When it comes to winning at car shows, the engine appearance is critical. To make a statement -like Ford did with the above Mustang GT-R Concept 5.0 "Cammer" crate engine back in 2005- you have loads of possibilities. This article will cover the main four ways to finish the appearance of your 05&up Mustang engine: Painted, satin, polished and chrome. Everyone loves to look at a nice engine. It's the heat and soul of the car.

The beauty with painted items is that you can combine them with other finishes like satin and polished stainless steel, satin aluminum and chrome. Pre-painted underhood dress-up items for the late model Mustang include shock tower covers, fuse box cover, radiator extension covers and radiator cover. They are availble in the 17 Ford colors for the 05+ Mustang.

In addition to those, you can add the Ford Plenum Cover and matching Fuel Rail Covers, as shown on the photo. For those who want an even more personalized look, a custom plenum cover for Mustang V6 and V8 is available,

To kick it up a notch, it is very easy to add aluminum dress up items such as caps for the brake fluid, power steering fluid, radiator, oil and window washer fluid. These come in a beautiful satin finish and are made by Scott Drake, a leading manufacturer of Mustang parts and accessories. If you start with the satin finish, we recommend you stick to it for the other items such as strut tower caps, oil stick handle, fuse box cover and hood lift kit or hood prop rod.

Now for those lucky enough to have a Shelby Mustang, you can achieve the same look but with the Shelby logos. Three Shelby engine caps sets are available for the 05+ Mustang.

UPR is another manufacturer that makes a complete line of satin or polished dress-up items for your 05+ Mustang. Again, if you start with one finish from one brand, we recommend you stick to it so there is no mismatch. For example, the "satin" finish from UPR does not match the "satin" finish from Scott Drake, nor Shelby.

The polished items are somewhat between satin and chrome in terms of price. Polished items are a good alternative to chrome and will still give the shiny effect that you're looking for.

North American Tuning stocks a full range of these items and ships them to you for free with any order over $100.

Clear automotive silicone is recommended to secure some of these items.

Last but not least are the chrome-plated underhood items, such as this Action Artistry fuse box cover.

More and more items become available in chrome so be sure to check North American Tuning's catalog for frequent updates.

The most important thing is to beautify your ride and enjoy not just the process but also the rewards when you get your next car show award.

Thanks for reading. Best of luck at the car shows and Stay Tuned...