1971 440 T-code Engine repaint -- questions and opinions?

ayilar

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@71Polara383 managed to convince me that, while Medina's engine was out to fix a couple of small(ish) but annoying leaks, we ought to clean it up and repaint it. The process is now underway.

Now comes the question of choosing a paint brand and shade. After reading various board posts and talking to some members, I first narrowed the choices down to Duplicolor DE 1631, VHT SP126, and Bill Hirsch Chrysler Blue (BHCB).

I bought cans of the last two. Here is a photo (courtesy of Wyatt) of what the SP126 and BHCB look like in natural light (BHCB is on the right, clearly more blue).

Resized_20200426_153834.jpg


Here is a second pic, showing the two-tone fresh-paints intake next to Medina's engine (after some cleaning up by Wyatt, but with original paint). BHCB is on the left in this picture, SP126 on the right. The Gates water pump, painted using locally-sourced off-the-shelf paint in what was sold as Chrysler Blue last year, is too dark to my eyes and will be repainted this time around.
Edit: Wyatt found the (now almost empty) can he used last year, and he says that the water pump was painted using Duplicolor DE 1631.

Looks like the VHT is a pretty good match for the original engine paint as it looks like after 50 years of fading, BUT not a perfect match as one goes toward the bottom of the engine (which is at the top of the picture):

Resized_20200426_175720.jpg


Here is a third picture, this one taken inside, comparing the VHT and the original -- as seen at the top of the engine (not the pan).

Medina_2019_repaint Resized_20200412_094919.jpg


The problem with matching a 50-year old paint is of course that, with heat cycles and grease drips and all, the original paint must have lost its original shade. Indeed, an uneven discoloration pattern is seen in this fourth photo, which Wyatt took a couple of weeks back -- before some more cleaning. It shows how the original paint has become much greener (turquoise, VHT SP126 look) at the top due to grease/heat, whereas the bottom looks much more blue. The VHT can be seen in the area circled in red.

Medina different paints as of 20200413.jpg


Hirsch lists its blue paint as OK for all Chrysler engines from 1973-1983 and for 318 engines in 1969-1972. Its web site states that turquoise is the right choice for 1963-1971 BB engines. Color change charts I have read, though, show a switch to Chrysler Blue for T-code engines in 1970 -- but my engine was built in the 29th week of 1970.

Hirsch paint choices .png


What to do?
 
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Top pic of the manifold, which brand is the right side (with the choke cup)? That looks mos like corporate blue from 1970 and up. The left side looks more like the earlier '69 color. Your oil pan is also closer to the color of corporate blue.
 
@Samplingman -- I have edited the post and reordered the photos for more clarity.

Your observation is exactly what I am thinking: the VHT looks like the top of the engine paint, after 50 years of heating cycles and lots of grease running on it. Whereas the bottom of the engine, which got less grease and heat, looks bluer, and seems a better match for the Bill Hirsch paint. The photo below is annotated to show what I see.

In particular, could it be that an engine manufactured in the 29th week of 1970 (mid-July) was painted in turquoise?

Keep opinions and information coming please!

areas FCBO.png
 
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I agree that the pan is probably about as correct as it's going to get.

IMHO, the paint applied at the factory was probably done without a lot of regard to exact shades. While I'm sure it was spec'd, I'll bet "close enough" was the rule.

Of the two, I would use the Bill Hirsch product, but I would love to see where Duplicolor (my paint of choice) falls in.
 
I used VHT mopar turquoise on my recent engine refresh.. It matched the original paint pretty well (...)

Nice! And, thank you for the photo. Yours is a 1968, though, so a greener tint is correct for sure. 1971 is not, I fear.
 
Finding the correct shade means that one has to guess a little. Even on the best survivor with only 10.000miles on the odo always pampered
and garage kept the engine paint won´t look like it did when new. Engines get hot the paint obviously too plus decades of time let some
components just vanish. The VHT on your split-picture makes me guess that it´s like 99,9999% what the factory paint would have
looked like
 
Thanks guys but no orange. Back to color. Here are some 1971 T-code C-bodies that I believe have not had their engine repainted.

1. This EA4 Chrysler NYer was for sale on FB in Iowa last November -- I say the color is corporate blue:

72387058_164907741366664_2376507032392957952_n.jpg


72966458_164907734699998_8611759537034100736_n.jpg


2. This GF9 Chrysler 300 2-dr was for sale in Naperville, IL last year -- I say more turquoise:

12683759-1971-chrysler-300-std.jpg


12683760-1971-chrysler-300-std.jpg


3. This GF9 Chrysler 300 2-dr recently sold in Oregon -- I say blue, but given that the car had over 100k miles, I wonder if the valve covers have been repainted:

s-l160012.jpg
 
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I would go for the turquoise color , tan distributor cap and orange cabels……….:thumbsup:
 
I would love to see where Duplicolor (my paint of choice) falls in.

Turns out that the Duplicolor DE 1631 is the color of the water pump on the above picture. @71Polara383 just located the can that he'd used last summer.

My impression is that the DE 1631 has the right amount of blue but is too dark (something that may be due to its being new rather than aged paint). In contrast, Wyatt says that the Hirsch paint on the intake he painted a few days ago matches very closely the valve covers of Ming, my '73 NYB with an original 440 T-code (74k miles).

I agree that the pan is probably about as correct as it's going to get (...) Of the two, I would use the Bill Hirsch product

That's what I've decided to do. No painting will happen till later this week, so any additional comments would be welcome.
 
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One last question, how many cans will it take to do the whole job? Can it be done with 1 or are you getting 2?
 
On my last 1971 engine that I had rebuilt I used the Duplicolor 1631 as the closest matching widely available paint. I have not reached out for the Hirsch version, but if the consensus is that the Hirsch color is a little better, then I can consider using that in the future. Maybe as my Duplicolor painted engine has run some miles then maybe it will change shades a little from the heat cycles to look exactly correct :D.

I believe the Hirsch is the best bet overall from what I am seeing.
 
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Turns out that the Duplicolor DE 1631 is the color of the water pump on the above picture. @71Polara383 just located the can that he'd used last summer.

My impression is that the DE 1631 has the right amount of blue but is too dark (something that may be due to its being new rather than aged paint). In contrast, Wyatt says that the Hirsch paint on the intake he painted a few days ago matches very closely the valve covers of Ming, my '73 NYB with an original 440 T-code (74k miles).

That looks like Ford blue, which happens to be DE 1601.
 
Nope, the can shows DE 1631. We were both surprised.

upload_2020-4-27_21-45-28.jpeg
 
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