Truck:1982 F150 302, Headers, aftermarket intake/carb,(everything else original)

I'm looking to dress up my engine bay. Some of the things i'm interested in is accessory bolt kits, Accessory bracket kits, and painting certain parts.

Not sure what to paint everything... I was thinking High-gloss Black

Any pictures?

Any Ideas?

 

This is just going to be my own opinion. Yours may be different, or not, so..


Engine: Dark Ford blue looks good in almost all engine bays. Body color on engines also look good, but it can easily be overdone. Don't be afraid to keep your stock valve covers. Clean them up good with a nice coat of paint gives them a nice, clean look.

Chrome looks cheap, I don't like it on engines. Depending on your budget, polished stainless or aluminum looks good. For the second part, don't over-do the polished parts. I know of a few cars around here that have chrome or polished EVERYTHING in the engine bay and it looks like crap. My opinion, of course. A little bit here and there just to offset the paint and accessories looks good. Just a dab will do.

Those bolt kits, they have their place, and most of the time they just don't look right. Valve covers painted Ford Blue need matching bolts. Same as intake. Now if you go with a different engine color with polished valve covers, stainless bolts look good, then maybe on the intake to offset them (only if the intake is raw aluminum).


Colored wire loom: stay away from it. It's made in black for a reason.


Keep bright colors off the engine (white, fluorescences, etc..), they don't belong there (yellow dipstick handles are O.K. since it's factory and for locating).

Use a good high-temp paint on the headers so it doesn't burn off, I hate rusty headers.

Clean up any rats nests of wires, hoses, etc. Neat and organized, hiding what you can.

Pick a theme and stick with it, don't change half-way through.

Like Chip Foose says, think of the engine bay as a jewelry box, open it up to discover the jewel (engine).

What not to do:


Two nice, clean bays: