How would the engine color be judged on our 1930 Chrysler? I've seen green engines and black engines. Chrysler has informed me that engineering didn't release the colors, but thought they could have been black. Any help on this before the restoration shop paints my engine would be appreciated.
Tim Wolfe
wolfe@wesnet.com

You might want to check with the wonderful folks at the AACA Library and Research Center. You can reach them by phone or on-line. Go to the gold color tool bar above and click on Resources and the AACA Library is the first one on the top of the list.

If they have the information you need you can get copies to use as your documentation when the judging team comes around.

Good luck with your car.

Thanks for the fast response-But how would you judge this if Chrysler didn't keep records of it? How would the judge know what was correct?

Hopefully there are photos somewhere in their records that even if they are black and white you might be able to tell.

And there may be others here that have an orginal that can help you.

There were some quirky things that happened in factories. Just ask ex98thdrill about the color of the chassis on his fire engine.

Hopefully the Library/Research Center can shed some light on this for you. They will sure try.

Also, hopefully one of the members if that judging team would know.
That is one thing with the AACA judging system, sometimes some things do get through becuase we judge everything. There is no way a judge can know everything about every make and model of vehicle. When the judges sign up to judge they usally ask for classes they know something about. Like for me it's late 40's production and early 60's production. Do to the number of judges needed, sometimes it don't work that way and you get stuck judging like me, Model As or sports cars. That's when you rely on your fellow judges and captain to help you.
But if the judge and the team captain don't know (this goes for any item), then they will be asking for documentation. That's why I'd suggest checking with the AACA library like Shop Rat suggested.
If you get the chance, go to an AACA judging school. They are typically on Friday afternoon, they are free, and just becasue you go doesn't mean you have to become a judge. But it would help give insight ito the judging process.

As has been stated, it's up to you to do the research and document the restoration. That way if it is an item that is questioned, you are able to validate what you did. Don't do something just because someone in the restoration shop sid it was ok. Satisfy yourself that you are doing it the right way by using original factory issued literature. Factory literature often contains pictures or illustrations of the chassis or engine and that would be a good way to tell what you need. The fancier full-color sales cataloges would most likely have the detail you need rather than just an owners manual. If you need to have your own copies, there are a lot of literature dealers who might be able to help also. AACA Library & Research Center is always our first choice however.
Terry

My thanks to everyone who answered. I called the AACA Library today and talked to a very nice lady. The only information they had said that the engine could be green, but the information was from an article in the WPC magazine. She was going to do some more looking for me and mail anything she finds so I have a copy. Told the restoration shop not to paint the engine until I get back to them.
I will attempt to contact 1930 owners and ask them their engine color and if the have records for the color.

Excellent. Now when you get the copies you can contact the person/people that wrote the articles and ask about what they used as sources for their article. And then maybe you can get copies of that information from them as documentation for when you start showing the car.

I looked into this before I painted my engine in my 1929 Chrysler model 65. I never did get an exact answer but the best explanation came from Chrysler Historical. They told me the engine was "most probably" black. The elderly gentleman I spoke with said there are many, many green Chrysler engines out there because when these engines were rebuilt in the 50's the green paint was readily available and people were not interested in authenticity back then.

This theory was backed up when I spoke with a fellow Chrysler enthusiast who rebuilt an engine in a 1928 Chrysler. The engine had very few miles on it and had the original gasket material suggesting that it had never been disassembled. When he removed the brackets there was nice shiny "BLACK" paint hidding underneath!

You be the judge! Don't you wish you could go back in time just for one day and get all the answers?!

Dan