Engine Detailing

[limoman39]

Hello All,

Getting ready to get back to my Mustang Drag car project now that the holidays are behind us.

Just finished watching Donn Yost's 2 DVD's, great work Donn.

Lots of very good tips.... I highly recommend them.

Now, the reason for this post:

Looking for tips, tricks, and resources for engine detailing.

I know that there are about a million items online to help with detailing.

What I am looking for is ideas about how to use these aftermarket items.

Am looking for ideas pertaining to: carb linkage, fuel/oil line detail, ect....

Maybe even books or dvd's on the subject.

Thank you,

Rick

[crazyjim]

I bought some PE carb linkage aand gave up on them. Too small. I've been using the covers from telephone wire (red, green, yellow, black)as spark plug boots on the engine side - distributor side just gets glued. A months ago I started using the same telephone wire as receptacles for fuel lines. It looks better to me. The biggest problem I have is the limited number of colors. I have this thing about ignition wires being in the same color family as the body color. I haven't ordered Donn's 2nd DVD yet but didn't he cover engine detailing in a detailing DVD?

[limoman39]

No, Donn's 2nd video did not really cover methods.

He did show some examples of things he has done and gave an idea of where parts came from.

Maybe he is leaving room for a 3rd video.

If you do Donn, just go ahead and charge my CC and send it to me... :-)

I have used telephone wire myself for ign wire. Tried to use small heat shrink for boots but that didn't work out too well.

Thanks,

Rick

Edited January 1, 2010 by limoman39

[crazyjim]

Hi Rick,

I use just the telephone wire cover for the spark plug boots and gas line connectors. I pull the copper wire out of the cover. I get all my ignition wire from Scale Dreams. Rick over there has a nice selection of colos. I also get wire looms from Scale Dreams that are PE parts from Model Car Garage. The telephone wire is too heavy a gauge for realistic ignition wire.

[Ddms]

Engine and chassis parts always look better if they're washed. That doesn't mean that a 1/24 scale hemi should be tossed into the Maytag with the undies. It means brushing it with a very, very thin black mixture - a "wash" in painters' lingo - to give the parts more depth and realism by darkening the nooks and crannies. Ink or water-based paint is best for this, since water won't harm the finish, no matter what paint you've used - even a water-based acrylic, if it's good and dry. Definitely don't use lacquer thinner; isopropyl alcohol is risky.

By "thin," I mean very, very thin. (I know, but it bears repeating.) There's no magic formula for this; it's a matter of trial and error. Start with an almost-clear mixture. If it doesn't give you the effect you want, repeat. Or make your solution darker. Even a pristine show car will look better with washed engine and chassis parts, but go easy. If you want a vintage look, add more black. If you're going for greasy and ratty, mix a darker solution. Some reds and browns will add to the beater effect.

I use a small artist's brush. That way I can be selective about how much I apply to any given area. For ink, either I use either Tamiya black acrylic or acrylic ink. For thinner, you can use straight water, but the wash will flow into those crevices better if you add a drop of soapy water. Tamiya thinner also works very well.

Whatever detail you add will stand out more and look better if you give it a good wash.

[limoman39]

Great advice.... Both of you...

Thanks guys

Rick

[limoman39]

I think I can come up with a way to do my carb linkages, but could someone give me a few tips on plumbing please?

Looks like I could spend about 500 bucks on this model, which lines do I need for 1/25?

What fittings work best for what??

And, how do you get the red and blue anodized look on these fittings???

Thanks

Rick

[Jason Vandergriff]

Im fixing to order some of the protech braided line and fittings. http://protechmodelparts.com/ is the site. I'm fixing to detail the motor for the Camaro. Fuel lines to fuel injection power steering lines and coolant lines and even the vaccum lines for the fuel injection. I will be more than glad to photograph some of the steps I used to detail it.

[limoman39]

That would be helpful Jason,

Thanks for the post

[Pro Tech]

Thanks Jason for the lead.

Hi Rick, I have enclosed a few pics of a Mustang II Super Pro (Firefighter kit with alot of rework) car I built using my products for all of the detail work (braided line, hex fittings, fuel block, demon carbs. dist. kit, plug wire/plug boots, plug wire looms, detailing screen (radiator), flex fan, oil breathers, etc.) Hope this give you a first hand look at how the products looks on a finished piece. If you have any questions on anything PM me or give me a call and I will help you out futher on working with the products or how to runs lines etc. My website also has a number of tips under "Modeling Tips" (with more coming) on working with my products.

Charlie

Pro Tech

www.protechmodelparts.com

321-960-0532

[cruz]

The model car garage has a nice Stromberg Carburetor resin and PE set, a little tedious to work around but with a little bit of patience it turns out great!!

[Jon Cole]

Marcos, I just saved those photos to my aftermarket reference site. They look too good not to! Hope ya don't mind man!

[limoman39]

Thanks Guys,

Yes, this is exactly the type of things I am looking for.

Charlie, I am familiar with your website. I had already bookmarked a couple of your tips.

I will be heading back over there as soon as I am done here.

Marcos, love the strombergs. Will have to check that stuff out too...

Thanks again,

Rick

[cruz]

Of course I don't mind!!

[Againmikewins]

I just split an Ethernet cable. Are the wires inside the insulation close to scale for distributors/plugs? What else is roughly that scale in the vehicle? I've got tons of wire laying around and after the DAAM show today, I've got some pretty clear ideas that will save me money. ?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Do you have a digital caliper? And a cheap calculator?

Plug wires are roughly between 7mm and 10mm in the real world. The later and higher-performance the vehicle, the fatter the wires, in general. A '50s car would run thinner wires than a current top-fuel dragster engine. You CAN see the difference, both on a real engine, and on a model.

Mr. Math tells us that 7mm is about .276 inch. If you're working in 1/25 scale, divide that number by 25. You get .011 inch, which is where your digital calipers come in handy (usually about $15 at some Chinese tool emporium like harbor Freight). NOTE: If your calipers measure both in inches and metric units, simply divide the metric measurements by 25, or whatever scale you're working in, without bothering to convert to inches first.

Mr. Math goes on to tell us that 10mm is about .394 inch. Again, in 1/25 scale, divide by 25. You get about .016 inch. Compare these measurements with the diameter of your wire, and think about the age and genre of the vehicle your model represents.

If your material is much fatter than this, your plug wires will look like sausages or garden hose.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[crazyjim]

30 gauge kynar wire.

[Againmikewins]

Do you have a digital caliper? And a cheap calculator?

Plug wires are roughly between 7mm and 10mm in the real world. The later and higher-performance the vehicle, the fatter the wires, in general. A '50s car would run thinner wires than a current top-fuel dragster engine. You CAN see the difference, both on a real engine, and on a model.

Mr. Math tells us that 7mm is about .276 inch. If you're working in 1/25 scale, divide that number by 25. You get .011 inch, which is where your digital calipers come in handy (usually about $15 at some Chinese tool emporium like harbor Freight). NOTE: If your calipers measure both in inches and metric units, simply divide the metric measurements by 25, or whatever scale you're working in, without bothering to convert to inches first.

Mr. Math goes on to tell us that 10mm is about .394 inch. Again, in 1/25 scale, divide by 25. You get about .016 inch. Compare these measurements with the diameter of your wire, and think about the age and genre of the vehicle your model represents.

If your material is much fatter than this, your plug wires will look like sausages or garden hose.

30 gauge kynar wire.

can I get away with using this gauge wire for battery, brakes and other things?

[crazyjim]

Too thin for battery and probably a tad big for brake lines.

You can check Crazy Scale Auto Parts for different colors.