Painting Without Removing Engine

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1969VADart

1969VADart

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So as I finally start the tear down of my car, I have a question about painting my car. While I can disassemble most of the exterior and interior of the car, I don't really have the facilities and tools to do a full engine removal. I was wondering if anyone has had their car painted, including the engine bay (and only as the actual car color, not black) as part of their project? As an aside, I am also planning on leaving the glass in as well since the seals seem to be in very good shape. This car is meant to be a fun driver that looks good, but it is not meant to be a show winner. Any thoughts on painting without removing the engine would be appreciated.
 
It can be done but its a pain.Remove everything you can from the engine bay.Radiator,wiring,washer bottle,wiper motor etc.I did it one time and the engine bay looked better than most cars I saw at the big car shows.I took everthing I could off the motor and painted it first.Then I wrapped the motor with plastic and a sheet.Then I removed everything I possibly could from the engine bay and primered and painted it.
 
Power wash the engine compartment using oven cleaner to remove all the grease.
Remove the wiring harness, engine accessories, radiator etc, anything you can un-bolt easy.
Hand sand everything, shoot with a small detail gun.
I think you can get decent results with careful tapeing, but it will end up being about 10x the work with the engine in the car.
 
Unless you tear down the engine (intake & heads) it may be difficult to paint the whole firewall. Tear the engine down to a block, wrap it in plastic/tarp, and then paint and reassemble.

it may be best to rent an engine lift if you have to and pull the engine to do it right.
 
68383GTS said:
It can be done but its a pain.Remove everything you can from the engine bay.Radiator,wiring,washer bottle,wiper motor etc.I did it one time and the engine bay looked better than most cars I saw at the big car shows.I took everthing I could off the motor and painted it first.Then I wrapped the motor with plastic and a sheet.Then I removed everything I possibly could from the engine bay and primered and painted it.
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You type faster than me.
I bet I have 40hrs plus in just prepping the engine compartment in my duster, with the motor out, it is not an easy task but can be done.
 
what engine do you have in the car?
 
Darren,

The car has the original 318 bottom end (bored to 340) with 2.02 heads off of a 360, Mopar intake, Eddy carb and other extras. Car also has all of the AC related stuff under the hood. I have included the best pic I currently have of the complete engine.



Darren said:
what engine do you have in the car?
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As others have pointed out, painting the engine compartment with the engine in is a PITA. The guy who painted my Demon did not have a mule to move an inert car around his lot, so I had to bring the car to him in running order.

I mixed up a batch of paint and shot the engine compartment while the engine was out. In the picture below, I focused my effort on the area inside the red line, closest to the engine where runs and other paint flaws are more prevalent. I installed the engine from underneath and was able to give my painter what he needed.

My painter did the area outside the red line where paint was less likely to be flawed. I'm suggesting that the engine compartment be cleaned, cleared, and masked along the red line and paint to the outside of that. Keep some paint materials in reserve for such time that you can spray the remainder of the engine compartment.
 

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I originally spray bombed much of my bay with the engine in. Did a lot of degreasing, scrubbing and pressure washing first. I found a Rustoleum color that was very close, but not metallic. My intention was to mainly get the areas inside where 2Darts red line is. Then shoot the correct color beyond that. Rustoleum cans spray at any angle, which helped a lot. I had it looking pretty good that way, Behind the motor and lower part of the right inner fender (slant) are really tight, but then you don't see those areas much anyway.... You can get correct colors in spray cans, but I don't know if they spray upside down. I did end up re-shooting it this past summer with correct color while I had the motor out.
 
Another thought... your bay looks like it is in really good shape. You might be able to just clean and polish it if you are staying with that color. I recall someone posting pics of an original paint bay that looked like it had fresh paint after they detailed it. Just don't use any wax if you think you might still paint it...
 
Do it right and pull the engine. I also suggest taking the K frame / front end out too and getting that stuff cleaned up / painted. You will regret it if you don't.
 
airwoofer said:
Do it right and pull the engine. I also suggest taking the K frame / front end out too and getting that stuff cleaned up / painted. You will regret it if you don't.
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X2

One of my pet peeves is seeing an engine compartment where the color was hosed on over the brake lines, wires, hoses, upper shock mounts, etc. With the engine out, it really isn't much more work to remove (unbolt) everything down to the sheet metal. And all vintage Mopars had body-colored engine compartments. It doesn't bother me to see more customized cars with contrasting engine bays, but a "restored" car just looks more correct with body-colored metal. It's a Mopar thing.

Just my 2 cents, everybody is free to do what they want.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Facilities = Driveway.
Tools = $50 craigslist cherry picker. Get to it.
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This thought has crossed my mind, but until the weather gets out of the single digits around here, the driveway option is not happening. I may have a couple of possibilities for engine removal, but I haven't been able to put that completely together yet. I want to take the motor out to paint so that I know it will look good (and right), but I was trying to get some opinions on the possibilities. Thanks.
 
Off subject here, but who did the engine? Highly doubt a 318 was bored to 4.04 and 360s never came w 2.02 valves. Although, bigger valves can be put into 360 heads.
 
I have done it many times, if you take your time cleaning, masking & take every thing off that you can it will turn out fine good luck
 
When I had my car painted we did not paint the engine bay because, like someone else noted, my painter didn't want the hassle of pushing it around. So I tried to paint it later with the engine in the car.....Mistake. I just pulled the motor last month and am in the midst of cleaning, sanding, and prepping for paint. I totally regret not doing it right the first time. Just like anything else in life, you'll only get out of it what you put into it!!
 
swinger340 said:
Off subject here, but who did the engine? Highly doubt a 318 was bored to 4.04 and 360s never came w 2.02 valves. Although, bigger valves can be put into 360 heads.
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I will admit that I have not seen any proof of the specs, but the guy I bought it from said the bottom end had been redone to 340. He also said that it had 2.02 heads, but I have not looked at the casting numbers to confirm. And I was pretty certain he told me the heads came off of a 360 from a mid-70's car I believe. It also has a Mopar cam in it. Don't know what grind but it definitely does not idle like a stock engine. And the car runs like a scalded ape (not that that is any way to judge an engine).
 
I did my engine bay with a brush, thinner, oil based paints, etc... came out ok, and not black.

2014-01-25145945_zpsaf5bd49a.jpg


Also for the inside rails, I sanded the inner part of the fender with 600grit and then brushed a clear coat over it, cleaned with #0000 steel wool, and then polished. It looks almost identical to the newer paint outside the car.

2014-01-25140727_zpsd8784423.jpg


2014-01-25145900_zpsb555b2f9.jpg


Maybe you can do the underside by hand, and the harder to reach areas, then shoot the rest.
 
swinger340 said:
Off subject here, but who did the engine? Highly doubt a 318 was bored to 4.04 and 360s never came w 2.02 valves. Although, bigger valves can be put into 360 heads.
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To be honest, I am not absolutely certain what is under the hood. The bottom end and the cam are the biggest question marks. The seller emphasized the 2.02 heads and the cam more than anything (and I feel pretty certain the cam was changed). I guess he was never clear what was really done to the bottom end other than saying it had been redone. I never thought about a bore to 340 not being possible. The compression is fine in the car--around 10:1. So I guess I really don't know what the heck I have, but it is damn sure fun to drive, particularly the higher into the RPM range it goes.
 
Serj22 said:
I did my engine bay with a brush, thinner, oil based paints, etc... came out ok, and not black.

Also for the inside rails, I sanded the inner part of the fender with 600grit and then brushed a clear coat over it, cleaned with #0000 steel wool, and then polished. It looks almost identical to the newer paint outside the car.

Maybe you can do the underside by hand, and the harder to reach areas, then shoot the rest.
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What color is your car? It looks a lot like mine from your pictures. Mine is T5 Copper/Bronze. I was originally thinking about painting my car some form of bright orange since the rest is going to be black. But now I am leaning towards going back to the stock color.
 
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