Thinkin' out loud

One of our members has been working on a cover for his engine and it has struck a chord for me.. so I'm curious if others think like I do..??..??

I see these "covers" and wonder, what's the point? Now kudos to our member for tackling a project he wants for his car and doing it himself. But personally.. I think that if you want a cover, just keep the hood down! It comes to the same thing!

I'd rather see the intake tubes and valve covers than see some shield hiding the powerplant.

Of course it's just my opinion and I mean no disrespect to anyone.. just don't understand why anyone wants to hide the motorvation?

Some people don't like the look of plastic and wires is what comes to mind to me. I think some covers look plain awesome, and others it is more of a distraction. On high dollar paint job cars, I always wondr how they remove all those fancy under hood panels without scratching everything too. :LOL:

I've typed 3 times a reply but I just can't say what I want to say!

So I'll settle for an old cliche'.. to each their own!

I know what ya mean. A cover would drive me nuts. What's that spot under the car or truck? Where's it coming from? Shoot, my cover won't let me see any of it. :LOL: That's just me though.

Heck, I won't put heat or A/C in... radio? whats that? I only want to listen to the exhaust sound.

To clean up my motors I ran the coil under the dash.. LOL..

Mike, I agree, and I don't see the point in the total covers. As for wires and tubes, selective placement and a couple of partial shields is about as far as I'd go. I like seeing an engine when the hood is open, and also want to SEE if I have an oil or coolant leak before there's a puddle. Every fuel stop is a time for a quick visual of the engine, IMO, but as you say, to each his own. If it trips your trigger then it's all that needs to be said.

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Originally Posted by rspears

I like seeing an engine when the hood is open, and also want to SEE if I have an oil or coolant leak before there's a puddle.

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Roger, that's the same reason that I don't have hood side panels on my '34. I had them for my '30 Tudor, but they were only on the car once. :cool:

No disrespect to anyone, and to each his own, etc, etc, but IMO the "cover crap" was an OEM ploy to make it too intimidating for the normal gearhead to touch his engine, trying to force him to take it to the dealer for everything but checking the oil or tire pressure. For some reason guys like Foose picked it up, and now the "Enterprise" look is the norm. Give me a set of polished valve covers, a clean intake and visible bolts.

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Originally Posted by rspears

Mike, I agree, and I don't see the point in the total covers. As for wires and tubes, selective placement and a couple of partial shields is about as far as I'd go. I like seeing an engine when the hood is open, and also want to SEE if I have an oil or coolant leak before there's a puddle. Every fuel stop is a time for a quick visual of the engine, IMO, but as you say, to each his own. If it trips your trigger then it's all that needs to be said.

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Yep.
What he said.
That just sums it up as far as I'm concerned.
End of story.

Hum, raise the hood and what do I want to see?
lump of painted plastic or a real motor?
Hard decision for a motorhead to make? Nah.

Personally, I like to see "the works". To me, there is nothing so interesting as a nicely done engine, multiple carbs, or neat and clean plug wiring, or any wiring for that matter. I like to see the detail and craftsmanship that some guys put into their engines - along with the rest of the cars workings - seema a shame to go and cover it all up if it's neat and well done. Of course, if it's a mess, or something like that, well, maybe it is better to cover it up.

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I blame those fugly LS engines... nobody felt the need to cover an engine 'till they showed their ugly faces :whacked:

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I'm not a "hoods up" kinda guy where ever we rod nuts gather. It's just never been my thing, although I must admit the hoodless '30 roadster used it's engine bay to draw in most admirers. The rest of the cars I usually only lift the hood if an inquisitive observer asks. But I think there's probably more to this than our perspective in the street rod/hot rod ranks.

When I got my '05 Mustang one of the things that annoyed me was how absolutely disheveled the engine compartment looked with all the wires and hoses and plastic boxes that seemed to be just thrown under that hood like childs toys in a box. I must not have been alone in my angst. Over the subsequent decade the Ford people put some effort into cleaning up the appearance to the point that the under hood of the '13 'Stang has a lot of that stuff hidden or dolled up in appearance. For the 80 or so percent of people out there who see their automobile, factory or personally modified, as just another appliance in their life none of that matters. It's those other 20ish percent that care to some degree or other and have a personal stake in their automobile being an extension of their personality. I could go off on a marketing riff here, but suffice to say, those who care about that kind of stuff are a lucrative market segment.

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

......It's those other 20ish percent that care to some degree or other and have a personal stake in their automobile being an extension of their personality. I could go off on a marketing riff here, but suffice to say, those who care about that kind of stuff are a lucrative market segment.

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Summit has a series of YouTube infomercials that are really quite well done, and one deals with intake changes for the LS series engines, everything from carbs w/ignition module to Victor Jr EFI that puts the throttle body top center to mimic a carb look but retain all of the EFI features. A lucrative market segment, indeed.

But...but....engine covers let people do crappy wiring jobs where their wires are not tied, hoses are
looped poorly, and there is gasoline drool on the nice manifold surface. Easier to clean an engine cover
than it is to clean an engine. Even though I have a couple of LS motors, I think they are UGLY. The coils
are the main objection but the plug wire length is very important to the computer so there isnt a lot of
options....there is now a coil bracket off the motor mount that is available that keeps the plug wire
length correct. I think if you want/like/need a cover, that is OK. IF you have a race type car, a cover
might not be appropriate. There are some nice looking covers and there are some stinkers.

I'm with Bobbie P......why raise the hood? The car photographs much better with a closed hood
and the race car races better with a closed hood.

I guess I could build a case for certain kinds of engine covers either way. Like Uncle Bob, I'm not a big fan of someone leaving the hood up for the entire car show, especially if I'm snapping pics. While I'm interested in seeing what's under the hood, I also wanna see the car as it would be driving down the street. Same goes for open doors & deck lids. Leave 'em open for a few minutes then close 'em for a while....but that's just me.

I definitely appreciate a clean, well-designed and attractive engine compartment though, whether that included some cover, partial cover or not. Here's a couple of modern power plants in old cars I saw Saturday. No matter how it's done, I'd be happy to have one of these under my hood!!:3dSMILE::3dSMILE:
Attachment 63030Attachment 63031Attachment 63032Attachment 63033Attachment 63029

The first two pics are my kind of engine cover Randy. :LOL:

This is a subject that made me choose my latest engine, I have to admit to each their own and I have seen some engine covers I do like (saw one out of 'glass made out of the owners girlfriends rear that had been cast) I went to a NSRA show (past 5 years) where a car had been built in the mid 80's and had a crossfire injected smallblock in it, at the time it was cutting edge but had been old news for the past 30 years long outdated, I was planning on a LS motor but looks where a concern, heck the things a streetrod who doesn't want a cool motor but in 5 years the latest could be the crossfire injection deal, outdated, there is always something "newer" and faster etc. Even though my streetrod is a Wildrod modernized 37 ford I went backwards and dropped in a early hemi, like a flatty, it was cool, and still is and probably always will be, right there with all the legendary powerplants, call it outdated or whatever but it still unique and killer in looks in my opinion (besides being sort of mysterious to even some gearheads). I just believe the beauty of simplicity and the modern motors aren't always the most simplistic, be it any brand (I am not partial) As far as the engine covers, I think they are seeking the simplicity and cleanliness the older powerplants have without a cover, so instead of coil packs, sensors and wires I guess a well made engine cover can look better, yeah I know they are powerful, but my drag racing days are few & far between anymore (otherwise the hemi would get blown)
On a seperate note a lot of shows specify in the entry the engine must be exposed for judging and the hood must be raised. Matthyj

In the case of a new LS3 Chevy engine like mine, there are eight ignition coils and a whole lot of wiring on top of the engine, that looks really ugly, IMO. The same engine in a Corvette, Camaro or Cadillac has a complete engine cover on it, from the factory. I tried to use a Cadillac cover, but it really didn't fit well, so I chose to try making my own. I've slowly trimmed some material off each side, so you can see the polished stainless exhaust manifolds and the spark plug wires, but that's about it. There's nothing else pretty to look at.

To get an LS motor in my car and make it serviceable, I'm using all stock GM parts, except for the alternator mount. In my car, a high mount alternator is the only choice. Power steering and AC compressor take up the other open spots. Due to the short length between the firewall and radiator, I'm also forced to use an intake snorkel that sits right over the top of the intake manifold - it's ugly, but there's no other choice. That snorkel has to be supported and the engine cover mounting serves double duty to support the snorkel.

With no engine cover, an LS3 is not pretty.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9087c995.jpg


http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psddb868ee.jpg

Here's a stock LS3 for a Cadillac CTS. Unfortunately, the low mount alternator won't fit any car with a Mustang style steering rack. Corvette accessory drives don't work in most old cars, due to the wide placement of the alternator.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psa2c266f8.gif

While covering up the ugly is an option, there are also ways to beautify a LS platform engine, and even to "disguise" the modern EFI to some extent. The biggest wart is those coil packs atop the rocker covers, but they can be remote mounted with a harness extension, and the harness can be cleaned up to move the coil pack connector back to the firewall just by cutting tape. Coil packs under the dash sound good to me, but I know some move them to the wheel well with some custom splash shields. The injector wiring can be cleaned up too, and just getting rid of the fugly spiral wrap plastic is a good first step. An aftermarket intake can deal with the front mount throttle body, and there are a bunch of rocker cover options out there now, with more coming weekly. A cover for the ugly is OK if that's what you like, but it's not the only way to skin the LS cat.

Well most of the guys above have already said what my thoughts are on engine covers and the later model UGLIES . For me, hot rods have carburettors and the more,the better. Fuel injection has eight induction tubes sticking up through the bonnet or like Tommy Ivo's T. As for engines , I'm stuck in the 60's where hemi's, nailheads, Caddies, flatheads and the odd Chevy smallblock were the engine of choice. And of course, the luck few who got their hands on a 348 or 409 cu.in. Chevy to power their cars. As for those who use a late model engine in a T Bucket just leaves me cold...

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Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

Well most of the guys above have already said what my thoughts are on engine covers and the later model UGLIES . For me, hot rods have carburettors and the more,the better. Fuel injection has eight induction tubes sticking up through the bonnet or like Tommy Ivo's T. As for engines , I'm stuck in the 60's where hemi's, nailheads, Caddies, flatheads and the odd Chevy smallblock were the engine of choice. And of course, the luck few who got their hands on a 348 or 409 cu.in. Chevy to power their cars. As for those who use a late model engine in a T Bucket just leaves me cold...

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I don't agree with that last part. Saw a righteous '32 in New Plymouth, NZ running a Lexus V8. Done right the modern engine can be cleaned up and look awesome. I recall a Ford 4.6 Mod Motor in a '56 F100 that had everyone scratching their heads - no coil packs visible, rocker covers about a mile wide, and everything clean and pristine. Late model engines can be super cool, done right.

On my Indian motorcycle, the coil is hidden by a finned, chrome cover.

Maybe that's the ticket for all the coil packs.

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Originally Posted by rspears

I don't agree with that last part. Saw a righteous '32 in New Plymouth, NZ running a Lexus V8. Done right the modern engine can be cleaned up and look awesome. I recall a Ford 4.6 Mod Motor in a '56 F100 that had everyone scratching their heads - no coil packs visible, rocker covers about a mile wide, and everything clean and pristine. Late model engines can be super cool, done right.

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Not sure if this is the one you're referring to, Roger but here's the 32 Ford that Lexus built using the parts they had laying around.....:D:D Didn't leave me cold at all!! :LOL::LOL::LOL:

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/...G_2983_1_1.jpg

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/...G_2984_1_1.jpg

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/...G_2982_1_1.jpg

That one's very nice, Randy, but this is the one that I recalled from the trip down south. It was at the NSRA NZ Show & Shine.

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Originally Posted by rspears

That one's very nice, Randy, but this is the one that I recalled from the trip down south. It was at the NSRA NZ Show & Shine.

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Yeah, Roger, this one looks more "traditionally" built whereas the other one has Lexus engineers fingerprints all over it! :LOL::LOL: Either way, they both turned out pretty nice.

LOL, You guys crack me up! We chop up our cars, put all kinds of after market things on um to the point where the only thing that is kind of original is the body. And we are concerned about an engine cover? Sorry I had to spray a clear coat on this! LOL Press on...

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Originally Posted by M.T.

LOL, You guys crack me up! We chop up our cars, put all kinds of after market things on um to the point where the only thing that is kind of original is the body. And we are concerned about an engine cover? Sorry I had to spray a clear coat on this! LOL Press on...

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Just wait until we get on the subject of seats.....:HMMM::rolleyes::LOL::LOL::LOL:

Boy you know how to shut me up real quick dont ya! LOL

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Originally Posted by M.T.

Boy you know how to shut me up real quick dont ya! LOL

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Just kiddin' Bob, jus' kiddin!

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Originally Posted by rspears

Just kiddin' Bob, jus' kiddin!

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Oh, I know... It's all good.