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What is the proper color of a Chevy 235 Thriftmaster engine in a 1955 1st series 3600 Pick up?
Jim Carters catalog says 1929 -1962 all 235/216 truck engines are gray. Brothers truck catalog says 47-62 is gray. Chevy Duty catalog says the engines were only gray from 47 to 53 and that from 54 to 62 the color is BLUE like the car engines. Most general restoration catalogs like eastwoods etc that are not truck specific only sell blue and dont even mention gray engine paint. I posted on Carters Forum and a guy replied saying that in 1955 the truck engines were still grey and the cars were blue. What is it? blue or gray?

hay Garda!! welcome to the garage - the engine color question comes up regularly, and is sometimes resolved by reference to this tech article by Robert Hensel from Pickups n Panel

go w/ gray

Bill

This is one of those issues where there isn't a definite answer, other than it was either blue or gray. I've seen original trucks of this vintage with both. For example, the chart linked to shows a 64 230 truck being orange. The one we owned had a blue engine, we bought it new. And our museum has a 64 pickup with a 230 is painted gray.

Engine colour is a hot topic. When I rebuilt the 235 I6 in my 59 6 or 7 years ago it was painted blue.

Last winter the entire truck was restored and this time the engine was painted grey. Most think the grey is correct for the truck engine.

My boss at work is convinced that his dad's brand new 59 had a light green 235. Most people agree that a 261 would have been green.

Best of luck.

Engine colour is a hot topic. When I rebuilt the 235 I6 in my 59 6 or 7 years ago it was painted blue.

Last winter the entire truck was restored and this time the engine was painted grey. Most think the grey is correct for the truck engine.

My boss at work is convinced that his dad's brand new 59 had a light green 235. Most people agree that a 261 would have been green.

Best of luck.

Here is a picture of my 235 in grey.

[img]http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/7d380940/bc/May+2003+Progress/Img_1006.jpg?bcgDOf_A_Xx20OLp[/img]

Something I noticed when comparing the two engines, neither has a heater hooked up!

I too have been wondering about this question (I'll be painting a '35 207). Does anyone have info on paint codes, color names, brands, etc. that would accurately describe the gray color?

Every time this topic is posted (about once every 2-3 months) I hesitate (for a second) to respond. This is a lot like discussing what is the one true religion (I think).

In an article in the November 1998 "Pickups 'n Panels in Print", Bob Adler states that PPG 34560 is a "fair current match" for the 216 and 235 (pre and post 1954) gray truck engines. Bob quotes Robert Hensel who quotes "Chevrolet Service New Bulletins".

The 261 was green in some years and yellow in other years and either green or yellow in transition years. The green was nice but I do not know a number. Jim Carter sells the green and his gray for the 235 looks a lot like the F..o..r..d engine gray.

Tim

Thanks for all the help. I just bought a reproduction of a book distributed by chevy about the engineering and redesign of the 1954 AD it mentions the fact that the thriftmaster engine is grey. Interesting book!

My original, unrepainted '54 engine had these blue remnants left on it just like the color I painted it with from Chevy Duty. Might be incorrect but it is what my truck had from the factory.

[img]http://www.angelswest.com/_borders/engine1.jpg[/img]

I just had some PPG Concept matched to an NOS 216 timing cover and the correct gray from The Filling Station, which was real close to the cover. It's a lot darker blue-gray than the paint offered by suppliers such as Bill Hirsch. There has been lengthy discussions about this at the VCCA website. Chevy probably purchased large amounts of paint from different suppliers over the years so I don't think you could come up with a standard color. Anyways, the number on the can is DCC 36304, Dark Gray.

[IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UwDWArIY1vKHX11O4yX5lM7evjrNMiyk4INuE2numIlQJuht8QV6YOvaKdw9UQROKlwzkmcoDze6iEBsa!wGeUYmt*uPfL3a*AS31lGXJaAwGcwSr7UeROQt5deOp0TY/235-3.jpg?dc=46 75446111762493046[/IMG] [IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0VgDLAlEaZHkE9xglfzpitmWVEwQj1VCVDHag9lEyxz5UWo7g78yq7Nd*9JdkywwvrIDMbt9GKxUUdu9NdtNYAJrdWZKZHuqivR7pL!yb0wrlesXa2CUvrJGvd!3Jfm*g/Chevy235.jpg?dc =4675446108665253736[/IMG] [IMG]http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WgDWAvwbyQgE9xglfzpitmjglClcYWxQPYXfKLtopFXdmZQHzSidNwkQXmLr24kyxhfO*7jololCTitzEmljAXTG7LYm62jEc48s00FsC!5BsLOjSrm6qXzagKNfebpj8R2jKEthmb4/Chev y235book.jpg?dc=4675446108666823785[/IMG]

Well that last attempt to post pictures sure didn't work did it? Maybe this will work... Engine Data

I picked up a '63 292 core that was kind of a Robin's Egg Green. I hear it's close to Detroit Diesel Green.
Was this the only year for the green? And did GM not go to a healthy Chevy Engine Orange until '67?

The 261 was the same green color. It was a way to tell the differance between it and the smaller six without having to read the casting numbers.