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QUIZ: If Chevrolet was to make a gray engine paint (a mixture of black/white with no blue), vs a darker gray-blue mixture of black/ white/blue, do you think Chevrolet would call either one (or, both) gray?

Deve,

You have been pulling the engines from salvage yards, since the 1930s (not 1930 engines - the years you pulled the engines)?

Tim, you are an edumacated man. Have I been pulling engines since the 1930's or have I pulled many a 1930 through 1972 engine? What makes the most sense to you? Who says Tim is a bookworm with no sense of humor.. I will personally pummel them! LOL!

Chevy would call anything they want anything they want. But I am being sincere and not trying to change anyones mind other than to tell of my real life experiences that happened about 8 years ago. I ordered Jim Carters paint first for obvious reasons, then decided it was way too light from what I was actually witnessing. I was elated when Bill Hirsch offering was spot on.

I have trouble writing this new english.

No, Deve, I was questioning what you posted (I think it has now been changed).

Thus, my point still stands: those engine had most likely been rebuilt/repainted at least one time, if not many times (and, thus painted with whatever the rebuilder had around).

My question about what Chevrolet called the engine color was a trick question. The only Chevrolet reference to truck engine color that I have found is a reference in the 1954 Engineering Features - Truck booklet.

"The new [1954 high/full-pressure] engine is painted gray . . . "

I didnt change my posts.

Nope, not here in the farm belt. These big trucks have never had a different paint scheme. I am SURE since we parted out large trucks and small, that the paint was not new on most of them. And you can tell anyway. Mostly pretty easy to tell when something has been repainted. So you would be INCORRECT!

The salvage yard is the best place to test this theory since it has the big trucks in it too. These farmers around here do not repaint the barns and fences and houses, let alone their trucks engine. WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRong! If this were the much richer and more edumacated eastern seaboard, maybe, but nope. This is the heartland. If they had any color of paint, it would go in the kitchen.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/1953-Chevrolet-engines.jpg

At least we know what 1952 engines looked like in original color.

Hehe. NO. Car engines. You can tell by the air filter cannister. It takes ALOT more research than an advertisement to enter this very nuanced conversation. Lots of people right here have been struggling with this for their entire lives. I am glad that for me its over.

Ah shucks you spotted it.

It makes not much to me either as I am non-original restore mode, 48 216 out 59 235 in. And color will suit my eyes.

So what color are folks painting their transmission.

You bet! And I am in total agreement. Paint it Pink if that suits you. It's YOURS! For the stockers, it does matter, so the best I can do is relay my experiences here. They can take it or leave it. Nice engine, the 59 235!

Those are 1953 engines - one is introduction of the Blue Flame Six and the other would be the well-known tan 235 with mechanical lifters.

I didn't want to start this whole flap all over again............

I'm in the process of getting my 235 ready for paint. A while back I purchased a can of Ford Gray Rustoleum 248958. There was only one can on the shelf so I figured I'd buy it and swing back for a couple more cans once it was re-stocked. WRONG - Ford Gray Rustoleum 248958 has been discontinued! According to a Rustoleum customer service representative it was discontinued in April of this year.

I think I'm going to use Duplicolor Ford Gray DE1611. It's readily available at my FLAPS.

Any other thoughts or options I should consider?

Thanks,

Andy,

Boy you may have disturbed a bees nest...

I believe I used the same Duplicolor Ford Gray on my 1958 235. It looked very much the same color as the original paint, and there was a lot of paint on this original engine. Later year truck engines seem to have a lighter shade of gray than earlier versions, especially in the splash oiler era.

Paul

I searched Google multiple times and found Chevy Gray engine paint on more than one site. When I tried to order it I would get a message it was discontinued or it would have "out of stock" under the ordering button. After weeks of research I came up with the same results as this thread. There is no definitive answer. The most consistent answer I found was the AD 235 engines were gray. (At least on the 3100's, I think the larger trucks might have had a different color on the larger engines) I also found reference to the truck engines being gray and the cars being blue for the exact same engine the same year. I used Ford Gray on my 54. I just repainted it a couple months ago. I also read, I think in another thread on this site, that during the assembly of the AD trucks, engine color was not that important in regards to consistent paint colors. Each assembly plant could mix their own paint and even though they all painted the AD truck engines gray, the shades of gray could vary.

My engine F*#@ gray engine paint

Your link to the pic is restricted due to PhotoBucket's new "3rd Party Hosting" policy.

You might be interested in reading this 20+ year old list of 1912-1966 Chevrolet engine colors (by a VCCA expert). As posted above, there are more than 50 shades of gray that people swear is the one-and-only true shade of gray (that they say/swear was used in all 216/235 truck years).

Use the gray you like. As posted above, if anyone challenges your color, either just smile and thank them for their opinion, or, tell them you would be very interested in seeing a GM code for your year engine paint.

By the way, I think that VCCA expert might be dead, because I have read more recent posts on the VCCA chat board where younger members are sure he was wrong (with no proof to support their beliefs).

Any product associated with that offensive brand name has been shown to cause rust mites.
I have seen an unmolested, barn fresh original '56 with the yellow 235 script still on it. It was covered with a thick layer of oily dirt which preserved the paint.
We cleaned the grunge off of the valve cover and the paint was definitely a lighter shade of gray than the original AD paint I have seen in person (which can be better described as more of a light black than a dark gray IMHO).
Carl

Thanks for letting me know about the Photobucket restriction. I could go into an entire rant of about this but it belongs in the Greasy Spoon. Now I have to move all my photos to another service. I won't pay Photobucket a penny.

Thanks for your replies. That was an interesting read on Chevrolet engine colors. Given the multitude of grays that were used and are currently available, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

Carl, rust mites? I thought that lesson you gave me on the finer points of using Ospho would solve that.............