Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 1951 Chevrolet Engine Color

Can someone tell the right 235 powerglide engine color for a 1951 Chevy.
Is it Grey- Blue or some other color.
Thanks Guys
By the way I have mailed my membership application waiting for approval.

Greetings . . .

As I understand it all Chevy engines were painted gray until the full pressure oiled design appeared in '53. In that year the solid lifter 3-on-the-tree 235 cars had gray engines and the 235 power glide cars had blue engines. This was the first year for the so called Blue Flame six:


So a '51 235 would have been gray from the factory.

regards,
stock49

This is a long running debate among purest. It most certainly is gray, but the rub? What shade of gray? You'll get 100 different answers on some sites.

Here is the best link I've found.
The blue-gray I've seen on original 30s chev's is a lot more 'gray' than the 'blue' in the blue flame photo from the mid-50s. But it is not just gray, there is a blue tint in it. Not sure what spray cans would match it.


http://oldchevytrucks.com/Articles/Engine-Paint.php

Greetings . . .

I am not sure why they call it blue gay. Looks pretty gray to me:


But I guess there was some variation year to year and from factory to factory which I think is what has lead to shades-of-gray controversies on various boards.

Notice the black fan. Everything I have read suggests that these engines were painted before any accessories were bolted up.

chevsoftheforties has got what they claim to have color matched with NOS parts ChevsOfTheForties Gray .

The 216 in my '49 was at some point treated to a rattle-can rebuild:

including the fan (although most has peeled off).


regards,
stock49

Thanks stock49 for the pictures.
I did some color "matching" with my excel/powerpoint palette, here is what it likes to match them best.
Pure "Gray" has RGB with red=green=blue
eg 200red 200green 200blue etc.

1949 gray
RGB= 170red 190green 220blue
Nearly gray but a tiny hint of green and a bigger hint of blue
Try it!
Then just use one of the pure gray colors in excel/ppt - definitely too "gray".

1953 blue
RGB= 80red 130green 210blue
Much more green and blue so color looks clearly blue

So, I guess I can see why the early color (29-52) gets called gray-blue even tho it looks pretty much gray - there is a hint of blue. I don't have an older six but it sure looks like the exact right color is needed for a good match.

I actually grew up with the Model A Ford, and it always bugged me to see the "wrong green" on the A - so as these 30s-40s-50s cars get restored the proper shade matters.

I would love to see the part number for this example on ebay:

NOS Valve Cover for 216

Looks very blue to me . . .

Wow that is as Gray as Gray gets.
My best match is
RGB = 70 70 70
Pure Gray.
Ebay doesn't say what year[s]. Any idea?

So I wonder where all the "blue-gray" references come from?

Hey Deuce . . .

I think it may even be a bit darker than that.

For me, when I think of Gray I think of a lighter color with RGB hues approaching 190:
Taylored Marketing.

For those who are not familiar with color matching on the computer. It's pretty easy with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel or PowerPoint).

Here's a comparison of the color of the NOS valve cover from ebay and the claimed un-restored '50 from the fast cool cars site:

as you can see the valve cover is a very dark with hues below 70 and a tad bit more blue then red & green. Even the "un-restored" engine is darker then 190/190/190 gray and again with a bit more blue in the mix.

What is interesting is that the Filling Station sells a darker gray as being correct when compared to the one sold by ChevsOfTheForties .

The provenance attached to the dark gray paint available from the Filling Station indicates that it comes from fellow Inliner and VCCA member Dick Bertolucci.

Here's a link to all the pics of the '50 at FastCoolCars .

So to Drew's point - the color is Gray - the shade is a matter of opinion.

regards,
stock49

I have a 1951 Chevy 235 Truck bell housing I want to sell 75.00
They work great for T5 applications standard bolt pattern.
slemaster57@att.net

FREE Moline,IL. slemaster57@att.net

I have an nos 55-57 235 oil pan that is painted gray from the factory. It is definitely a darker gray then the pictures. Could very well be possible that nos parts are painted a darker gray than thebproduction motors

The color picker tool is useful, but there are 2 variables that will affect how accurate a match you get:
1. what kind of lighting is used (outdoor, fluorescent, incandescent bulb, grow light)
2. any strong color in the background, especially the field surrounding the object

You can also use this to experiment:
http://victorylibrary.com/hex-rgb-convert.htm

Keep in mind that the colors you're seeing on-screen and in photographs will not generally be accurate out in the real world. Your color picker will work fine if you want something close for a signature or email header or the odd word document. I would not use that for a reference to actually buy paint with.

Unless your monitor is color calibrated, and the photographer was meticulous in post-production, and you're both using the same standard--which is probably not the case--you're better off color matching with an FS number or equivalent. Most automotive paint brands already have accurate matches anyway.

Trouble with car stuff is there are just too many darn experts, huh? Try this on for size: Filling Station Chevy Gray