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I know this has been asked over and over...But I can't find the other listings for my question...
I am about to paint my 235 engine that has been in my 1957 Chevy 1/2 ton. The truck has been in my family since it was new. As long as I can recall the engine was GMC orange. But I am now at the point to paint the engine and I am hearing the original color was a blue. Can anyone help me confirm this? I was told the orange was only for the V8...Thanks for any help!

I think 54 and early 55 were blue but I had a 56 235 and was chevy orange.I have a 52 with a 235 I painted orange but I'm rethinking that because the 216 was grey and the early blue mite go better with the truck?

Hey Joes,
Yes, I called Cliff's Classic Chevy in Portland OR and he told me the 57 was blue. In the 80's my dad had the engine rebuilt. The engine was painted orange...but he passed away and there are no pictures of the truck from back then.
My truck will be the Brewter Green. So blue or orange will look good...
Thanks,

Jon

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

This is the best discussion I have found. It sounds like there were various colors used but a pet peeve is seeing a pre 50's truck with chevy orange.

No 1954 or newer Chevrolet 235 truck engine was not blue (they were gray and maybe in some years/options green or maybe blue-gray). The 1953/54-62 Chevrolet 235 car engines were blue (Blue Flame Six).

Now there is a thought,
What if the colors were an option back then?
Is there a code for the blue?

earnesttbass,
Thanks for the link...that really makes me wonder now what the heck the color was back then!

engine color was not an option, but various optional engines were different colors .... it was the car engine that was blue, the TF Thriftmaster was gray, 55-59

Bill

Well I have a 1946 1.2 ton with a 1957 235 engine in it and I painted it Orange and black. I could not find any definite answers to what colour it was originally but it looks good orange. My truck is Canadian made as well so I think they may have had different engine colours as well. I have suspicions that my engine is out of a car originally because the paint was not blue or grey, it was a beige looking colour. Strange but true. I say if your truck is staying or going back to original, paint it the grey/blue colour (but that is still debatable as I have heard of a few 235's being orange). If it is not, paint it whatever colour you think will look cool. Check out my flicker site to see my engine all painted and looking perdy!

HalfTon - CDN engines were painted the same as US, I had a 57 bought new by Crown Zellerbach that had never had any major work done on the engine, it was grey like every other TF truck I've seen that was a known unmolested original ... engine rebuilders commonly paint any Chevy engine orange, and owners paint them what turns their crank ... even beige or orange and black

Bill

Thank you Bill for the info. Sorry to ask the question again..
Is there a code for the engine grey?

I do not recall anyone ever posting a GM color code for any 216/235 (or 261) engine. In a 1998 article, Bob Adler gave a PPG code of 34560 for a high-pressure 235 engine (an article about 1954 truck paint colors).

Various vendors have various shades of gray and gray-blue for truck engines but there has been a lot of disagreement over what is the shade of gray for 1954-52 235 gray (truck) engines.

The color of pre-54 truck 235/216 engines was most likely the same color and that blue-gray was most likely different from the gray used on 235 truck engines from 54-62.

Nonetheless, no one knows the exact shade of gray and no one has a GM color code.

tclederman,
Thanks for the info. Not sure still what color I will paint the truck. The truck was built in Oakland, Ca. Trying to see if there is any history on that plant.


Thanks again!

Jon

What else would be nice is to find a needle-in-a-hay-stack and find another Chevy owner having a 57 truck that was built in Oakland as well and had the stock color!

What a find that would be!

Tclederman,
I put in a call to my local PPG paint store and he looked up the PPG code 34560 and he said it came back as a Ford charcoal color. He has was unable to help me as far as what the code was back then.
But, maybe that color will work. I will need to see the color to see if it is close. Thanks!
Jon

I doubt if a charcoal color would be a relatively light gray? Sorry, it looks like my reference is off.

No worries!
I will figure it out!
I am going to check with Eastwood to see if they have a code.
Eastwood has no info.
I found Jim Carter and Filling Station have the color. Close enough for me!

Thanks

Jon

Jon,

This 235 engine was painted with JCs engine paint. That is the engine I put in my Suburban.

Tim

Hi all,
thought you might want to take a look at the painted engine !
Before
I get it back tomorrow.
Thank you for the support and info!

Jon

I have a 1946 big bolt fire truck. When I got the truck the engine color was black. I checked in many different places on the engine and found black paint down to the bare metal. So ......... finding that I repainted the engine black.
I am also not so sure what size motor I have. When I bought the truck I understood it to be a 216. When I took the oil pan off I found 235 stamped on the side of the oil pan. This pan has the oil troughs in it for lubracation. So being totaly confused I'am not sure what size motor I have, however black remains to color.

Unklrod,

Whose paint (and code or part #) did you use? It looks good.


westratedel,

You have an older 235's oil pan. Post the number/code that is pressed into the block, just to the rear of where the distributor goes into the block. That should help to identify the engine and original application.

engine identification

Tim

Hi Tim,
I will get back to you on the paint. I know Filling Station has the paint. When I get the engine back I will take a look at the codes.
Thank you!
Jon

don't know if this helps, but the vcca has a list of '55-'56 truck engine colors. maybe they have more
http://www.vcca.org/

That is the same color i used for my 41 on the engine but the intake is a dull silver color.

I picked up an L6 292 as a spare core. It was painted green. Alpine Green or Detroit Diesel Green are the closest matches. The color appears to be original. Casting numbers ID'd the motor as a '63 model year 292. My theory is that the prior generation 261s were painted green and the tradition carried over to the L-22 series so shop mechanics could ID the heavy duty engines at a glance. I'm a purely '67-'72 guy so I don't know much 'ancient' history. By '67 all L6s and SBC V8s were universaly Chevy Engine Orange. I don't recall the dress numbers [off the distro pad] but I'm pretty sure it's Flint-built in 1962. I don't know where I got this "theory" -- unless it's ghosts who whisper to me late at night after I've been too close to the carb cleaner. [JK]

ahhh, and look at that width-adjustable, rolly engine stand. that's what i's gonna make

This was Friday

Check this out.
Part # Type Model Year Select Price Core Qty Purchase
FS-119 CAR & TRK ALL 1929-1962 59.95
Engine Paint Dark Grey

The above paint is in quart cans.
****************************************
Paint below is Spray Cans

Part # Type Model Year Select Price Core Qty Purchase
FS-359 CAR & TRK ALL 1929-1962 16.50


The Filling Station

http://www.fillingstation.com/index.html

Plasti-kote universal gray #202 engine enamel is a very close match to engine paint I got from JC several years ago when I painted my '52 216. It's an aerosol can.

I've always wanted to know what the actual colors were, myself. I'd buy a rig, and sometimes find the engine had (clearly) been repainted.
I mean it's not like I'm not going to get all the information for the thing anyway. But always thought it'd be nice to find some authoritative listing that would provide some sort of "at a glance" reference.
Well, after a mess of research, I found what appears to be a pretty definitive list:
Engine Colors: 1912-1966
Oooo Chartreuse! I sure wish they would have stuck with that color!

HTH!

Chris

Chris,

I think that JC's list is the same list that I posted above (the original document that JC refers to).

Tim,
Sorry. I think you're right. I'm afraid I missed it.

Chris