Engine Compartment

Looking to spruce up the engine compartment. Right now it is very standard. Bought new Chrome air cleaners, cleaned up a bunch of the parts with just some elbow grease and now want to see about making it look pretty. Looking for things like a Chrome Oil Filler cap, etc. I am looking on Jbugs and seems like they have a ton of stuff, but specifically the oil filler cap...it says it fits all EMPI Filler tubes with threads and most other aluminum oil fillers tubes. How would I know what type of oil filler tube I have? I know it is threaded and that is about it. Again - just looking to put some life into the back end...any suggestions greatly appreciate.

Chromed bits and bobs seem to have become relegated to the Dune Buggy crowd. For the Speedsters, Euro-look VW's, anything with some horsepower within, it's all billet and AN fittings right now. Of course, a nicely painted/detailed/stickered engine mimicking the original 356 ALWAYS gets a seat at the table.

In order to really give you your answer, you'll have to post or link to a pic of your engine as it is right now.

Luck,

TC

Todd mine was a custom build by Roland Rascon. I specified all the fine details.

Beautiful........With that motor, you should scoot along nicely!

Damn Marty!

EMPI and chrome = near weekly polishing to keep rust away. Powder coating tins and stainless steel button head or cap screws (replacing cylinder tin screws) looks sharp. If tins are rusty/banged up try Rusto hammer paint. Carbs, alum intakes and the generator/alternator can be polished (but there is repolishing maintenance).

Getting ready to spruce up my comp with this little number....

Marty / Kevin... what are the specs for those beauties?

Kevin I am in Chula Vista and would like to check out your ride. I am working on a rebuild right now and am looking for all the tips I can get. Let me know if your up to it sometime.

Interestingly, Marty has what I believe to be an EMPI hex bar linkage that Roland installed, rather than the standard issue CB Performance that Pat Downs uses (and a lot of us have, too).

I got an up-close-and-personal look at the EMPI linkage on Peter's car, and it has a ball-end on the hex bar that's maybe 3 times the size of the CB performance version. Can't honestly say which one is better or will wear out sooner with the lateral stresses on the ball/socket interface, just noting the difference. They BOTH work great when new, just don't forget to lube them a couple of times each season to make them last and stay tight and in adjustment. The bigger socket on the EMPI carb base casting is perfect for adding a small grease nipple to make it easier.

I'll try to dig out specs but I think Gordon is correct about my linkage. It was heavy duty and worked flawless.

Marty,do those valve covers leak? Did you have to do any work to get those to seal properly? I have a similar set and the finish at the gasket surface is not very good,so I am hesiatnt to install them until I clean this up.

Thomas, by noon tomorrow I hope to have installed the Type IV version of the same cast valve covers. Danny Piperato (whom I trust implicitly) urged me to use contact cement for the gasket-to-aluminum surface, and to trail a fingertip's worth of grease over the mating surface.

I'll report back ...

I can ask Roland what gasket to use. The Spyder guys use them more than Speedsters because they are great for show. I had no problems and put over 3000 miles on them. Come to think of it I never had spots anywhere with this engine. But, as I pause, the guy I sold it to put some fancy gaskets on an had a little problem. Larry Jowdy would know. I hope he sees this post.

"The Spyder guys use them more than Speedsters because they are great for show."

Yeah, like someone could ever see the valve covers on a Speedster.

But then, one day I caught TC peeking at mine:

Cory, I thought yours got installed at Carlisle.

There are two makers of these covers and the gasket surface is a little different for each.

I have a Type 1 set. My cylinder heads have some projections on the top side that I think the covers were hitting. I ground away the edge on the covers in two places and installed silicone gaskets stuck on with heat resistant RTV. I squeezed them in a vise overnight

I haven't started the car since to see if the leak was cured, maybe tomorrow.

I've got three motors to play with a 2110 (currently in) a 2276 and a 2170 turbo soon to go in. If you want more details let me know. I build all my own motors and have done so for about 20 years now....

Mat, I'm totaly up for it... On the 10th I'm starting my suspension/ 915 5 speed trans upgrade, and your more then welcome to drop by the shop and bench-race with me.....

Todd--some nice looking ideas here for you! The SOC'ers always come through!

There is available, carbon fiber sheets which I used to face the firewall of my Speedster ---not flashey but sort of "industrial high tech" looking. A nice appearance that shows off the engine very well.

It's .018" thick rather than the commonly-available .010". Easy to work with and easy to clean. Not cheap, but reasonably priced.
See pictures of this material at:

http://dragonplate.com/ecart/categories.asp?cID=12

Michael, I was going to, but the hardware kit was incomplete. When I got the set, it was all there. I'm getting old or something.
Pip sent me a set of copper crush washers and some hex-head caps, so I'm back in business.

... And, the day I've got the chutzpah to finally throw that stuff together, I find myself at work, on overtime. On a beautiful day.

Yikes ! ! MAN DOWN ! ! ! ! !

It looks like I've been run over . . . still . . . those are some nice lookin' legs . . .


And the orthopedic socks are really workin' for me.

Sent you an email I really like to see you do that trans upgrade.