Engine Bay Clean up Help

[Lawless28]

Im trying to clean up my engine bay by hiding wires and other ugly things. I was wondering if anyone who has done this might have some tips to help me out. Im wanting to relocate my battery also. Maybe someone could tell me what other parts can be completely removed, the A/C unit is already out.

I have pics in my photo album, thanks for looking

[8695Beaters]

Wire tucking is going to be a pain. I wouldn't reccomend it (especially for someone who needs their car every day). You have to stretch the harness to make it fit in places it's not meant to go and that means cutting it open, splicing in new wire, and then sealing it all back up. You might be able to find a harness that's already been reworked, or buy a second harness to modify and replace your original, but even then you still need the engine bay to figure out where the hell everything is going to go. You can swap out your radiator and heater hoses for some colored silicone hoses that match your engine bay. You can also buy stainless steel braided fuel and oil lines. As for the battery, I'm working that one out in my own car. Where do you plan on mounting it? I'm going to put it behind the front passenger seat of my Silvia (there's a roll bar, so no back seat). I think I will just need some extra battery cable and a sealed battery box. My plan is to remove the stock negative terminal and lengthen the positive terminal to reach the battery (I think I will just bolt a new section of cable to the stock terminal to keep the fabrication down). Then I will ground it to the frame behind one of the interior panels. I've got a few other things to do before I get to the battery, so I don't know when I'll get this done. It needs to be soon, because I also need to replace my coolant overflow and I want to put in a larger tank where the battery sits right now.

[Lawless28]

I was thinking about mounting it in the trunk. I havent decided if I want to keep the back seat functional yet, but that sounds like a good location. As for the engine compartment, Ive changed my mind on adding color, I think I just want everything to be black and silver, so the stainless steel would look great. I do plan on an engine swap soon so maybe ill try to hide alot of the wires then. When you relcate to battery, how will you get power to your fuse box under the hood, or does your car not have one? I have a fuse panel right next to the battery. Can that fuse panel be relocated?
The main things I want to hide are the Battery, that MSD Coil, the relays for my headlights.
Also, does anyone make something other than corregated tubing to cover wires? Thanks for the help

[8695Beaters]

Like I said, i haven't done this yet, what I said was just my plan. Whether it will work or not remains to be seen. I actually have 2 fuse boxes underhood. Mhy assumption is that lengthening the battery cables will route the power where I need it and I don't need to move anything else. The ignition coil really can't be hidden. You could lengthen the wires and slip it into the driver compartment, but then you sort of negate the effect of having the coil (longer wires means more resistance means less power). You canl also move the relays around, but the OEMs usually put them in easy to reach places. Moving them is just a matter of lenghtening the wires thar connect everything (again, a tedious procedure).

[Lawless28]

ok, today I figured out what I will do with the battery. Im going to mount it the trunk on the passnger side. There is a ledge where it can sit, I was thinking about bolting the factory battery tray back there so I can use the factory battery tie down. Then I will need to run two wires ( the pos. to the battery and a wire from the fuse box under the hood to the battery) I was thinking about using power wire for a car amplifier( 4 or 8 gauge) And the ground wire can go alot of different places back there.

Beaters, where can I get a sealed battery box? Is it required to drive legally on the streets Or just for the track?

[dre5491]

To help ya out on cleaning up the wires some I would buy some wire looms and fit as many wires in one as possible I think it would help out a little bit to make your engine bay look a little bit cleaner.

[8695Beaters]

Originally Posted by Lawless28

ok, today I figured out what I will do with the battery. Im going to mount it the trunk on the passnger side. There is a ledge where it can sit, I was thinking about bolting the factory battery tray back there so I can use the factory battery tie down. Then I will need to run two wires ( the pos. to the battery and a wire from the fuse box under the hood to the battery) I was thinking about using power wire for a car amplifier( 4 or 8 gauge) And the ground wire can go alot of different places back there.

Beaters, where can I get a sealed battery box? Is it required to drive legally on the streets Or just for the track?

Use real battery cable. Otherwise you risk overheating something and maybe causing an electrical fire. It's not worth skimping out here.

As for the box, it's only required for racing (NHRA requires an entire firewall for trunk mounted batteries. However I would check with your local DMV, since those kind of laws tend to vary from state to state), but my guess is you have a lead-acid battery. Those tend to leak and corrode and do all sorts of nasty things, none of which are good for interiors, even stripped out cars (ie the dreaded rust). I have also seen lead-acid batteries explode (my mom tried to start her Accord once and the top of the battery blew off. Wasn't jumping it, just starting it Needless to say, it was time to replace the battery). So I'd try to find a battery box. If you want to test everything out and drive the car around for a week while you get a box, that would work. Just get one soon (or buy a sealed battery like an Odyssey). Summit Racing sells battery boxes, as do most other online parts stores. If there's a boating store nearby, you should be able to find one there too.

[splink48]

This may be a stupid question...but wouldn't you want to vent your box to the outside?

[Lawless28]

Originally Posted by splink48

This may be a stupid question...but wouldn't you want to vent your box to the outside?

The battery box?.... I dont think its necessary, but Im not 100% sure