So I cleaned the engine last week and it looks MUCH better. When I bought this car, it was really in rough condition. I have been spending a lot of time detailing it whenever possible and maintainig it. The car had no shine whatsoever, and it felt like sandpaper to the touch. It was so bad I was considering just repainting the car! But my friend and I decided to get some industrial buffing machines from the dealership he works at and attack my car. Well, the work revealed a beautiful charcoal metallic paint and restored a shine you can use to pick your teeth with. Problem is, the rear spoiler is faded beyond all repair, not to mention it already separated from the decklid on both sides.

Before pic. (Day I picked it up)

After pic. (notice paint shine, and no side moldings)


I want to get a new spoiler, but I want to stay close to stock. Is it worth it to get the WW spoiler? I think it looks nice, but I havent heard any opinions on it.

 

Back to the subject at hand though...Engine bay...
Here is a before pic...
http://images.cardomain.com/installs...235_7_full.jpg

Here is an after pic (kind of too far away though)
http://images.cardomain.com/installs...235_8_full.jpg

It looks better now...I never thought I could get the valve cover to shine like that again.

My questions are...What is the best way to clean the intake manifold? I've tried to scrape at it with a brass wire brush but that doesn't seem to get me far especially in the corners. I want to replace all the visible nuts and bolts that are in and around the engine. I want to either put new ones, or sand the old ones down and paint them...Is this a good idea? Im afraid that some of them may be rusted underneath and I might break the heads. I tried removing the radiator supports to sand and repaint, I got one off fine, but the head from the other bold snapped off. Now I need to find a way to get the stud out. I aslo had a mess of power steering fluid when my hose went bad. The fluid spilled on the belts, should I replace the belts right away?

Here are the pics I took the day I brought the car home...

Let me know what you guys think about my progress so far....I still have a VERY long way to go!
|C

 

dirty engine? Did you drive that thing through the desert or something? Car is looking damn good so far

 

Big progress dude. Lookin' good

 

Clark... the "new hotness" is coming along fine. And it's charcoal metallic, which is ALWAYS a plus... (don't believe me?? Check THIS out!!----> http://maxima.cardomain.com/id/kappaalphapsi

Kinda nostalgic, actually...

To answer your intake question, I used a Brillo pad and some elbow grease. It was rough going, but I think I did a pretty decent job.

I've probably got a long way to go 'til I get the engine bay the way I envision it. But it'll be there eventually!

Replacing the nuts and stuff seems to be a novel idea. Why didn't I think of that??

 

Daboxse looking good, Very nice progress and the car looks very clean...

 

it looks great. keep up the good work. thats one of my favorite colors. btw I took a power washer(high power one my uncle uses to strip the stain off decks) and some degreaser and man what a diff, the paint and the metal all look brand new. to bad now its got sand paper dust on and stuff from the bodyshop on it lol, you may want to consider renting one. I also took of my wheels and did the wheel
wells.

 

damn clark. looks real nice. the wheels make such a huge difference on the car. i need some badly.

 

N34, you pickin up your car today????? Dabox looks good, I think the best thing and feeling is bringing shine back to your VE's paint. Good work and yeah what a difference.

 

hey jason when you powerwashed your engine did you have to cover or take off anything electrical or did you leave it alone? thx

 

na man, its only been there a week I have like 3-4 more weeks of waiting, and my hood still hasnt come.

maximum I just covered the alternator and stayed away from everything else electricle I could after I did it I just let it sit in the sun for a few hours and then I took a blow dryer to all the elcetrical stuff that had gotten wet.

 

my max looks so much better after i gave it the Meguirs deep clean, polish and wax. i still must post pics so that you guys can see my new and improved max. it was a good feeling seeing my max shine in my driveway. i brought it back to life

Laly

 

Looks good Clark! You're getting there again. Still a damn shame you had to start over to begin with though.

Jason, how did you fill in the center of your rear deck? I'd love to do that to mine if the motivation ever strikes me. I love the look of that. Especially on your red car. Prolly wouldn't be as striking on mine.

 

hey guys i have a question
whats the best way to go about getting the shine back to my car? is it hard to use a buffer on it? i will buy one if it will help. And then i heard stories on that meguiars kit and the Clay bar....
so can someone tell me what the best way would be?
also i wanna clean my engine bay how should i got about doing this with out messing anything up?
thanks for taking your time to respond

 

Looks nice, I wish I could make my engine look that nice (no time ).

 

Adobe lol Its in the shop now being repainted and Im having the stillen kit installed and the trunk and antenna shaved and CF hood, should be done in a couple of weeks

 

Don't play with my emotions like that man. I thought you actually did it. Boo!

 

It will look just like that in a week or two ,I am doing it, Im going to drop some stuff off at the body shop on sat so Im gonna take some pics, they might even be done with the trunk by now.

 

Damn Clark, looking outstanding. I wish my 3rd gen would look this good when I had it... lol.. I'm impressed, especially with that engine bay clean up... I hope mine never looks like yours did in the before picture.

Keep up the great work!

-Pat