The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1960 235 engine color

Is the engine color on a '60 235 the same gray as the earlier engines? The current color is red, not chevy orange but red.

According to THIS a truck 235 would be blue gray.

Hey, question on this topic...

I looked at the link provided above, and it states a 1960 Chevy Truck 235 is Blue/Gray, not gray. I painted the top of my 1960 Chevy Truck 235 gray back in 2008, as seen in the 1st pic. I just took off the oil pan (which was covered in grease and never painted), and I see something closer to what I would call blue/gray as seen in the 2nd pic.

I found the 2nd pic on the internet where someone used Buick Olds blue/gray engine paint which looks close to the color I found on my oil pan.

Does anyone know where I can find the proper blue/gray engine paint in rattle cans?

Thanks, Russ

I used GM Blue.

Jim Carter sells this engine paint listed as the correct color for 1954-62 Chevy truck engines. Not available in a rattle can, but you might be able to use the picture from his web page to try and get a best match from your local rattle can paint sellers.

The Filling Station sells the gray engine paint in rattle cans, but the stuff from either Jim Carter or the Filling Station in pint or quart cans can be brushed on with good success. I used Jim Carter's ALK-200 engine paint, originally spraying it, but touched up the block after it was hot tanked with a brush.
Filling Station Engine Paint

Thank you everyone for your input. Unfortunately, my mind is still spinning on everyone's input (here and many other posts, including other sites) on what the engine color is between gray, blue/gray, etc… I am not one for ordering paint without some kind of proof it is the color I am looking for, especially now with the cost of paint today. I am amazed at all the different colors that pop up on an internet search. This is a situation where I have proof of the original color found on the oil pan and want to duplicate that.

In my opinion, the 1st pic is what I would think a Blue/Gray would look like. The 2nd pic is the blue of a '60s 235 passenger blue. The 3rd is someone else's choice of gray for a 1960 Chevy truck 235, the 4th is the green of a ‘60s Chevy Truck 261, the 5th pic is the color I think looks the closest to what I see on my oil pan, but I think that Buick-Olds engine paint is metallic, which is not correct either. The last pic shows the color on the oil pan vs. the engine in the background.

At this point, I pretty much know the color (blue/gray) and just cannot find that engine paint. I might just match the oil pan to the gray of the rest of the engine, painted back in 2009.

Again, thank you everyone for your input, and I hope these pics help the next person asking this question.

All Chevy 216/235 truck engines have been painted Blue/Gray. However, there is no described formula that we know of. Each assembly factory seemed to have mixed their own batch and when that ran out, mixed another that didn’t always match. This color has been debated across this forum and the internet for years. Here is a link to a previous discussion on this forum. I used Bill Hirsch engine paint which can be painted with a brush, and I’m pleased with the color.

Your picture (attached,) appears to show blue paint on the INSIDE of the oil pan. That definitely would not be original, as GM didn't paint the inside of oil pans. [on edit] Sorry, it's an optical illusion thing on second look.[/edit]
I think you'd be happy with any of the blue-gray paint that the usual suppliers (The Filling Station, Jim Carter, etc.) have. What I got from Jim Carter matched the remnants of paint on my engine exactly, which isn't really necessary. Even if you park your truck next to someone else's, and the "original" engine colors are slightly different, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. See what Phil said above about factories mixing their own engine paint.
Don't overthink it.

You can always mix the paint and make the desired color. I've done it a bunch. Can always ask an Ai bot what colors to use to do what desired color.

Use the same brand and types of paint. Just add some blue to the gray, if you want darker gray add some black to it. Since black and white make gray. You need yellow and red to make orange I've done that one alot.

If/when I ever care enough to paint my engine….I’m going to use Massey Ferguson gray implement paint.

Cheap, widely available, and a medium/dark-ish gray that is close enough to any of the alleged “proper” colors that no one will ever fuss about it.

I am in the camp that there never was a standard, thus it’s impossible for any to be correct. I have an unfounded theory that much of what we see may have been leftovers from WWII military shades of gray.

That said, the examples I’ve seen of original paint on engines….are all pretty dark. Darker than a lot of what you see many people use…which is often more like a “Ford gray”…from the 8N tractors. Then again, I would never give anyone a hard time about using “too light” a gray either. Because the standard probably never existed.

FWIW - I have never personally seen an engine carrying any of that blue-ish hue that the Filling Station claims to be correct-ish. However, their research is what it is, and there must have been some engines that did look like that’s

Here is a link to show how dark a 235 is just keep scrolling down to it.


www.oldcarsweekly.com/news/lambrecht-1958-cameo-preserves-history-of-auction-chevrolet?utm_source

Hope it works the second time I tried it, it asked to register. I could not find any other photos

The 261 green is Alpine green, also used on Detroit Diesel engines.

Yes !