The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop engine component colors

OK, so I know there is some discussion regarding the "proper" color of a 1949 216 motor. I am in the process of cleaning and painting my motor. I am not building a concourse rig, but I want to do it close to right.

My question would be though, what is the appropriate color of the following items:
water pump
water neck

My gut feeling is that the water neck is engine color. But the water pump, which could be replaced later could be a different color, (such as black) similar to the distributor, starter. Also, are the pulleys all black?

All the parts on the engine were gray (The Filling Station FS359, http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000014a~Z5Z5Z52217~P16.50~~~~S37J0GH4JU24119617658f~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000014x ) including the water pump and it's pully and the thermostat housing. Also the intake and exhaust manifolds were gray and the sparkplug steel (the porcelain was covered by a cardboad tube).
The starter, generator, distributor, coil, draft tube, horn, air filter were semigloss black.
All of the sheet metal, core support, inner skirts, upper and lower baffels, hose brackets, heater motor were also semigloss black.
DG

Awesome Denny, I knew if anyone knew you would.

A followup question to that - engine is out, the big gunk is knocked off. have sprayed some degreaser several times and let soak. Followed up by more scraping. I intend to scrub with degreaser at least 2-3 times more. Following with soap and water. I know that short of a good hot tank, there will be no way to get all the soaked in and ground in oil, grease, grime, etc. out of the block. Is there anything to use as a final prep wipe?

I was thinking acetone, and was suggested a non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Again, if anyone knows, it will be you sir.

I've often stripped grease off castings with gunk and them the paint with Mar-Hyde aircraft striper. A good scrubbing with hot soap and water allowing it to dry before painting. That is usually enough. I have used the CRC brake cleaner to clean small parts by scrubbing down with a wire brush then rinsing in the spray and wiping down with a rag before it dries. Haven't had any problems with the paint lifing yet.
DG

. im with denny on the colors and duplicolor ford grey engine paint works well to and you cant tell the difference in the shade.
you can get it all out/off. just use brake clean, perferably outside or some place well ventilated.

I have some ford grey in the garage, and will most likely use that for a base coat. I have 1 can of filling station paint on the way. i will test both together for compatability. The duplicolor is much cheaper.

Next question is, on the exhaust manifold, the two studs that protrude to attach the downpipe. First, what is the appropriate size. Second, since I have to replace one, because one was twisted off, what specific type/grade of bolt should I use? Grade 8? What about using stainless steel bolts? Nuts? Anything besides brass, or would matching grade nuts with anti-seize work?

Jon.... Hot tank it, most machine shops just don't charge that much.

CT

Five gal of 'solvent' will be a good investment for parts cleaning. Put it in a '409' spray bottle, putty knife, stiff brush tools of choice on years of external gunk. The block water jackets may have buildup. A gun cleaning rod with a 32 /38 wire brush will help remove buildup. Fill the block with water, rod it out and flush until clear. The only way to remove oil sludge in the oil pan, remove it and select that tool of choice...the putty knife. Good luck on your engine prep.

The two studs/bolts at the exhaust manifold OEM were 3/8 SAE 3in high grade. The tip had a pilot approx 1/2"x 5/16" dia.
The use of anti-seize works well.

You are going to find that the ford gray is lighter than the Filling Station gray. That is because the dark gray from the Filling Station is about as close as your going to find to what the original motor was painted. Over the past six years I've sought out many examples where remnants of the original paint was still on the engine parts and it was a very dark gray.

On the exhaust I would stay with the 3/8"-16-16 x 1 3/4" steel studs and I would use brass 'tall' (5/8") nuts . The original stud had 1" of thread on the nut side and 1/2" of thread on the tap end. You may have a problem finding those. The exhaust flange is 3/8" thick and the gasket will take up about an 1/8" when new. This is not a highly stressed area so there is no need for grade 8 hardware.
From the parts books 1929-1950, 1929-54 and 1929-57: All the Chevrolet parts books up to ‘57 list 1929 to 1957 pn. 837552 3/8-16-16 x1 ¾ studs for all of the 6 cylinder engines. In 55 with the introduction of the V8 their manifolds used pn. 3836174 3/8-16-16 x 2 1/8 studs. These had a ¼” pilot on the end with a 1 ¼” thread probably because of the donut packing. I'm sure you will find examples where the newer studs have been installed.
The stock nut was simply a standard 838780 3/8-16 x 3/8 nut.


It sounds like the engine is still together CT so you couldn't dip it even if you could find a shop that still had a dip tank. The cost of maintaining them along with EPA regulations has pretty much given way to Thermal Cleaning. Even the small time operators are using burn-out ovens around our area.
DG

Thanks for all the help guys. Yes, the motor is still assembled, and will remain that way. Runs tight and strong, and I'm not going to mess with that. However I am cleaning up the outside and the gunk from the inside that I can wipe off fairly easily.

Most of the cleaning will be done on the outside of the motor.

Does anyone know of an parts book (preferably online) to hunt down all the parts for these trucks? I have the old car manual online's service manual, but would love to have one that has exploded views and parts lists.