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

[Polara_500]

If you ever build the twin engine Polara wagon you've always talked about, those two engines aren't going to look good together.

And they probably won't play well together either....

 

[ayilar]

For the sake of completeness, there is part of a thread from last year that I did not previously mention, which also deals with 1970 engine colors (in the link at hand, @Chrome58's 1970 N-code Fury).

 

[Samplingman]

@71Polara383, @ayilar, I have circled a bracket below, it’s driving me crazy, where does it go and what is it for? On web searches it is associated with the alternator, but I don’t have this piece and have not been able to locate its position on my TX9 car.

 

[saforwardlook]

@71Polara383, @ayilar, I have circled a bracket below, it’s driving me crazy, where does it go and what is it for? On web searches it is associated with the alternator, but I don’t have this piece and have not been able to locate its position on my TX9 car.

View attachment 376961

Most of my fleet of cars are 440 equipped and I have only two 383-4 engines among them (and one 360).

My recollection is that the part you circled was used on the 383 low block engines to facilitate the upper alternator bracket mounting bolt that normally bolts directly to the cyliner head on a 440 but has no place to go on a 383 since the heads on those engines are lower than on a 440 block. So for ease of assembly and to use the same bracket mounting hardware on a 383 as on a 440, that extension bracket accepts the same upper bracket and bolt for mounting the alternator that the 440 uses (that bracket attaches at the bottom near the distributor base and is angled up in line with the block angle).

But once and awhile, I have seen 440s that have that same bracket mounted onto the back of the driver side cylinder head - I surmise that because most B engines that went into Dodge C bodies at least were the 383 engines, and but a few by comparison got the 440s (mostly patrol cars and the occasional optional regular production model upgrade) those brackets were installed on all cylinder heads for engines destined for non-Chrysler only C body assembly plants (the latter of which were usually Jefferson in those years).

Its probably kind of like the 440 engines in all the Dodges got the dual snorkel air cleaners whether they were non-HP or not just because most 440s in those plants were probably destined for fleet patrol cars that used the HP version of the 440 typically, but for complexity reduction purposes the plants installed them on all 440 engines whether HP or not.

So if you are working on a 440 and can't figure out where it goes, relax, as it isn't used on those engines.

 

[Samplingman]

Thank you Steve, that explains why I can't find it in my parts box or my other 300!

 

[ayilar]

@saforwardlook -- thank you for the explanation!

@Samplingman -- since Medina's engine is a 440, here is some extra info.

Last year, Wyatt and I found out that (at some point before I became the owner) Medina had had her alternator relocated. Why, we do not know for sure. All I know is that the accessory belts she had when we started checking her out thoroughly were not the standard length. I tried to figure out what had happened, but the person from whom I had bought the car would not tell me if he'd done any changes to the alternator and he also declined to provide any contact information about the car's prior owner. Why the silence, I don't know -- but he wouldn't give the info.While repainting and refinishing the various parts, Wyatt and I ended up re-checking the stamped date codes. It looks like everything is in fact consistent with the alternator's being the original one.

 

[polarus]

It's wedged between the bracket and the head.

 

[ayilar]

Time to revert to painting engines. This year, it's the turn of for Ming, my 1973 NYB, whose 440 was rebuilt over the course of the past 18 months (subject to be discussed with photos in the thread I maintain for that car -- @Boydsdodge helped @71Polara383 and myself with recommendations, many thanks again!).

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).

Based on this info, I just placed the same exact order with the manufacturer. Prices are up 10% for the Chrysler Blue aerosol and the cast iron-colored exhaust and manifold coating, and a whopping 30% for the primer

 

[DaPoz]

@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).

View attachment 371870

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):

View attachment 371871

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).

View attachment 371873

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.

View attachment 371872

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.

View attachment 371863

What to do?

MOPAR Engine Restoration Paints