Alright, I'm about to embark on a project to clean up my engine-bay since the engine will need to come out for a rebuild. I have a few questions I was hoping some could help me with and here they go:

1. This vehicle will need a VA state inspection and I was wondering what effect removing the smog pump would have on that? I believe I would also need to leave the cat's in tact to pass this inspection, so would it even be possible to remove the smog stuff? I've heard this has a negative effect on the cat's.

2. Currently, the A/C is inoperable and I was contemplating an A/C delete. Please give me some pros/cons, besides the obvious. If I decide to remove, I would like to pull everything from the engine bay. What should I do with all the parts behind the firewall?

3. Also, why in the hell did FoMoCo shoot all those useless holes into the engine bay? I've heard of may using a MIG welder to close them up, but since I have no experience with welding and do not own a mig welder I was wondering if some 'bondo style' patch work with jb weld could potentially do the trick?

4. Assuming the answer to #3 is a big 'no,' what would it take to purchase a minimal powered mig welder and learn to concur some basic welding? This could be a benefit when I need to weld in the subframe connectors.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

1. smog pump will be needed for emmitions.

2. If ya don't mind not having ac then there isn't any real down sides to doing a delet.

3. ya got to remember the inner fenders where designed in 1978 first used on the fairmont. i don't think ford ever deleted a hole just made new ones as they updated the car. if you look at a 1979 mustang there arn't nearly as many holes..

you can buy a cheap welder for about 150 at harbor freight.

 

Yea, you should see my inner fenders. It looks like someone went crazy w/ a bebe gun through them. I have atleast 25 holes on each and use about 5. Hey h2obuoy, if you find a trick to covering these up PLEASE let me know because If not I am going to have a body shop do it and they are going to rape me. Thanks alot.

Dan

 

buy a small welder and just weld up the holes and then grind them back down level.

 

WARNING!!! do not, i repeat, DO NOT go and weld the holes yourself!! i guarentee that you will frigg up the holes worse than if you bondoed them. i am quite proficient at migging, and it has taken me 3 years to get good. you WILL burn right through the metal if you mig it. i can mig thin steel, but someone with no experience will burn through. no questions asked. and the bondo is cheaper. having a mig is SOOOO nice, but you have to practice for at least a few months to even get aquainted with the machine. just bondo it. safest, cheapest way to go. just checked and a mig through harbor freight is 160 and up. thats for a wicked cheapo. but you would only need that for the subs. and the best way of checking about the smog is to go onto the VA state site, and search for the state inspection book. i know NH has theirs on their site, so i would assume that all the states do too.

 

I hear you can clean up your engine bay real good by taking out that old K-member of yours. 2x4s work wonders.

Anyways, instead of welding them all up, or bondoing them (which i dunno how that would hold up to engine bay temps) You could get some nice sheet metal (real thin gauge) and rivet or weld that over wherever you're talking about. Might add a few pounds (barely) but you could go with the diamond plate too, if you feel like makin it look preeeetty, or something along those lines.