Cluttered engine compartment

SC UL8R1990

SC UL8R1990

Registered User
Im getting tired of looking into my engine bay and seeing all this crap. Theres got to be a way to get rid of some of it or relocate it. The coolant overflow reservoir,windshield washer reservoir,the black ignition box by the washer reservoir, and the battery. Does anyone have experience relocating these items? I look into gary kuhns engine compartment and its absolutley gorgeous. Its all engine under there! Granted hes got some items gone that i would like to keep.....i would like to get as close to this uncluttered look as possible. :cool:

The battery is self explanitory. but id like ideas on how to move or relocate the other items. I dont use my windshield washer fluid at all, i dont drive it in the winter and i never let the windshield get dirty in the summer. So i think i can just yank that sucker. How about the uglyass coolant reservoir? Obviosuly i need this lil bugger, but doesnt summit racing sell little coolant overflow bottles? maybe one thats small enough to relocate out of view? Last but certainly not least.......the black distribution box between the battery and the washer reservoir. I havent looked at this very carefully but is there possibly a way to get it out of view? maybe back near the firewall?

Anyone want to get some ideas/suggestions rolling? ;)

thanks!
 
SC UL8R1990 said:
Im getting tired of looking into my engine bay and seeing all this crap. Theres got to be a way to get rid of some of it or relocate it. The coolant overflow reservoir,windshield washer reservoir,the black ignition box by the washer reservoir, and the battery. Does anyone have experience relocating these items? I look into gary kuhns engine compartment and its absolutley gorgeous. Its all engine under there! Granted hes got some items gone that i would like to keep.....i would like to get as close to this uncluttered look as possible. :cool:

The battery is self explanitory. but id like ideas on how to move or relocate the other items. I dont use my windshield washer fluid at all, i dont drive it in the winter and i never let the windshield get dirty in the summer. So i think i can just yank that sucker. How about the uglyass coolant reservoir? Obviosuly i need this lil bugger, but doesnt summit racing sell little coolant overflow bottles? maybe one thats small enough to relocate out of view? Last but certainly not least.......the black distribution box between the battery and the washer reservoir. I havent looked at this very carefully but is there possibly a way to get it out of view? maybe back near the firewall?

Anyone want to get some ideas/suggestions rolling? ;)

thanks!
Click to expand...

Put a whipple on it, see the whipple post. :D :D

I relocated the fuse box under the cowl for now, it will be under the dash soon. Starter solenoid, DIS, coil pack are inside the car under the dash. Iliminated, AC, heater, wipers, water pump, cruise, oil cooler, crap behind the dash. Kinda makes more room.
Good luck, 1 item at a time
 
was it easy to get the distribution box under the cowl? did you have to splice any wires?

thanks gary!

p.s.- the whipple is the answer for everything. maybe the whipple will fix the bulbs that went out in half of my gauge cluster! lol :D
 
I used a stock washer bottle from a 93 to relocate that item to in front of the rad support. I also had an aluminum bottle built to do the same thing for the coolant overflow. Had a piece machined to keep the stock cap and made a cutout for the sensor. You probably could use an aftermarket item, but migh not be able to fit the sensor back.

This year I also installed a shorter power steering resevoir cap from a n/a 3.8.


swbenginesc.jpg
 
George what is the capacity of your coolant overflow bottle. Do you have to keep it higher than or lower than the highest point of the radiator? I might consider something like that. I never noticed how you relocated both items before, but it looks good. And factoryish!!!

Micah
 
George that looks great but could you take pics of the coolant overflow reservoir you have? did you fabricate it yourself or was it someone here in NE ohio? Im still confused about the 93 and up washer fluid reservoir. where is it located? right next to the intercooler? :confused:

thanks :cool:

EDIT: =nevermind, i see the washer fluid bottle. but would still like to see the coolant reservoir set-up!
 
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I never took measurements for volume, but I would guess around a quart and a half. I just made it as large as possible to fit the space. The overflow tube from the rad is hooked to the bottom of it. It is roughly the same height as the stock part. The liquid in is is below the highest point of the rad, but since it fills from pressure and empties from vacuum (steam condensing in the rad), i'm not sure the exact level really matters too much in relation to the rad level.
 
im thinking of mounting some type of coolant reservoir down where the stock air silencer was for the intake.? any thoughts on that?
 
The washer bottle is on the right and is just barely in front of the IC. (You can see the IC fins in the pic.) It has the yellow and black cap and is just at the inside edge of the driver's side head light.

Here is a view of the washer bottle from underneath:

P0888sm.jpg


One more from the top:

P0895sm.jpg


I made a cardboard template to fit the space on the passenger side and then had a shop in PA fab up the unit. Not sure if I still have the template or the measurements, but is is something most anyone could do. I don't have any real good picutures of the overflow bottle.

It is essentially a rectangular box with a bung welded in the side near the bottom for a barbed hose fitting. It has a machined piece welded on the top that has a lip for the stock cap to fit on. I also made it wide enough and deep enough so the stock sensor would fit. This requires a round hole with a locating notch filed in one side of the hole.
 
gldiii said:
The washer bottle is on the right and is just barely in front of the IC. (You can see the IC fins in the pic.) It has the yellow and black cap and is just at the inside edge of the driver's side head light.

Here is a view of the washer bottle from underneath:

P0888sm.jpg


One more from the top:

P0895sm.jpg


I made a cardboard template to fit the space on the passenger side and then had a shop in PA fab up the unit. Not sure if I still have the template or the measurements, but is is something most anyone could do. I don't have any real good picutures of the overflow bottle.

It is essentially a rectangular box with a bung welded in the side near the bottom for a barbed hose fitting. It has a machined piece welded on the top that has a lip for the stock cap to fit on. I also made it wide enough and deep enough so the stock sensor would fit. This requires a round hole with a locating notch filed in one side of the hole.
Click to expand...

That looks good George! Do you have a write up on the chrome alternator for the 5.0, or is it a direct swap?

Gary
 
Thanks for the quick replies George. Do you have a webpage for the place that fabbed it up for you? Or do you think i could find someone local to do it for me as long as I recorded all the dimensions? :confused: :eek:
 
Engine compartment

Here is a shot of my 93. I moved the batery to the trunk. I built an alum tank for the overflow that goes where the old IC was. I built an alum washer fluid tank which is under the driverside panel. The panels are light alum panels to cover the air filter box and wiring. I hated the cluttered look as well. The alum bar is just a strut brace I am fabricating and is now almost done
 

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looking good everyone! Those panels are very interesting but underhood temperatures would worry me.

Im browsing the summit racing catalog and there are many different catch cans/coolant reservoirs to choose from. Im going to go up there and shose one that i can fit in Georges or my location(where the stock air silencer was).

ill let eceryone know how it goes. id really like to utilize the stock sensor but i may have to sacrifice :( :D
 
I'm sure anyone that can cut and weld aluminum could fab one up. The shop in PA did industrial stainless steel cabinets and sinks. They had some fantastic welders there! They did many parts for me.

Gary, the 3G alternator is not a direct bolt in since the bracket must be clearanced in a couple of places. I installed mine with the bracket in the car, so it is not too bad. The wiring is slightly different and the top mount requires a different size bolt. The SC pulley fits the unit, but be sure and use the nut that was on the 3G unit. They are almost the same thread, but one is SAE and one is metric! The 3G units I have handled did not require the spacer washer behind the pulley.

I started a write up on the TBSCEC boards, but never finished it. I'm sure you would have no trobule doing it. Feel free to ask me for more info if you attempt it.

I was glad I had it installed when it went out before Carlisle! Not sure I could have found a chrome Mitsubishi unit at 7:00PM the night before I drive to Carlisle!
 
One last quick question. What capacity should i be aiming for? At least 1 quart or more? Looks like 1 quart is the most popular ;)

thanks again and again and again ;) :D
 
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