Pet Peeves of Looking at the Engine Compartments at Car Shows

[A383Wing]

While looking under the opened hoods of cars at shows, Mopar and other brands included, what are the things that jump out at you that makes you wonder how the owners of these cars tie their shoes in the morning?

A few of mine that I notice at most every car show are:

1) Those cheesy battery cable end clamps with the plate that has those two little 7/16" bolts for that strap that they put the stripped cable under

2) The use of a double groove alternator pulley on a non-AC car where only one belt is used and needed

3) People who leave those Gates or Goodyear radiator hose sticky brand tags on after the hose is installed

These are a few of mine.....what makes you shake your head when you look at other cars?

[Mytur Binsdirti]

I can overlook #2, but what I don't get are those who don't paint the to the left and right of the radiator flat black. For crissakes, a rattle can of flat black is only 6 bucks.

[charger Downunder]

Painted black engine bay

[Daytona R/T SE]

Those big, fat, round/oval shaped Chevy master cylinders in a Chrysler product.  

[Ghoste]

And the puny GM brake booster too.  Also hate the ribbed universal style rad hoses and the plastic convoluted tubing for stuffing the wiring in. Basically I just like a nice stock looking engine bay.

[HPP]

Ten different colors of major components.

[ODZKing]

I'm guilty of #1 myself. Only because I can't find a correct positive cable for the 67.

But what bothers me is chrome ... everything chrome. I have even seen a factory air cleaner chrome.   

[RallyeMike]

It depends on the car and the budget of the build. I can get by on the spray-bomb paint and cheap flex hoses if the rest of the car is a super budget project too. Most things are forgivable except when shoddy things are done to an otherwise nice car.  The one that I can't get over on any car is a cheap braided hose cover up kit that appears to have been installed by a monkey.

Other than that, there is no excuse for safety stuff:

1) Lack of battery hold-down.
2) Leaky coolant systems.
3) Wiring with frays, bad routing, crappy crimps.
4) Poor fuel routing with crappy hoses and connections.

Keep it moving, keep it from going up in flames, and protect people pets from lapping up your coolant.

[Troy]

And this is why I rarely go to shows and, if I do, why I don't open the hood. I drive my cars and I don't really care if the engine compartment looks 100% factory - as long as stuff works (and the factory stuff is usually what I fight with so I chuck it). The black out behind the radiator does drive me nuts if it's missing though. None of my cars have new paint so the original stuff may still be there and peeling. I have actually had judges track me down to get me to open the hood and I just tell them to pretend it's really bad and give me 0 points. I have no interest in dragging home a trophy and, if I'm at a show, it's either because I felt like supporting a charity or didn't feel like walking from the spectator parking.

Not to mention, pictures of cars with everything open kinda suck so I'd usually prefer things closed up.

I'm not a fan of chrome and braided hoses. It mostly looks cheap. But hey, not my car - not my money.

My dad drove these cars when new and hardly anything remained stock past the 1st summer. The only time non-original stuff looks out of place is on a "restored" car. A car that's half modified has no business looking stock under the hood.

Troy

[Ghoste]

Yes, yes I agree with all of that too Mike.  And I am guilty of some of my peeves, I have that disgusting little GM brake booster and master cylinder in my car right now (which is why I refuse to open the hood at shows).

[68X426]

The most obvious violation is a Chevy motor in a Mopar.  Hurts my eyes every time.

Then it's the chrome.  Some is ok.  Otherwise it hurts.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

I know the stock guys will hate me for this but I can't stand the half painted negative battery cable. I know that's how the factory did it but it looks half ass'd to me.

Also random color spark plug wires and heater hoses that don't match.

[MoparRocks]

I'd say sloppy looking wiring is my biggest pet peeve in general. I hate it on my vehicles so that should translate over. Wires should either be completely hidden from view whenever possible or at least run neatly and yes, contained in some form of covering. I prefer the braided covering to the plastic split tubing but that's not always practical as that stuff has to be put on prior to plugs and such being installed on the ends of the wire. I really can't stand wiring that's all wrapped up and bundled in electrical tape. It looks horrible, the tape always works loose and leaves some just kind of hanging there looking sloppy.

And yeah I'm not a huge fan of chrome either. A little bit here and there can look great, but like anything else, moderation is key.

[reworked]

I must be too easy lol....I look at the cars I like and if its not 100% I don't care.....If the owner is happy then I am happy...I hate when people judge cars like that, most that comment don't even have a car!.......who am I to judge 
Mine will never be 100% and I am very happy

[Indygenerallee]

too much junk.... as in mirrors, placards telling everyone how bad ass their car (or truck) is, a diecast version of their vehicle sitting on the air cleaner, stuffed animals, and any other non sense that does nothing but distract you from the ACTUAL vehicle!!

[Mike DC]

 
IMO the entire trend of worrying about how the engine bay looks has been taken too far in general.  It's one thing to have the sheetmetal & engine painted the right color, but it's another when people buff & polish everything, hide plumbing behind fenderwells, etc. 


It's nice to have a house with a clean bathroom.  But I wouldn't block access to the sink plumbing, and store all the under-cabinet products somewhere else, all for the sake of making the inside of that under-sink cabinet look better.  The room is supposed to look good with the cabinet shut.  The cabinet access is for utilitarian purposes. 

[ITSA426]

I don't know if I'm missing something but not all Mopars had the front of the core support painted flat black next to the radiators.  It was usually done on the lighter colors but not so much on the dark colors where it wouldn't stand out through the he grille.  Dark greens, and blues and black cars rarely got painted.  Rarely is not the same as never.  Ma Mopar didn't spend money, or time, foolishly on building these cars.

I don't like looking at screw type aftermarket radiator hose clamps or two different colors of heater hose, but some cars are on a tight budget.  Some cars are just kept roadworthy.  I'm just glad to see the on the road.

[303 Mopar]

I hate when people judge cars like that, most that comment don't even have a car!.......who am I to judge 
Mine will never be 100% and I am very happy

 People think they know everything, throwing out statistics or commenting on crap they have no idea what they are talking about.  I love to walk up on someone criticizing my car and say, "Lets go look at your car."  

[Old Moparz]

Engine compartments are no big deal to me but I'll look it over if the hood is up to see the time & effort they may have put into it. The only thing that jumps out at me is when someone goes through all that effort to clean it, add chrome, repaint things, detail the hell out of it, but then have a shitload of stainless threads sticking out from the hose clamps on a braided hose that looks like a wrinkled sweat sock that was left in the clothes dryer.  

[Chargen69]

is mine okay??

[RECHRGD]

Lovely, but does it run?  Where's the wiring?

[Chargen69]

actually yes it runs.  the wires are as hidden as we could get them.  if you look close enough, below the alt above the aircompressor, you should see a small bundle of black wires. we went with a Painless wire harness for my car and ran the biggest bundle under the inner fender and attached it high up on the j clips from the bolts that hold the fender to the inner fender.


I am getting a video up on youtube now, once it is up I'll post it

[Kern Dog]

I may cover some stuff others have already mentioned, but here goes:
While I am not a purist, I like a stock appearance on some cars. A full custom sorta gets a pass on some things if the car has a "theme" that sometimes deviates from stock.

B L A C K engine bays in a car that is not black.
B L A C K inside trunk or on the underbody when the car is any other color.
Plastic corrugated tubing for the wiring. Sorry, but I just do not like it.
Dirty or messy looking wiring harnesses.
UNblacked out radiator yokes on light colored cars. For awhile after mine was painted, I left it red there. In dark conditions, it looked fine. In flash photography, the grille got lost in the aluminum radiator, trans cooler and red radiator/core support. I painted mine black and really like the way the grille stands out, like it should.
Paint on the washers, nuts and threads of the front shocks (From painting the engine bay without unbolting the shocks.)
Cheap square parts store radiator overflow jugs.
Flex hoses for the radiator.
Mirrors on the undersides of the hood.
Murals on the air cleaner (Or engine cover like with newer HEMI cars)
Poorly executed ducting to dual snorkle air cleaners.
****************************************************************************************************************
Now, some stuff I like to see:

Cast aluminum valve covers of almost any brand.
Cast aluminum air cleaners.
Factory wrinkle finish air cleaners.
Aluminum radiators.
Aluminum engine parts left natural finish.
Aluminum engine parts painted to appear factory stock.
Well thought out aftermarket A/C systems with properly routed hoses and lines, as to NOT look cluttered.
Aftermarket EFI that appears like a carburetor.

[ws23rt]

is mine okay??

I like it.    well done.

[dual fours]

This one should trip your trigger. The year is 1978.

Blue velvet lined engine compartment is furnished with a 383 ci. Chrysler wedge which does the job rather nicely, especially considering that it's stuffed with goodies like twin Holley 600's a Weiand Tunnel Ram manifold, Cyclone headers and a Ramcharger cam.