VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Engine Paint

The Chev's of the 40's & other supply houses list engine paint as gray for 1929-52 and blue for 1953-62. Yet, all of the 1941 Chev's I see advertised for sale on EBay, and other places on the internet have blue engines. AND, the current color of my engine is blue.

Which is correct?

Please bear in mind that colors are changed by transmiting them via computers and the software that opens the file. Many a time I asked a question of an ebay buyer about a "red" part and the buyer told me it was really orange. The same happened to me when I bought a "GM replacemet" oil pan for my 38 chevy. It looked bright blue in the photo that was sent to me from the seller but when it arrived it was dark blue grey, which I believe to me correct since it came in the old original GM Parts box. I noticed there is a change in the color or shade of "blue" in the early 50's and later again another change. What one person desribes as "blue" another may call "grey" when they are on the border between blue and grey. Good luck as I too am in the marked for some original paint for my engine. (I hope it matches the oil pan color)

Sorry but your engine is the incorrect color. The gray was used on all engines from 1929-52. The first change came in 1953 when the Power Glide car engine was painted blue and it had a "Blue Flame" decal on the valve cover. All other 1953 engines were the old gray color. All passenger car engines were blue in 1954-trucks continued with gray except the large truck 261 engine was green.
Painting the earlier engines blue was a common error for many years.
The correct gray color is available from Chevs of the '40's and the Filling Station.It would be called dark blue/gray.The later blue is a vivid medium blue.

Thanks Gene & #6109. Once again you have come through for me.

I was sure it was gray because somewhere back in my aging mind I remember a discussion on this forum that concluded it was a battleship gray, but I couldn't find that thread, so I decided to try again. Besides, Chev's of the 40's has never let me down. We spend our summers just north of them and I have stopped in several times. They are the greatest and will spend all the time it takes to get someone with my shortage of mechanical skills to understand something.

I had bought some gray from Chev's and was about to apply it today and I looked at some pictures from E Bay to see exactly what is painted what --- and all the engines were BLUE! A great deal of cognitive remorse rolled over me.

So I decided to call on the experts before I spent started painting. I will start painting before it gets too hot.

DML

Hey Doc, here is a link on motor colors...Oscar

http://1954advance-design.homeip.net//Web%20images/PPIP/PPIP-1912-1966-EngineColors.html

Don't feel bad. I have belonged to the VCCA for over 37 years and the engine color has always been the most frequently discussed topic.

Rise to Shine:

I tried to access your link and it didn't work.

Dr. David, after you paint the engine with the paint from Chevys of 40s let me know what color it is, as I had in mind to buy from them. I wonder if it is on the border line between grey and blue and on the dark side. Battle ship grey seems to light to match the oil pan I have and battle ship grey does not have any blue component in it.

You will find that the paint will be alittle darker than your NOS oil pan.The paint applied at the Chevrolet engine factory to a new engine is some times darker than was was used on seperate parts, especailly many years ago.
This has been discussed here before and when comparing the paint that is available today to what was found on such things as timing covers and thermostat housing it matched perfectly.

Actually battleship gray was not my term, it was one I saw on this forum some time back. I have applied one coat and it is drying a blue/gray as Gene indicated it would.

I have sent you a private e-mail. I have taken a couple of pictures of the first coat and if you will send me your e-mail address I will send them to you.

Gene. Since you have been with group 37 years perhaps you know who might get the following done.

Wouldn't it be very helpful to people if somewhere on this site there was a collection of color pictures of cars that have been restored to original specifications. Included would be photos of exterior, interior, engine, trunk, etc. Perhaps the pictures could come from various judgings.

I would think it would be of great service to those of us wandering out here in the wilderness.

DML

Dr. D:
I just sent you a photo of the engine in my car that was painted with the Filling Station paint. The photo is a reasonable color match to the actual paint. Hope this helps.

Coach

I received it and I thank you.

David

Dr.David,
That would be wonderful but there are sooooo many models,color choices, etc. it would be very difficult.Also so few cars that are really that perfenct in all areas.
At this point this site has been very helpful in getting more info. out to members.Also the technical advisors listed in the G&D should be of assistance.Only problem is that there has not been a 1941 T.A. for some time now.
There will also be more technical articles in future issues of the G&D.

Coach - I would like to see your engine also :)

Could I also see it? Thank you

Photo sent to both Gene and Motor. Hope this helps.

Coach

Thanks Coach

Coach, would you be able to post picture on this thread?

FYI: I used Filling Station Gray paint on my 41 Eng. and it was great, flowed nice and it's holding up very well.

Michael41

Coach,
The gray paint on your engine looks lighter than I expected.Is this what the actual color looks like or ???.
The engine paint I sold years ago and the FS paint is darker, as is he color of the NOS painted parts that I have.

As I recall the flash on the camera went off when I took this picture, so the color may be a little washed out. When I sent a PM to others I commented that I thought the actual color was a shade darker than the photo shows. In either case, it's way darker than the old 'porch paint'!!

Coach

I thought it may be a lighting/over exposed thing.The engine compartment looks great.I see only one minor "flaw".

This topic is taking on a life of its own and I am getting a lot of good informaton. Let me add another variation on a theme.

In the pictures I have gotten off the internet, all of the value colors are painted the color of the engine. In the black & white engine illustration in the Chev of 40's catalog the valve cover seems to be the same color as the engine.

However, the value cover offered for sale in the Chev of 40's catalog is chrome. My current value cover looks like chrome or alum but could be steel.

OK Gene, et al, which is it? Chrome or paint for the valve cover? Or was the chrome valve cover an option?

DML

The valve cover is painted the same color as the motor. Those chrome covers are bought to make it look nice but are not the stock color. They only sell chrome valve covers in the catalogs and not the painted ones. You will need to paint your old cover the same color as the block. Oscar

Agreed. The valve cover should be the color of the engine. In the old days, the chrome ones were what might be called part of an aftermarket "dress-up" kit. They're not original. Not correct for judging, etc.

Bill.