VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 '32 engine paint color and other questions

Last year at Hershey, I bought a quart of Bill Hirsch engine enamel labeled as correct for my '32. I have not opened it yet, but am close to needing to paint some parts and was wondering if others have used this paint and were satisfied that it is correct. I'm asking because as I scan pictures of '32 engines on various sites, the color varies from a very light gray to a very dark gray.

I have used Bill Hirsch engine enamels for a '38 Oldsmobile and three different Studebakers and been pleased with the results.

What model number generator is correct for '32? The shop manual say only "Stamped on serial number plate attached to generator frame" Well, duh! What's the number Chevrolet? I have one that has no tag and one with a Delco-Remy model number 9430 tag.

As I look for rebuildable carburetors, both on-line and at swap meets, are there specific numbers I should be looking for? Shop manual and parts price manual are no help. What I have seems to be correct, but I don't know. It's a Carter W-1, cast iron body with a big "C" cast on the float bowl and "Patd 12-5-18, 4-9-1S, others pend" under the W-1.

How about fuel pumps? How many years beyond '32 do they interchange? The Master parts price List I have only covers '29 to '32. What numbers should I be looking for? I guess I'm assuming it's an AC pump.

Thanks. Tom

Most will agree that the very dark gray is "correct" but few think the Bill Hirsch dark gray paint is "as correct" as the Filling Station dark gray. The generator should be a 943J. There were two carbs used on the 32- an early and a late-both are W-1- a 212S and a 235S. According to the chart I have the 212S may be stamped 77 and the 235s 89 or 289 if you are fortunate enough to find one with a stamp. If not stamped then there are folks here who can identify from parts numbers on some of the parts.

Fuel pump 1929-1933.

Thanks Steve. As soon as I saw your post I had to go out to the shop and use a strong light and a magnifying glass to check the number on that one generator. It looks like I mis-read it and I do indeed have a correct 943J. OK. Check that one off my list.

Tom

I have painted a few motors now for customers. My own car I used Chevy gray from Eastwood. Another, the customer supplied all Bill Hirsch paints, and the most recent I purchased a quart from the filling station. Now that I’ve gotten more experience with old chevys, I can tell you the FS paint is the only one that comes close to the all original 31’ engine I purchased as a spare. I am thinking of cleaning up my spare engine and repainting it, then dropping it in my 31’ for the very reason of the correct color paint. The FS paint is the most expensive but if you are going to show or if you just want the closest to original, it’s the only paint to use. You can paint a whole engine and trans with half a quart if spraying it. Both the Eastwood andHirsch paints are great products to apply and dry super quick with a nice shine, they are just too light in color for that original look.

Ah! Excellent. Thank you. That's just the type of feedback I was hoping for. In the Filling Station catalog, on the page where the engine paints are listed, there are several illustrations of other Bill Hirsch products so I wasn't sure if FS was selling Hirsch engine enamel or a different product. I'll use the FS paint. I'd prefer to get it right.

A follow-up question or two --- what is proper intake manifold finish? I've seen engine color and black. What colors are the water pump and crankshaft pulleys? I'm assuming the generator pulley is black, and the exhaust manifold is finished to look like fresh cast iron.

Thanks again. Tom

Originally, the complete engine was assembled at the factory (minus accessories like the generator, starter, carburetor and etc.) and then it was painted as a unit. Therefore, the intake and exhaust manifolds were painted engine color. Didn't take long for the engine paint to burn off of the exhaust manifold however. The water pump, fan and crankshaft pulleys were painted with the engine.

There is an interesting note as far as generator pulley is concerned. Over the years I have found numerous documentation sources indicating that the generator pulley was painted engine color (dark blue gray). It really doesn't make sense as to why the factory would do that, but from the documentation that I have found that appears to be the case.

Here's mine after brushing on 2 coats of FS engine paint. No primer. Used their aerosol on valve cover.
Exhaust manifold has Bill Hirsch high temp dark grey primer, top coated with their Cast Iron Gray manifold paint, secretly baked in wife's oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Still holding color after 400 miles driven.

The engine in our 32 is original to the car and the paint on it was nearly the same as the FS color, dark grey. I painted my new sealed water pump with the FS paint and it matches the block nearly as perfect as an 85 year old block could.

I’m going to tell Michele on you!

Go ahead. But remember, I know where your '31 is stored (and that original radio)

Sold that old Chevy radio but I do have an old Olds radio for my 32’. Bet you can’t find it! By the way, I got that Chevy radio to actually work and that really helped with the sale.

I tried baking my manifold in the oven. The smell was awful. I found a BBQ grill that was being discarded and that worked the nuts.

Tom - as Steve mentioned, the two original carbs used were the 212s and the 235s. Main difference was the calibration of the metering rod, and Carter suggested replacing the metering rod if one had a 212s.

Generally, the tag will be missing, and a couple of commercial rebuilds where the rebuilder mills the bottom of the throttle body to ensure trueness will remove the bottom stamp. This link will help you to identify an original 1932 carb:

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/CarterChevroletW1.htm

If your vehicle is not being showed in National shows for points, you will find the later replacement W-1 569s is a much superior carburetor to either the 212s or the 235s; and was sold as a factory replacement (read as "bolt-on swap").

Jon.

Wow. What an education. I now know that I have a correct '32 W-1 carburetor. The stamped flange number is long gone, but it has the high idle adjustment screw and no distributor vacuum port. What's funny is that I got that carb mounted on a '34 engine.

Now I'll start looking for a 569s for driving.

Thanks. Tom

What you will want for the 569-S is a #421. If you visit the site that Jon posted you should get a good picture and description.

Yes, Jon's site is where I got the education. I didn't go to many swap meets last year. Now I'm fired up waiting for Decatur, TX, Chickasha OK, Pate TX, and, of course, Hershey.

I'll be the guy with the magnifying glass to look at the numbers on the flange.

I appreciate all the responses to my posts. I have a lot to learn about Chevys

Tom

Jon's site is great and Jon very knowledgeable.

Forget looking for the numbers stamped in the flange. I have only found those numbers on a few carburetors (out of 100+ in my inventory and I don't know how many I have rebuilt). That includes factory rebuilds still in the Carter box. That is despite what is in Carter literature. I have more than 10 pieces of original Carter literature and have rebuilt a bunch of W-1s. You will be much further ahead to learn the difference in the W-1s year to year. Just be aware in the 60+ years from initial assembly different parts could have been installed. So the only way to be sure of the application is take the carburetor apart and measure all the internal parts.