G'dayyy.. Currently in the process of prepping my engine bay for paint at home, including the welding of unnecessary holes, all filling, grinding, sanding, priming etc before it is sent to the panel shop for paint... I know there are other threads that have details of this but there is information scattered all over the place and it is a pain in the ass to sort through all the bull**** to find the good stuff... So anyone here who has experience in prepping/smoothing/deleting holes/filling etc etc in a VL engine bay and has any pictures from their early stages of sanding etc right through to the finished product please feel free to post up any info and a few pics... I'll throw up a few pictures from where we started to where it is now and whats happened inbetween with many thanks to a few mates and my brother, like removing battery tray, welding unneeded holes, bit of bashing, grinding etc.. Excuse the quality of the photos they're all off my phone. Here's how it began... So any pictures and info, help a nigga out! More info/tips can never hurt.. Kobi Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

You're still alive? What are you doing with the brake lines? Running custom one's underneath?

wheres the loom going? you patched the loom hole

http://forum.streetcommodores.com.au...7&postcount=59 (http://forum.streetcommodores.com.au/showpost.php?p=2574857&postcount=59) few ideas there.. from Chubbys latest creation...

Is the engine bay paint still acrylic?? If so paint strip the whole lot. Engine bay ( as you know ) gets quite warm and if you paint 2pak over acrylic it will eventually crack, and most likely get sink back. Dont go through all this hard work to have it ruined later on. ** disregard post if you intended to paint strip anyway

Sure am Charles. No idea about brake lines they'll probably stay as they are. Matty the whole loom will be re done and re-routed, will utilize one of the holes left. Cheers bryceco will have a look at that, although from seeing his earlier **** I'd never go to that extent, not interested in flat firewalls or anything this will still be a street car Cheers blujet, another thing to take into consideration. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by AVG45 [View Post] Cheers bryceco will have a look at that, although from seeing his earlier **** I'd never go to that extent, not interested in flat firewalls or anything this will still be a street car No worries, I seen chubbs new one at a show few weekends back its just clean smooth n tidy as its also a streeter unlike his red one.. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

A few pics here might help. I will put up more soon. http://m1160.photobucket.com/albums/...l0E%2F3y w%3D (http://m1160.photobucket.com/albums/zauchy8/?src=www?pbauth=1_uLEBonVPfaLdh1h3YMYz2W5BSCxz0U5auiVbsYcfxfel7p%2FscAJPVN2L9Y08Kj7aRMCfayh1qQN11I63xfqT2VhMIxxxJ9ybIJagTvnjGv3CJWAa2gPOITv%2FQZ%2B7yqIrYydsQF%2FOMr95Syfl41E8LlSOyfKzm%2FOIgxf5l0E%2F3yw%3D)

Here is what mine is like all smoothed out all holes not needed filled only thing I should of done is boxed the rails.. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

biggest tip you can get - BOXED RAILS!!!!!! BOX THEM!!! EVERYONE LOVES BOX!!!!! haha but seriously I want too see more boxed rails in vl's

Don't think i'd bother boxing the chassis rails... If im going that far, I feel like i'd be lacking in other aspects like the brake lines or the firewall or something... So I figure you have gotta cut it off at some point and so I won't be goin that far! Should have more updates very soon...

kobi brake likes are extremely easy and cheap to make and the tools needed are **** all. Do Vls have ugly lines but? they are that small you dont really see them unless the bay is boxed/smoothed and empty

Don't box the rails. This will make your car unroadworthy and if defected will not be able to be registered again (comes under modification of chassis rails). More importantly, if you happen to have an accident - the chassis rails in the VL are designed to crumple (about 3/4 of the way back in the engine bay) to absorb the impact of a severe crash. Boxed rails will mean the force is directed to the cabin area = not good for anyone in your car, and not good for the car you spear with your boxed rails. Do - put covers in over the rails so it "looks" boxed, but can be removed for inspection if needed - and will break away/fold in the event of an accident.

cool thread. if anyone has more info from their experience post it up because it should be helpful to alot of people. i'm going to be doing this myself in a few months also. ---------- Post added 08-02-12 at 11:35 ---------- actually i'd like to know how people go about smoothing under where the battery tray and air box was. it looks to me like a bit of cutting and welding in new pieces is involved... correct?

Quote: Originally Posted by [T]Matty [View Post] kobi brake likes are extremely easy and cheap to make and the tools needed are **** all. Do Vls have ugly lines but? they are that small you dont really see them unless the bay is boxed/smoothed and empty The lines really arent that noticeable.. They're small as. And if painted black you'd not even be able to see them. So I think i'll just stick with them. When you remove the battery tray, how you repair that section would depend on the amount of rust and damaged caused by hacking it away I guess... With mine we got away with grinding it all back and welding it up in the parts that needed it..

Quote: Originally Posted by AVG45 [View Post] The lines really arent that noticeable.. They're small as. And if painted black you'd not even be able to see them. So I think i'll just stick with them. When you remove the battery tray, how you repair that section would depend on the amount of rust and damaged caused by hacking it away I guess... With mine we got away with grinding it all back and welding it up in the parts that needed it.. Nah i'm fine up to there. same as what you said. i was talking about the indents that are pressed into the metal.

Quote: Originally Posted by InsaneVL [View Post] Don't box the rails. This will make your car unroadworthy and if defected will not be able to be registered again (comes under modification of chassis rails). More importantly, if you happen to have an accident - the chassis rails in the VL are designed to crumple (about 3/4 of the way back in the engine bay) to absorb the impact of a severe crash. Boxed rails will mean the force is directed to the cabin area = not good for anyone in your car, and not good for the car you spear with your boxed rails. Do - put covers in over the rails so it "looks" boxed, but can be removed for inspection if needed - and will break away/fold in the event of an accident. Best way to do it and the legal way is to cut the lip off run a weld along where the 3 pieces of metal come together. Do not attempt this however if you are not a capable welder. ---------- Post added 08-02-12 at 16:38 ---------- Just had a look at Chubbys and it looks like he has done it exactly that way.

In the process of giving a bay a clean uP myself.. Not to this extent but a nice sand up n a paint.. Looks good so far!

While you're at it you might as well go a bit further! You'll be pissed off afterwards if you dont haha

i'll be doing a vk engine bay over the winter while the cars off the road, might do a bit of a write up in the tech article. i've done a few engine bays at work so shouldn't be too hard. (i'l be getting the other apprentice to cut/weld if neccessary) ** Other Tip's: Epoxy Primer epoxy primer is a good way to seal the engine bay, while you do your repairs etc. As you know in those pictures you have gone back to metal in 20+ places. If left for a while you will notice surface rust, and without the proper metal treament, it will rust underneath the paint if not treated. However if you take the whole engine bay back to bare metal before you start repairs, you can use a suitable metal cleaner and then Epoxy Prime the whole engine bay. Once it is in epoxy primer, you may then start your repairs one at a time, straight over the top of it avoiding surface rust. (certain epoxy primers can be used underneath bog) ** Pro's - the best anti-rust out there -very easy to sand in preparation for hi-fill primer -very easy to use if you have the proper equipment -can bog straight over the top (certain brands) -prevents rust, by sealing the bare metal so you can do your repairs without having to worry about surface rust. ** Con's -some brands can be quite expensive -you MUST use a breathing apparatus (dust ones will not do)