Neat engine bay --(Jim)

[old forum]

Im doing up a gem and I have got to the engine bay. I want the really neat look. I already have had it sprayed the same colour as the car and have had all the hole and spot welds covered over to make it neater. Now Im stuck wondering where to actually put all the actuall ancilleries (battery is already in the boot) that I have just removed from the bay, like the coil, washer bottle, relay box, regulator, etc.

Where can I put them. And how do you run the wires through the guards without worrying about them getting wet and stuff when on the road?

[old forum]

As long as the wires have no breaks/connectors and are in good condition then you should have no worries running them under the guards. Um, I really really wish I had taken a photo of the engine bays at the gemini jamboree, sorry guys...

Either upgrade your alternator to an internally regulated one, or hunt down a chromed regulator, make sure you run the alternator wires through the guards too (down the engine mount, across the crossmember then up under the guards.

For making things like windscreen wiper motors, fan blower box covers, fan motors more aesthetically pleasing you are limited to either fairly massive and difficult custom work, colour coding or chroming. Have a look at

http://members.nbci.com/geminisedan/new%20years%20photos/gemini%20jamboree%20chrome%20accessories.jpg

I can put you in touch with the guys who sell those bits, I'll just have to dig around for the number.

Relocate the windscreen washer bottle somewhere (under the dash maybe) as they are ugly things, If you don't mind having to do a shitload of rewiring the move the relay box from beside the washer bottle to under the dash too.

While you are there take your headlights out and wirebrush then paint (or chrome) the backing plates and adjusters. Go to your local nut and bolt store and but some allen key bolts for the quarter panels.

You can run the starter motor wiring up via the transmission tunnel. Make sure you go seriously overboard with the wiring from your battery to the starter, I would suggest 4 gauge, or if you want to catch someones eye, use cabling from a stereo installation place, nifty colours and semi-transparent insulation.

Most of the geminis at the jamboree still had the coil in the stock spot, of course they all had hidden low voltage wires (via the guards again), chromed mounts and either colour coded, chromed or just beautifully clean coils. Then of course your high tension leads have to match your colour scheme.

[old forum]

Thatnks for the tips and conferming my thoughts. I'll give them a go and get back to you on how it went.

Roughly how much does a chromed rocker, wiperr motor cover, blower cover, and regulator cost?

Also I decided I wanted to be really safe with the power cable and have gone for 0 gauge!!

[old forum]

No idea on the price, if I get a chance tomorrow I will ring dave and ask him, if not then tomorrow night I will post his phone number.

Zero guage, phwoar, that is some mighty fine cabling.

[old forum]

I found a wreck with a crome blower cover, chrome regulator and chrome alternator adjusting arm. They are all starting to go a bit rusty but should polish up ok. The guy said I could have them all for $45. Would that be worth it?

Aslo, you dont happen to know an easy way to polish cast alloy do you. I want to polish up my injector plenum, but it takes about half an hour to do a square inch, and I dont have the time to do it like that and cant afford to keep dishing out money for other people to do something that I should be able to do.

[old forum]

Yes, I didn't get a chance to ring dave sorry, definitely would be cheaper to get those ones.

As for polishing cast alloy, it all depends on the roughness of the casting, if it is comparatively smooth, say the same as a gemini gearbox, then buy a polishing wheel for either a power drill or a die grinder if you have one. A tube of autosol and go nuts.

Chances are though that it will be rougher, eg. more like a gemini inlet manifold. Then you will need to start with someone like an abrasive flapwheel to get a smooth finish, when I was polishing my combustion chambers I bought a dremel handheld grinder thingy, works great, just don't get autosol in your eyes. Started with the flapwheel (or even grinding bits for raised casting marks) until I got a smooth finish then polished to a glossy finish with the polishing bit, then polished to a mirror finish with a soft cotton rag and some more autosol and brasso.

It is possible to polish VERY rough castings with these methods, I know, in my garage I have a stock gemini conrod which is polished to a near mirror shine.