So i wanna hear some tips on cleaning my motor for a show...anyone have suggestions...

 

I've heard tire shine is good for hoses and black stuff....anything with gloss that will make things shiny will work....wax anything chrome, painted.

 

Black Magic Engine Brite...although itll probably work better if you have and engine with lots of bare metal, aluminum and such...not sure how it looks on plastic/rubber

 

Buy a bottle of simple green and spray everything down. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then hose it down with low pressure. I do this to mine once a month and the engine compartment looks brand new.

 

Rich...knock it off, man. Q-tips and a diaper dude.......moist only

 

What about an older engine, thats got quite a few miles on it?

 

oven cleaner

 

Buy a couple cans of Foamy Engine Brite at the local parts store. Run the engine for a minute or two to get the engine warm (NOT hot.) Remove the air cleaner and distributor cap and plug wires. Put a plastic bag over both the carb and the distributor head, each held in place with a rubber band.

Spray the engine thoroughly with the Foamy cleaner, especially the greasy spots, and let it set for a 10 minutes. The Foamy cleaner works better on a warm engine! Then hose the engine down with the garden hose - try to avoid directly spraying the bags on the carb and distributor. Of course, now it's clean but you have water in all the nooks and crannies! Use an air hose if you've got one to blow the standing water off. If no air, go directly to the next step. Use paper towels to sop up any remaining water.

Use some vinyl dressing on the hoses. Clean the distributor cap and wires with a hand cleaner like GoJo or even Simple Green applied directly and wiped off. Re-install the air cleaner and distributor cap and plug wires. Then crank the engine up to finish the drying process.

Now you're done! One final note, though, the engine will smell slightly of the Foamy cleaner for a day or two as the residue burns off. I did this process twice a year for the fifteen years that I drove my early Mustangs daily (first a 65 coupe, then a 69 fastback). My sig will explain what I drive now!

 

what is the mixture of the simple green?

 

Straight out of the bottle; spray or wipe it on - and wipe it off with a damp cloth.

 

would a concentrate of simple green work? The gallon of simple green i have is concentrated. I always thought you have to mix it with water. thanks

 

I usually buy it in the spray bottle so that's why I said "use it straight". But .....

I just went to the garage to check the bottle and I stand corrected - it is concentrated! I've been so wrong for so long!! Having read the directions now, SG says it should be mixed 1 to 10 with water for really dirty, greasy jobs and 1 to 30 with water for lighter duty jobs.

I do tend to mix it with water in a pail or bucket if I'm doing a long cleaning job or cleaning multiple parts but I can't say I've ever cared about the proportions. Still, when I've got a loose piece to clean, I usually just spray it on and scrub away!

I can say I've never found anything related to automobiles that was harmed in any way by using SG straight out of the bottle.

Thanks for straightening me out!

 

whoa.....that might be like killing a fly with an A-bomb.

I would be worried about the effects of the "grease cutting" agent on some of the parts.

 

Thank You!