Engine bay refresh

[fireguyfire]

Just pulled the engine out of my 73 challenger so that I can do some minor repairs, clean it up and repaint it.
Someone in the past has painted the heater motor and wiper motor silver with a brush; obviously I will be stripping those and painting them back to factory correct colours.
I am trying to avoid doing any major work on the inside of the car, so I'm hoping to avoid pulling the dash and the heater out.
I'm really torn as to how deep I should go as far as removing stuff to paint the firewall. I'd rather not remove the master cylinder, brake lines, brake booster, etc but on the other hand they will be a pain in the butt to work and paint around.
The wiper motor is easy to remove so I'll do that for sure, plus obviously all of the electrical components and wiring harness.
Has anyone out there done a full engine bay refresh? I'm looking for suggestions on how to go about it.
The car is a keeper so I want to do it right, but I don't want to strip it to a bare shell either.
Open to inputs!

[1 Wild R/T]

Aluminum foil.... Nuff said...

[DeathProofCuda]

Personally, I would remove the brake booster, master cylinder, and brake lines.  Relative to the rest of the work you are doing it is not a big deal.  I would guess that in the end you'll find it easier not to have to work around those things and you'll be happier with the end results.

When I did mine I removed them, but my booster needed a serious cleanup anyway and I was replacing the master cylinder and all of the brake lines at the same time.  That was just for a black spray bomb hatchet job to get the engine bay one color.  If I was doing a proper body color repaint I would definitely remove them.

[Rich G.]

You did the hard part and pulled the engine. Everything else to remove is a piece of cake. Booster is just 4 bolts and the pedal bolt and 2 lines. Hopefully you won't find the firewall rotted behind it.

[RJChallenger]

You said, "The car is a keeper so I want to do it right" so pull every thing now. You will not regret this work / expense later.

[fireguyfire]

I appreciate the inputs. What are your opinions on the heater box/motor? I'm thinking this might be the one thing I leave in place.

[Rich G.]

That you could probably leave in and just mask the motor.

[1 Wild R/T]

I appreciate the inputs. What are your opinions on the heater box/motor? I'm thinking this might be the one thing I leave in place.

A/C or non A/C?  If it's A/C the motor unbolts from the engine side.... Non A/C the heater box comes out pretty easy..

[fireguyfire]

Non AC

[fireguyfire]

Does it come out without removing the dash?

[1 Wild R/T]

Yes, easily.. Three/four studs stick through the firewall, Couple  cables attach to the heater box, pop the clips off & disconnect the cables, disconnect the heater hoses, it's a good idea to blow the coolant out of the heater core before removing it so the coolant doesn't wind up on your carpet..  two attachments under the dash, one metal strap toward the center that goes up to the cowl area & a metal hook goes up into the cowl on the right side, you won't see the hook, but where the heater box draws fresh air, look for a bolt head on the flange, I think it's 5/16 maybe 3/8 anyway after disconnecting those two attachments take the nuts off under the hood & the heater box will roll out from under the dash...   Good time to replace the heater core & get a gasket & seal kit from Detroit Musclecar Technologies

[76orangewagon]

All I have to say about this is nothing looks worse than lack of attention to detail when painting a engine compartment and seeing painted over wires, lines or body plugs ...ect. Take a little extra time and remove everything.

[fireguyfire]

I agree; I am extremely anal about things; I was under the impression I would have to remove the entire dash to pull the heater box which is why I was balling on that one.

[Chryco Psycho]

You will have to remove the glove box to drop the heater box out also

[fireguyfire]

Thanks for the tip.
Can someone add some clarification on the suggestion to blow the coolant out of the heater before removing? I'm guessing compressed air in one line and a catch basin on the other on the firewall ?