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straight eight engine paint questions


jcmiller

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I have a few general questions about painting straight eights.

Generally speaking, I know the block was silver and the accessories black, but was there any difference between how 1946 and 1950 engines were painted?

Should the accessories be flat, moderate, or glossy black?

Is it important to use high temperature paint on the accessories?

Were engines painted silver after they were assembled or before? In other words, were the edges of the gaskets also painted?

Is there a particular shade of silver or product that closely matches the original look?

Thanks!

Edited by jcmiller (see edit history)
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Factories paint assembled engines prior to electrical component and carburetor installation. It is the only cost effecient and practical way to do it. And lower cost means bottom line profits which is why they are being built. Especially in the case of metallic infused paint like an aluminum silver, the electrical components such as starter, generator, coil if engine-mounted, could be compromised by a metallic paint.

Bypass hoses such as the '57-59 Hemi and their clamps were painted because they were already assembled to the engine.

Fuel pumps often got partially painted because often it was quickest and cheapest to install them during engine completion. But carburetors are never installed before paint.

In many cases overhead valve covers are a contrasting color and are thus installed later.

And a warning: NEVER go by an engine pictured in a sales brochure for your authenticity. They are almost colored for marketing purposes and have nothing to do with production line authenticity.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I worked in an engine plant, (Jeep) and the cast iron blocks and heads came from the foundry already painted gloss black, prior to machining. Now that I live near the Motor City, I see many old assembly line photographs, and the frames seem to be gloss black. I don't know if this information is correct for your application, but when I do my chassis, it will be gloss black. I think this is more a matter of personal preference anyway. ( see the thread "1952 Pontiac Catalina" page 18, #450.)

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  • 8 months later...

I used the POR-15 engine painting kit for my 48 Plymouth and it worked great.  They give you cleaner, degreaser and the paint.  The kit comes in many colors including silver (aluminum).  I applied the paint with a foam brush.  It went on very smoothly, covered well and remained clean and nice looking for the five years I owned the car.  I would have used it for my 32 Dodge, but they don't make a gray paint color.  I sprayed my Dodge engine and it came out very nice, but it was a lot easier to paint the Plymouth block with the POR-15 and the brush, and the results were just as good.

 

http://www.por15.com/ENGINE-PAINTING-KIT_p_49.html

Edited by Taylormade (see edit history)
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Thanks Taylormade.  Bill Hirsch paints sound good too.

 

Should the oil filler tube and the oil breather tube be silver or black on a 1946 Chrysler 8?

 

Here is my current understanding:

 

1946-48 Chrysler Straight Eight Paint

 

Silver:

 

Block
Oil Pan
Head
Water Pump

Water Pump Bypass Elbow

Water Pump Bypass Hose
Oil Pump
Front Engine Mount
Manifolds
Bellhousing
Transmission
Oil Filler Tube
Dipstick Tube
Front Pulley
Thermostat Housing

 

 

Black (Semi Gloss):

 

Starter
Generator

Generator brackets
Distributor Body
Wire Loom Holder
Coil
Oil Filler Cap

Oil Filler Tube Steady
Air Cleaner
Air Cleaner Steady
Oil Breather Tube
Fuel Pump Shield
Fan & Pully

Oil Filter Housing
Oil Filter Cap

Oil Filter Cap Clamp

 

 

Unpainted:

 

Fuel Pump
Carb
Fuel Lines
Oil & Vacuum Lines
Accelerator linkage

Coil Holder
 

Edited by jcmiller (see edit history)
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On old sixes I have worked on the oil tube was black, and was put on after the engine was painted. Cap was black although replacements could be black, orange or yellow depending on the brand.

 

The silver paint was nothing special, just cheap dull silver or aluminum paint. Chrysler may have picked silver because it makes things more visible or easier to see and shows up oil leaks. And is more durable than other colors even though it costs a bit more.

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  • 2 months later...

I have two wire looms, one that says Spitfire and one that does not.  Which one should a 1946 straight 8 have?  (The one that says Spitfire also has a hole through if for the carb linkage, while the other does not.)  It would have been all black, correct?

 

A couple of related questions:

1. Most of the head bolts have a well-defined shoulder, but several are rounded more rounded.  Is this just corrosion and wear, or should some be different?

2. Does this head gasket look correct?  It seems like the openings in the gasket should match the recessed areas in the head.

 

Thx!

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Guest Bob Call

Are you sure the Spitfire wire loom is for an 8 cylinder? I always thought the Spitfire engine was 6 cylinder for the Chrysler Windsor and when they went to the V8 the Spitfire was the polyshere instead of the hemisphere heads and again for the Windsor series.

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Yes, pretty sure.  It's on a 1950 straight 8 now.  I have a collection of pictures of straight 8s from 1946-50 and they all seem to have the Spitfire imprint.  The one I have that lacks Spitfire is on a 1950 that was used in an industrial application.

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