Flathead Colour

[Lynn Eades]

is there a cast number above the water pump, or any stampings on the inlet manifold face of the block?

[andrew honychurch]

OK, well as predicted this will run and run. So basically, you have a choice, and I have chosen Ford Blue! Why, because I like it. The black is very smart but wont give the definition between the flat black of the Dynamo, starter, carburettor body etc. So blue it is. I hesitate to post this photo for fear of being told it is wrong, but please remember it is still wet when I took the photo and of course it is a photo so not necessarily an accurate depiction. It is however, Ford engine blue from US paint manaufacturer POR. It will look very smart I hope. Not disimilar to David Gordon engine colour either and very close to the NOS inlet manifold I bought, pre fading.

[Lynn Eades]

Yes it does go on. I have just re visited the Vanpelt site (American)again.
It states, about colours, that Ford and Merc engines, through 1940 to 1942 were dark green. Then it said Merc engines were dark blue from 1941 to 1948.(one contradicts the other) Post war Fords were blue, and that truck engine paint colours generally were the same as car engines. I imagine in the U.K. that at times there were issues with supply of paint pigments, along with every thing else, and that the power unit colours were not always one colour.
I guess if one is really embarassed about the colour, then they could always leave the engine covers on
Ps. From a mechanics point of veiw,black is the worst possible colour because you cannot see anything. Its just a black hole, and you cant see any faults. Yellow is great! but for a carrier Blue or Green is bang on!

[andrew honychurch]

thanks!! I feel somewhat better after that. Now all I want is the paint to cure, and as the temperature in my workshop has now fallen to 3 degrees I may be waiting until Spring for it to go off!

[Lynn Eades]

While you wife is out, stick it in the oven with the door open just to warm it a bit.

[RichardT10829]

good advice from Lynn... i used the family baking booth to do my brake expanders, gently warmed them up then sprayed the paint on what a lovely finish.

Andrew if folk were to criticise you for a blue paint.... i will get stoned to death for painting mine in Grey i see the engine (in the words of chip foose) as the jewel in the box...no truer word spoken in the case of a carrier... i feel the internals of the engine bay should have been painted white as per modern MV's. i used to paint all my rally x engine bays white.... yes they get dirty quicker but at least you see problems like oil leaks, minor fluid leaks etc etc sooner.

[andrew honychurch]

I couldnt get away with using the over sadly, but I did find a big gas heater and have put that in the workshop. Seemed to work a treat. Now cleaned the exhaust manifolds and painted them in some Frost automotive special paint which smelt foul In fact I feel quite queesy after applying it even though I put a mask on. They look good however! I am happy with the paint colour. And I am sure Ford did paint Mercurys in this colour from all we have hears and seen. Anyway, it looks great so thats what counts! Certainly black was going to be a bit dull and as already said not good for seeing the oil leaks, not that I am expecting any!!!!

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Cross reference to Ford V8 Engine Color? Ford Gearbox Color?.

I merged several related threads on this subject. As for now I am keeping Carriers and Trucks apart, until someone can prove they were painted the same colours. Question: why would they not be?

H.

[ajmac]

I've got a bit more info.
I collected a 1946 24 stud Flathead for my Loyd a couple of weeks ago and the seller also a had a freshly imported pre 1942 24 stud (from the USA)which I cleaned up to check the original colour in various places. It was a dark green.
A few days later I went to see a very original 21 stud Dagenham lump, it was in a bad way, but on all engine parts it was a light grey. Some other bits I have picked up show a bright green colour. Richard Farrant posted a photo of a British Army rebuilt flathead (1952?) and this had the identical bright green finish.
Perhaps we can err on the side of British 21 Stud wartime units being light grey and the US 24 stud ones being dark green. The Flathead engine shops in the USA sell 'ford dark green' off the shelf, so I imagine they have got it right for the 24 Stud.

The bright green colour comes from the 1950s rebuilds...

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by ajmac

Perhaps we can err on the side of British 21 Stud wartime units being light grey and the US 24 stud ones being dark green.

Apart from the ones that were blue.......

[gjamo]

You blokes will have poor old Henry turning in his grave.

[George McKenzie]

My Mk1 motor is silver gray .It has been in the carrier for years but could have been changed during the war . The Mk11 is silver gray .It was rebuilt by REME .It has the army stamp riveted on the bell housing as to the over size bearings . I was told during the end of the war that Ford was running out of cured blocks so they took vehicle blocks and rebuilt them for the army . They would say ,It was good enough ,they are going to be blowing all to H anyway

[andrew honychurch]

well! I have said it before, but I will repeat. My father who made these carriers said they sent the engines in crates from Dagenham and they were all BLACK!!!!!!!!!! he knows as he was there!

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by andrew honychurch

well! I have said it before, but I will repeat. My father who made these carriers said they sent the engines in crates from Dagenham and they were all BLACK!!!!!!!!!! he knows as he was there!

Andrew,

That figures, as I got hold of a brand new sump fro a British V8 still in packing grease and with wartime army label, and that was Black.

[ajmac]

Looks like we are back where we started, all sorts of colours! Does anyone one know the standard Dagenham engine colour before the war? I mean any engine, not only Flathead V8s.
Still leaves the Blue / Green 3.9L 24 stud issue open.....but not for my Loyd, the gearbox is already painted, and it is ford dark green, still wet at the moment.

[ajmac]

Loyd 24 Stud Colour:
It's not dark enough to be Black.
It's not light enough to be Grey.
It isn't the same colour at the vehicle.
That's why I decided on Ford Dark Green.

[tankbarrell]

It's your engine Alastair, paint it the colour you are happiest with. Trying to interpret colours from black and white pictures, especially wartime ones is, I would suggest, fraught with pitfalls.

[Lynn Eades]

You could always take a bit of all of those colours, and mix them together. Then the right one has to be in there........as long as you dont mind having a brown motor, that is

[RichardT10829]

Guys i am with Adrian on this one.... paint it red if you like...mine is Myford Grey because i like it, if for any reason my carrier ever gets used in a movie set and they want engine repair shots to be included i will worry about what colour to paint it. As i have maintained my ethos on this subject is the lump should be the jewel in the box a work of art in its own right

you could do as Lynn says....or.....paint it striped with all the different colours you think it should be then you cant go awry

have fun kids

[tankbarrell]

I'm not advocating that you paint it any colour you like, anybody is free to do so though personally, I don't think you should. I believe we should strive for authenticity but it is obvious that there was more than one colour used, all of which are correct.
I sympathise with Alastairs desire to be exactly correct but at the end of the day, he is doing it for himself so it doesn't matter what anybody else may think.

[ajmac]

That's the nub, colour changed through production in both the US and UK, who knows about Canada. If I don't get the correct colour then never mind, however I wouldn't want to think I hadn't tried my utmost to get it right, or at least be able to justify my choice from either a photo, original literature or another primary source.