Well,not really as it is not a hotrod. But, I've got lots of answers to my question, so: It is a 1965 Mustang purchased by my aunt as her only her second (and last) car in May,1965. Six cylinder, C4 auto. It's treasure is that it's a one owner, uncorrupted car and, right now, I plan to leave it as it is.
Any big rig shops in your area? Some of them use pressurized steam cleaning for the big rigs. I had an oil line break in a '65 Chevy Impala, oil everywhere. Fixed the oil pressure and had them steam clean the engine. Worked great.
Semi related but not completely...and not sure if I am hijacking your thread but i will pass along this piece of knowledge I learned a few (many) years ago. If you want to degrease/strip/clean any loose parts without the hassle of sand blasting etc...get a large metal washtub from the local feed store, fill it with the hottest water possible and dump in some Drain-o crystals....it is still available at most home improvement stores...put on some THICK rubber gloves and make sure you agitate/disolve the draino...then put whatever parts into the tub you want taken down to bare metal...leave it for a day or so, stirring your mixture every now and then...and eventually you will have paint free, grease free bare metal. Rinse off and get ready for new paint. The best part is, you can dump the remains down the drain or in the toilet. I did a set of desoto 383 cylinder heads that had been sitting in a junk yard for 30+ years with this method...after 2 days they were perfectly stripped rust/grease free cast iron. ***edit*** I have never used this method on anything other than cast iron...not sure how well it will work on aluminum!!! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
use an all wheel cleaner like blue corral or black magic. it is used to get grime off big fancy wheels and want hurt paint or alum. and will look like new when dry.don't get the etching cleaner for mags or chrome use a ALL WHEEL CLEANER you will be surprised at how clean it gets everything. i use it to clean my Harley and every thing else i dont want etching or paint loss
Those aerosols engine cleaners like Gunk and oven cleaners do work for cleaners, but are extremely harsh and can do damage to soft parts under the hood. They smell for a month as they slowly cooked off an engine. It's also like dumping battery acid down the storm drain. I am actually shocked they still allow it to be sold in tree hugging Cali. Simple Green works fine, but can leave marks on aluminum. Since this an ancient car, I don't think there is much aluminum under the hood. It is safer for the enviroment around you, if you actually care about that. Oil Eater works spectacular for literally melting oil and grease off the engine and chassis. It is biodegradable too. It can also be harsh on anodized parts. There is no perfect cleaner for all under hood bits. Using a high pressure sprayer requires a bit of finesse so not blow apart fragile things, especially on 60 year old engines. It can also strip paint off of old engines and engine compartments. I have a cheap one I use on the especially thick areas of grease. But for the most part, a garden hose with a sprayer works fine with some care to where you are spraying. A friend who owns a shop uses a some gasoline and a brush with good results on cleaning up engine parts and engine bays. It's cheap easy and gets the job done. Just don't smoke while you are cleaning.
Purple power and a kitchen sink scrub brush work well. Go to oreillys for the purple power and the dollar store for the scrub brush. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
simple green mixed with purple power, scrub with a bristle brush...honestly the best...I'm so particular I usually pull the engine...clean it, paint it, paint the engine bay, wrap, secure and run wires appropriately...then slap the engine back in...nothing more satisfying than a super tight and clean engine bay...good luck
I used gunk on my bikes but as stated it does leave a smell, but will go away. Other than that get a degreaser from the auto parts store or wally world. I would also spray wd-40 on the electrical parts & cover the dist & carb with plastic bags. Be careful with a pressure washer as it will remove paint a garden hose with a good nozzle would work fine. It doesn't hurt to warm the engine up first.
do not use this on aluminum its caustic soda and will make the part disapear overnight ! for iron it would be a poor mans hot tank draino is Lye ( sodium hydroxide) .
Yes that is exactly what it is...poor mans hot tank that works like a champ! Thank you for the input on aluminum...I was always too scared to try it with aluminum and now I am glad! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
pull the 6 [to clean and detail ] and by accident...slip in a V8 ....after you get the engine bay spic and span
I think I read somewhere on the interwebs that by detailing your engine bay it will automatically add two more cylinders and reconfigure them into a V shape? Let me google that real fast ... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I have used FastOrange Hand Cleaner (smooth wo/ pummice) it works good to remove grease and grim, easy to clean up and when your done your hands are clean to. Pleasant smell, no harse chemicals. John
When I'm cleaning an engine bay I remove the plug wires and bag the distributor to keep water and cleaner out of it. I also bag the carb(s) so no water gets into them either. I stay away from the alternator or generator, but don't bag them.
The Jalopy Journal
