Did you ever notice how much room the engine bay of a '65 Chevy has?

[KingSix]

The same reason they make you use special tools - or ANY tools, really - to access the AIR CLEANER!! Why do you need four star screws, located in realtively inaccessible areas, to hold the plastic cover on the air cleaner? So you don't check it, so the Auto Tech can charge to look at it.

..and that's where "reverse engineering" come into play .. I despise my wifes Honda Accord . it needs a special tool for everything

[Harry P.]

They can, but you don't see the underhood pad much anymore. And if you look on the underside of the cover, it's not just plastic. There's insulation material there as well. If you think about it, it's much quicker to stick a cover over the engine on the assembly line compared to attaching a pad to the hood with several clips.

Yes, the engine cover can theoretically be useful in reducing noise, but come on. That's like the politicians saying that red light cameras are only about "safety." We all know what they're really about.

[philo426]

Revenue generation!

[Harry P.]

Revenue generation!

Bingo!

[Joe Handley]

I wonder what the real reason for those plastic engine covers is. My cynical mind tells me they're put in place to make the engine seem inaccessible and mysterious to the owner, and maybe "force" the owner to take the car back to the dealer for everything. I can't see any other logical reason to hide the engine under a cover.

I think it's a few things,

#1. To pretty up an otherwise fairly ugly engine (I'll post pics of the Pentastars with and without the cover)

#2. Some sound deadening, can't be much though, especially the big plastic tray like my 200 has on it.

#3. Might convince some more easily scared do it yourselfers to just bring it back for what ever it needs besides oil changes.

#4. It just might have some effect on the emissions and mileage by retaining heat in the intake during the winter, although I've seen it kill power above 75º-80º in my car when burning Chicago emissions blend 87 octane regular. The difference is enough that before switching over to regularly running E85 in it, I seriously thought about pulling that cover to try and drop the intake air temps. E85 seems to let the engine run cooler and might have a positive cooling effect on the air temps when it's mixed with the incoming air..........not to mention that the Pentastars seem to also love the extra octane too, no complaints from me there

[Sport Suburban]

Wow somebody else owed a 71 Sport Suburban! Mine now has a 440 and gets 9 mpg. Plus I have to lay on my back and get the #7 spark plug from underneath and that is with the factory Super Comando manifolds. It's big but is not as roomy under hood.

My 99 S10 xtreme has the 4.3 v6. Those spark plugs are a pain but not as bad as the starter. The worst job that I did on this truck was the intake gaskets. Two bolts are under the ac compressor. It's bracket also holds the ps pump and to move it forward you have to remove most of the belt system. Plus any of the bolts that thread into the block are sae. All other bolts are metric.

[KingSix]

Wow somebody else owed a 71 Sport Suburban! Mine now has a 440 and gets 9 mpg. Plus I have to lay on my back and get the #7 spark plug from underneath and that is with the factory Super Comando manifolds. It's big but is not as roomy under hood.

My 99 S10 xtreme has the 4.3 v6. Those spark plugs are a pain but not as bad as the starter. The worst job that I did on this truck was the intake gaskets. Two bolts are under the ac compressor. It's bracket also holds the ps pump and to move it forward you have to remove most of the belt system. Plus any of the bolts that thread into the block are sae. All other bolts are metric.

You are a member for c-bodies only ? I think I've talked to you before ? I have a pic of me somewhere , standing next to the beast when I was 4 or 5 . Little did I know that 11 years later I'd be driving it to school everyday.. This is a car I wish they'd kit , of course I know THAT will never happen .

[Tom Geiger]

Yea, I can't see anything under the hood of my 2000 Jaguar S Type. I've been told there's a V8 under there. I couldn't find the fuse box or battery... found out they were in the carpeted trunk under a panel! Even the spare tire has it's own carpeted cover.

[Joe Handley]

My Jeep can be a bit tough to see the ground through the engine bay and has tight areas, but it has that long AMC I-6 in the bay that was originally designed for GM's craptacular 2.8l 60º V-6. Makes working by the radiator and fire wall a bit tight.

[Shardik]

In my youth, when I worked for GoodYear, we had a fleet of big international service trucks. To change the plugs I would climb into the engine compartment and work standing up next to the engine (both feet on the shop floor). the rest of the tune up was done either sitting on the inner fender well or crouched on the upper control arm, depending on your reach.

[W-409]

I have a friend who had a Chevy Monza with a 350 and he had to take in to the dealership to get plugs changed and they actually had to loosen the engine from the motor mounts and lift the motor slightly to do the job, they don't make em like they used to!!

What year Monza was that?

We had a '79 Skyhawk which has the same body also with Chevy Small Block and there were no problems to change the plugs or anything.. Maybe it was because of the Aftermarket Engine Mounts we had.

The picture is not the best, it's taken right after the engine boiled over in the Local Cruising Night traffic jam...

It was a decent car on the winter too.

This was back in the days when you could actually see the motor!!!

Yeah . You're right, nowadays only thing that can be seen is that plastic cover...

But back to the original question... Not a '65 Chevy, but '74 Chevy Chevelle Stocker that I race with... Chevy 350 and lots of room on the engine bay. It sure is easy to change the plugs for this one.

Picture from my License Run.

[philo426]

You kind of cheated by removing the belt driven fan and went with a flush mount electric one.

[PappyD340]

What year Monza was that?

We had a '79 Skyhawk which has the same body also with Chevy Small Block and there were no problems to change the plugs or anything.. Maybe it was because of the Aftermarket Engine Mounts we had.

The picture is not the best, it's taken right after the engine boiled over in the Local Cruising Night traffic jam...

It was a decent car on the winter too.

Yeah . You're right, nowadays only thing that can be seen is that plastic cover...

But back to the original question... Not a '65 Chevy, but '74 Chevy Chevelle Stocker that I race with... Chevy 350 and lots of room on the engine bay. It sure is easy to change the plugs for this one.

Picture from my License Run.

I'm not exactaly sure but I think it was within a year or two of that because our oldest sons were born in 1980 and that is when he had the car but I saw under the hood of that car more than one time, and you could have a party under your hood compared to his, it was an engine bay full there was no room for anything. hope this answers your ?

[philo426]

By removing the fan you opened up much more room than stock.Did you use a flush mount cooling fan?

[charlie8575]

After attempting to change the throttle position sensor on my car today, I have made a firm decision that my next car will NOT be computer-controlled.

The half-wits that designed the bracket for the alternator didn't leave enough space to put a 1/4" socket and handle in there to get the Torx socket on the head of the screw. The problem could've been solved with a hex-head screw, but noooooo......, they didn't do that.

Worst case, I'll have to pull the alternator off if the super-skinny offset-handle direct-bit-drive socket I picked up doesn't work.

Y'know, that '65 Chevy is starting to look pretty good.

Charlie Larkin

[W-409]

Heh, well can't say that the Skyhawk engine bay had too much room either, but sounds like there wasn't any room at all in your friend's Monza. But that's it with these H-Bodies, a friend has one Monza too and he says that there's not much excess room either.

Chevelle has a Electric Fan installed in front of the radiator. That was not because of the room, but it gives more performance for the engine when there are no unnecessary equipment to use and that Electric Fan also gives better cooling with the electric Water Pump. It's important in these Stockers to get the absolutely maximum performance, because engine tuning is very limited.

[mnwildpunk]

My first. Classic car was a 63 Chrysler new Yorker with a 413 CI monster under the Hood. Funny thing was I think you could fit two of those under the Hood and still have room. My super bee when I get a motor in it will still have room to spare. I noticed my 87 Camaro is when things started to get tight