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what color are original engine blocks and heads? [message #333561]

Fri, 15 June 2018 18:45

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

looking at coaches and the photos on the net I see many different shades of blue and have even seen a gold one but what should the original engine color for the 455 and 403 be and was it the same through the years or did it change like the cars did?

neighbor has a restored 442 that has a 455 in it and he said it was restored to original. the engine is a beautiful metallic blue with a hint of green in it. it is one of the nicest engine colors Ive ever seen. did the motorhomes get this color too? I havnt seen one with it but its hard to tell on old grimy engines and in photos.

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Re: [GMCnet] what color are original engine blocks and heads? [message #333562 is a reply to message #333561]

Fri, 15 June 2018 19:51

Richard Denney

Messages: 920
Registered: April 2010

Karma: 9

Senior Member

The original Olds blue for engines was a lighter shade than GM Corporate
Blue, and it was indeed metallic. Olds also used gold (my ‘70 Cutlass has
that color), but all the motorhome engines were blue. I don’t really recall
a hint of green, but describing color with words is using the wrong tool.

My old engine color was indeterminate, but the valve covers were black,
indicating to me that the engine had had a valve job at some point. The new
engine is GM Blue, but we weren’t building a show engine.

Rick “grease and rust are not approved colors” Denney

On Fri, Jun 15, 2018 at 7:46 PM Fred wrote:

> looking at coaches and the photos on the net I see many different shades
> of blue and have even seen a gold one but what should the original engine
> color for the 455 and 403 be and was it the same through the years or did
> it change like the cars did?
>
>
> neighbor has a restored 442 that has a 455 in it and he said it was
> restored to original. the engine is a beautiful metallic blue with a hint
> of green
> in it. it is one of the nicest engine colors Ive ever seen. did the
> motorhomes get this color too? I havnt seen one with it but its hard to
> tell on
> old grimy engines and in photos.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
Rick Denney
73 x-Glacier 230 "Jaws"
Off-list email to rick at rickdenney dot com
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Re: what color are original engine blocks and heads? [message #333568 is a reply to message #333561]

Sat, 16 June 2018 01:39

mrgmc3

Messages: 210
Registered: September 2013
Location: W Washington

Karma: 2

Senior Member

The GMC engines were painted the same colors as other Olds 455 or 403 engines of a given year. For '73-'76 this was a metallic medium blue. In '77 and '78 GM switched all divisions to a common non-metallic medium blue. I suspect but do not know that the '77 455s were engines built during the '76 model year and warehoused until they ran out (so might have been metallic blue). Olds discontinued passenger car 455 production after the close of the '76 model year. I have no reason to believe that they would have continued a specific run for a half year for the GMC.
FWIW Olds painted 330 and 350 v8s gold up until about '75, then switched to blue. Prior to about '70 their 400s 425s and 455s were painted red.

Chris Geils - Twin Cities / W Wa 1978 26' Kingsley w/ very few mods; PD9040, aux trans cooler, one repaint in stock colors, R134a, Al rad, Alcoas, 54k mi

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Re: what color are original engine blocks and heads? [message #333569 is a reply to message #333568]

Sat, 16 June 2018 03:50

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

mrgmc3 wrote on Sat, 16 June 2018 01:39

The GMC engines were painted the same colors as other Olds 455 or 403 engines of a given year. For '73-'76 this was a metallic medium blue. In '77 and '78 GM switched all divisions to a common non-metallic medium blue. I suspect but do not know that the '77 455s were engines built during the '76 model year and warehoused until they ran out (so might have been metallic blue). Olds discontinued passenger car 455 production after the close of the '76 model year. I have no reason to believe that they would have continued a specific run for a half year for the GMC.
FWIW Olds painted 330 and 350 v8s gold up until about '75, then switched to blue. Prior to about '70 their 400s 425s and 455s were painted red.

here is a good photo from eastwood: https://cdn.eastwood.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/5/p51683ZP-Olds-455-Blue-Engine-Paint.jpg

https://cdn.eastwood.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/5/p51683ZP-Olds-455-Blue-Engine-Paint.jpg

yes, also according to this: http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/1964-1990_Oldsmobile_V8_engine_information

"Production of big blocks ceased in 1976" thats an interesting web page but here is another one full of engine data: http://442restoration.homestead.com/442BRO_Engine_Info.html

while searching for the proper engine colors this page came up: http://pontiacpower.org/enginecolor.htm
because it had this line "PPG/ Ditzler Blue Poly 2083* for Oldsmobile engine paint."

I then did a search on Ditzler 2083 and found it was a familiar "LeMans Blue" http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetail.cgi?ppg=2083

very cool!

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