The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop '54 Engine Block Paint Color

I have de-greased the engine and compartment. The rocker cover in Black...I could make out a little bit of the "Thriftmaster 235" decal in yellow on the right side of the cover.

The block appears to be black. Not Gray...not orange...etc. Is this correct for a '54 3100 half ton? Has anyone experienced that color on a 235 half ton? I am not sure if the truck is an early build or a late build.

The original color is a dark grey that almost looks like a flat black.

1954 235 truck engines were painted grey and passenger car engines were painted blue. The grey color is certainly not so dark one would mistake it for black.

This is confirmed by Inliners International whom I am proud to be a member of as well as this forum.

I join 53moneypit in holding the opinion that the engine color is gray (as stated in the GM 1954 Chevrolet Truck Engineering Features booklet).

hhhmmmmm.......what about CE blocks(replacement blocks)??

It was my great-grandfathers truck. I am not positive but I would say the motor is the original one. 23K on the ticker.

Anywho....thanks for the responses...

According to VCCA(Vintage Chevrolet Club of America) members, the correct color paint is a very dark grey and is only available at The Filling Station and Chevs of the Forties. Since the VCCA judges nothing except Chevrolets for correctness, I would trust their opinion above all others. The lighter machine grey as marketed by Bill Hirsh is incorrect. I have stopped in at The Filling Station and the color is indeed quite dark.

I have a new thought...I have noticed that the primer for the body panels and for the front bumper was "Black". Do you think they would have primed the block...Rocker Cover...etc before they painted the engine gray?

I guess the reason I am pounding this issue to death is because if I have something unique about this truck.....I want to preserve that uniqueness. When I was doing the corvette thing not too many years ago...there were large amounts of small deviations from the OEM look. The reasons why are endless but the point is it was different from "factory" but it still happened.

This truck is unmolested...a time capsule if you will. It is far from pristine but with close inspection you can see the original chips of paint here and there to be able to compile a baseline from which to begin a re-creation of the truck.

Thanks again for the responses,

Craig

I've heard that some commerical engine rebuilders paint their engines/blocks black. Maybe the block was replaced.

I would check the engine stamp number and casting dates on the block to see if it is original to year/truck.

Baldy,

Can you find the Chevs of the 40s' and the Filling Station's part numbers for the 1954 truck engine paint?

Both companies seem to list a blue paint for cars and trucks (as does Chevy Duty - Classic Parts of America).

Sorry, VCCA, I'll still go with the gray on a 1954 truck engine. Jim Carter's gray (and Bob Adler's gray) matches the gray on pictures for 54/55 sales brochures (yes, I know the colors on sales are notoriously questionable)

Thanks, Tim

Engine Paint Listings from The Filling Station

CAR & TRK ENGINE ENAMEL PAINT
4-Cylinder Dark Green 1924-1928
FS-153 QUART
FS-153P PINT
FS-155 Aerosol

CAR & TRK ENGINE ENAMEL PAINT
Dark Grey 1929-1952
FS-119 QUART
FS-119P PINT

CAR & TRK ENGINE ENAMEL PAINT
Blue Aerosol 1951-1962
H-5

CAR & TRK ENGINE ENAMEL PAINT
Orange Aerosol 1955-1975
FS-2405

CAR & TRK PAINT
Cast Iron Grey Good to 1800 Deg
1911-1990
H-9 PINT
H=9A 16oz

CAR & TRK PAINT
Space Age Blk Hi Heat Good to 1800 Deg
1911-1990
H-8A Aerosol
H-8 PINT

Only the 53 powerglide 235s were blue and only passenger car engines were blue in 1954. Truck engines were grey. Starting about 1955 different C.I. engines and different load rated trucks had different colored engines, do a search and you will come up with lists of the colors.

Craig, I agree with you. If you have a "time capsule", it is most tasteful to preserve it. However, over so many years time, it is rare to have something that wasn't altered in some way, either due to parts availability or to make it better.

My Corvette had blown its engine when it was only 7 years old. I purposely bought it so that I could enjoy building it. If it, or my truck, were all original, I would have taken just as much pleasure in making it a time capsule.

By the way, these engine colors are for Chevy's, correct? Weren't they different on GMC's? I seem to remember GMC engines being red.

...And what about a 1954 (Chevrolet 1/2 ton) 235 with a Hydra-matic? Even though the 235 engines of 53 with powerglides were blue,and I know glides had 2 speeds and hydramatitcs had 4,if someone has a 1954 hydramatic built in 53 for sale as a 54, COULD that engine be blue? The reason why I ask is the original engine in my 54 Chevy hydramatic is gray (still in there), but I recently sold a different 54 engine from another hydramatic pickup that was BLUE, not gray, and the casting numbers decode for a 1/2 ton pickup! Thanks, Rich

The 54 Hydra-Matic truck engine is different from the '53 Powerglide automobile engine. The '53 Powerglide has hydraulic lifters and a 2-bolt valve cover. If someone has the '53 Powerglide engine matched up with a '54 Hydra-Matic transmission, the engine might be painted blue (if the Powerglide paint is still on it) but most bets would be on the engine being a later replacement to the original 235 truck engine.

The 1954 Chevrolet Truck Engineering Features book, that describes the new 235 truck engine and the new Hydra-Matic Transmission, describes all 235 truck engines (Thriftmaster & Loadmaster) as being gray.