Engine bay tidy up, Part 1
Over the years I've done quite a lot of concours judging, and one of the first things that struck me, was the scruffy condition of the engine compartment of otherwise immaculate and highly polished cars. There were also those who went to the opposite extreme of polishing and chrome plating everything in sight, which is almost as likely to result in points deducted.

A well turned out engine compartment is the one thing that shows real pride of ownership, and that the owner is a true enthusiast and not just a poser. The aim should be to make everything look as near as possible to how it looked when it left the factory. The ideal time to make it all look good as new, is when you are doing a complete restoration, but even if you are not, it is still possible to produce a prize winner, for a little cost and effort. Here is how I would go about it.

First thing to do is make things easy for yourself and remove the bonnet, this will come in for some treatment in due course but for the time being wrap it up and put it somewhere safe.

Ideally at this stage you should take the engine out but unless it needs a rebuild you will probably want to leave it in. Most old cars have plenty of room around the engine so this should not present a problem.

Before you go any further take a load of pictures from every angle so you can see where everything goes, and to show everybody what it used to look like when you have finished. Next job is to remove all the ancillaries off the engine, including inlet and exhaust manifolds, you will be surprised how much muck is behind them. I'm sorry but the radiator will have to come off as well, and all the electrical stuff like relays and regulators. Don't forget to label the wires so you know where to put them back. Keep all the nuts bolts and screws in a box, you can either get them zinc plated or better still use them to make a list of what's needed and order new ones, making sure you get the correct threads. If you decide to get your stuff re plated, consider taking all the screws out of the carburetor and other ancillaries and getting them plated also. This means a lot of dismantling all at once and a lot of things lying around in boxes, so a few quid spent on plastic storage bins is a good investment.

Most Fifties and Sixties cars have electrical relays enclosed in galvanised metal canisters, and these can be made to look good very easily. Dismantle them by prising back the metal tabs which retain the innards, then carefully put these to one side, together with the cork gasket which keeps out the elements. The canisters can then be plated with all the other stuff.

Make a list of everything you are getting plated, in case anything gets lost.

• A big can of degreaser such as Gunk or Jizer to clean off the engine.
• A bottle of white spirits or thinners to clean off everything that needs painting.
• Some paint for the engine, make sure you get the correct colour, they are all available so there are no excuses. If your engine was black originally, use Black Smoothrite it's as good as anything.
• An aerosol of black Japlac (from Focus Do-it-all) for the black shiny bits.
• A large roll of black loom tape to tidy up your wiring loom.
• Gaskets for manifolds, rocker box and carb.
• An aerosol can of black VHT paint for the exhaust manifold, or you can use Pot Black which is OK but you have to brush it on so the finish isn't as good. You MUST get the manifold sandblasted before attempting to paint it or you will be wasting your time If the paint work on the surrounding areas won't clean up you will have to repaint it so some aerosol cans of the correct colour will be needed, and some appropriate primer. You may want to consider overhauling a few things while you've got them off, in which case you need the necessary overhaul kits.

Right I'll leave you to get stuck in to cleaning the engine off, and getting all the necessary, while I put the kettle on and we will move on to the next stage next time.

A scruffy engine bay like this can easily be transformed into a prize winner.