The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1949 Chevy 3100 Deluxe Engine Color

I am looking at purchasing a '49 Chevy 3100 Deluxe Cab with a 4 speed. Nice looking truck but the owner says it is all original. I am a little sceptical on the engine since it is blue and not gray. It looks to be a 216 ci.

Can anyone confirm what should be the original engine color for this truck?
Thanks
Kevin

Get the engine number and see if it matches. It should be a 216 for that year. I am surprised the engine has any color but black though on something that old unless he has pulled the engine and repainted it.

The original engine color was blue on the 216s in that year. Black was earlier. Grey came later, green on the 261 and much later, orange.

Here is a list of Chevrolet engine colors that has been around for a while.

Unfortunately, that list does not give color codes and there are many opinions about what is gray, blue gray, and blue. It would be very helpful if someone would post pictures of engines painted those three colors. There is one parts supplier that sells "gray" engine paint for trucks that looks blue (like the Blue Flame Six 235s that were put in automobiles after 1953).

Thanks for the info...again this guy says this truck is all original and it does indeed look VERY good, but not restored good. Certainly the undercarriage is dirty and a little rusty, but the overall outside of the truck looks like you could give a wash and you are ready to go in a parade and look pretty good doing that. I know of this guy and really have no reason to doubt his word.

I was just thinking that from all the reading I have done that in the 1940 to 1954 vintage cars and trucks the car engines were always painted blue, like a medium royal blue; and the truck eingines were painted gray like a battleship gray. The replacement engine I have for my '41 truck came from a '48 chevy sedan and it is blue. I was going to paint it gray before putting it in the truck....maybe not???

Is the engine number that you are referring to the casting number behind the starter? Should that match the serial number on the title?

Thaks for your help!
Kevin

Do you have any references that you can list that would have this kind of engine color information? Not that I don't believe you...I just like to have a piece of paper (or electonic reference), in may hand from something official telling me for sure this is the way it was done.

Thanks,
Kevin

I don't know about the cars, but here is what Jim Carters is selling for the truck engine gray for the 46.

Here is a link to the trunk engine gray....

46 In Progress,

Nice picture. That is certainly not the gray engine color (that JC also sells) and it is not the blue engine color (used on passenger/auto 235 engines). So, might as well call it the blue gray that was supposedly used on many 216 engines (it's a nice looking color, too).

Tim

Engine color could vary depending on what plant it came from or availability of the paint. I've seen blue engines in trucks and grey engines in cars. My '55 2nd had traces of blue on it, it had never been out of the truck until I re-built it.