I'll take a guess and say they weren't painted just to get your question back to the top.
1953 Chevrolet 3600 Fried Green T'mater (Vern) In the Stovebolt Gallery Caution: Political Statement Man who runs in front of car gets tired, man who runs behind car gets exhausted.
I got the housing back with the engine a few weeks ago. They had cleaned it up and left it bare. It has since started to flash rust so I figured it must have been protected with something?
every original bellhouse I've seen has been rust colored, like the transmission and rear end and most everything else underneath .... as you're building a show truck, paint it the same as the engine block