Under the hood

I want to clean everything under the hood in my 1972 Skylark Custom. it has been gathering dust and debris for twenty years, and also has a coolant leak I think. I'm not exactly sure where to start with this. Any suggestions?

 

Start with a good power washing and go from there….

 

Save yourself some trouble and wrap the distributor and cap with 2 layers of plastic bags. as well as the carburetor. Warm the engine up turn it off spray it with Gunk let it sit for 10minutes then power wash it off. When you start it back up if it wont start or misses water got to the distributor or wires and you will need to dry them off.

 

If you have time and room, Larry is correct.

Engine out and back in is about 8 hours-ish.

You will burn that much time cussing while trying to do a decent job with the engine in, and still be frustrated that you didn't pull it when you are done, spending twice as much time.

Y0u will be able to clean/degrease and paint, as well as get good eyeballs on wiring, fix brake lines and such things.

But be careful. You could end up becoming a Super Bald Menace...

 

Clean up everything with pressure washer
Wrap up carb n dist
When painting use foil to wrap up parts not needed paint
Foil folds and stays in place

 

That's what I was thinking but I wasn't sure. I have a friend who can help me but he isn't exactly the professional or the careful type.

 

Do as suggested with the degreasing/power washing, the next steps, if you don’t want to pull the engine, would be to remove and repaint the air cleaner and valve covers. Once you go that far, you’ll be able to get into the harder to reach areas and fix any coolant/oil leaks around the top end, decals can be replaced and are not that expensive. Those items are the most visible and gets the most ROI.

 

Warning! more than 1 frame off restoration started as a under hood detailing. Not Kidding!