Thread: Thinkin' out loud

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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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

.

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

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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.

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.

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.