notes on Scoboypedia were VERY helpful on the one occassion I've had enough motivation to clean my engine bay. Not that you can tell it's ever been cleaned now of course

 

thats ok, il just let your tyres down on thursday in hull and friday in sherburn-in-elmet.

 

I'll just tell Mrs o_brian-to-be about that picture on the other thread

 

she.... err.... erm....


































found out earlier

 

And you're still alive? A likely story