The 1960 - 1966 Chevrolet & GMC Pickups Factory Correct Restoration Thread

[jbgroby]

I know, but I'm anal on the OEM issue....some days I hate being a virgo.........

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by jbgroby

O.K. Took a few days to straighten out some of the Information on where and when BUT from January 1960-March of 1961 (mid-year) the door for our truck DID have a weather strip. Steel Rubber sells the replacement gasket either in a set or single parts. See Pictures.

my 61 crew cab has these on all 4 doors!

[billetproofcustoms]

Ok guys, I need thoughts on this, I may have just discovered a 283 from 1966 that can painted Alpine green from the factory.

Upon separating the transmission from the motor I noticed over spray on the back of the block that appears to be original. The top coat is a blue, which I do not believe to be correct at all, but under that is a very obvious Alpine green. My opinion is that this HAS to be original. Look at the photo. This may validate the common theory that the factories that built these trucks pretty much did what the wanted as far as engine colors...

What do you guys think?

[60-66]

Originally Posted by billetproofcustoms

Ok guys, I need thoughts on this, I may have just discovered a 283 from 1966 that can painted Alpine green from the factory.

Upon separating the transmission from the motor I noticed over spray on the back of the block that appears to be original. The top coat is a blue, which I do not believe to be correct at all, but under that is a very obvious Alpine green. My opinion is that this HAS to be original. Look at the photo. This may validate the common theory that the factories that built these trucks pretty much did what the wanted as far as engine colors...

What do you guys think?

Not a very convincing photo, billetproofcustoms, imo . But lets see what we can find out to prove or disprove. First tell us what you know, please, about the engine and if its original to the truck. Has it been rebuilt ? Can you then give us the engine casting number , casting date and engine suffix stamped on the front passenger side of the block. Since its a 1966 , hopefully you have the spid sheet , a protecto plate and the plate on the inside below vent. All of this will have clues to better help you / us define this for you.

[billetproofcustoms]

I will gather all that info later today, I have already researched the casting number and it is indeed a 66 283 engine, but thats as far as I have gone, I will try to get a better shot of that area, specifically that freeze plug, the photo is actually not as convincing as it is in person. there really is quite a bit of what appears to be alpine green in multiple "hidden" places on the engine.

[60-66]

Just to clarify something in your original post.

"This may validate the common theory that the factories that built these trucks pretty much did what the wanted as far as engine colors..."

You do understand ? that there were only two engine plants building and painting engines at this time , Flint and Tonawanda . Yours is most likely, Flint, where the engine was built start to finish including paint. Engines were not painted on or at the many assembly lines where these trucks were built.

Heres some info on engine assembly.

.

[billetproofcustoms]

Really interesting info, thanks for posting, I do also know that my truck was built at the Fremont CA plant, I do have both build sheets as well.

[billetproofcustoms]

at what point was the transmission bolted to the engine? weren't the engines painted with the transmission installed? I have seen examples on this board of engine color overspray on the transmission bell housing.

Just curious because I really want to get this as "correct" as i can. not Concours correct, but "correct" enough.

sorry for all the questions.

[60-66]

Not necessarily. Transmissions were put on at the body- chassis assembly line. Transmissions were built at several different plants and shipped to final assembly like the engines. Bell housings or "Clutch Housing" as referred to above , were put on before paint. Heres some interesting photos http://chevellestuff.net/tech/assemblies.htm but do not assume everything you see in the photos relates to trucks.

[oem4me]

Originally Posted by billetproofcustoms

I will gather all that info later today, I have already researched the casting number and it is indeed a 66 283 engine, but thats as far as I have gone, I will try to get a better shot of that area, specifically that freeze plug, the photo is actually not as convincing as it is in person. there really is quite a bit of what appears to be alpine green in multiple "hidden" places on the engine.

Blue + Yellow = Green. The yellow in many cases is old engine oil, or a tinge of rust, or just plain being cooked by engine heat. Just saying.

[sodly]

That sure looks like Chevy blue to me. Doesn't resemble the original turquoise green on my 327, IMO.

[billetproofcustoms]

the paint under the "chevy blue" especially visible on the center of the freeze plug is what I am trying to determine. It looks to me like the engine was sprayed with the chevy blue at some point in its life. looks to be sprayed over alpine green.

I guess my question is this: is it out of the realm of possibility that my engine was alpine green from the factory? has anyone ever seen a factory alpine green 283?

[billetproofcustoms]

Originally Posted by 60-66

Not a very convincing photo, billetproofcustoms, imo . But lets see what we can find out to prove or disprove. First tell us what you know, please, about the engine and if its original to the truck. Has it been rebuilt ? Can you then give us the engine casting number , casting date and engine suffix stamped on the front passenger side of the block. Since its a 1966 , hopefully you have the spid sheet , a protecto plate and the plate on the inside below vent. All of this will have clues to better help you / us define this for you.

casting number is 3849852
casting date F03O8WH

the tag in the truck says
TRIM z62
PAINT 540
WB 115 CA

I could possibly have been rebuilt at some time, not really sure how to determine that.

what info am I looking for on the build sheet?

[billetproofcustoms]

I did some research on the code at the passenger side front of the engine.

It was manufactured on March 8th, 1966 in the Flint plant, and the last two letters (WH) state that it is an A.I.R. with Powerglide.

what does A.I.R. stand for?

[LT1 Burb]

Originally Posted by billetproofcustoms

I did some research on the code at the passenger side front of the engine.

It was manufactured on March 8th, 1966 in the Flint plant, and the last two letters (WH) state that it is an A.I.R. with Powerglide.

what does A.I.R. stand for?

I think it is smog, air injection reactor

[billetproofcustoms]

Yes, it appears so, My truck has absolutely nothing on it as far as smog goes, I live in TX, so I'm not going to worry about any equipment that wasn't on the truck to begin with.

moving on..!

[60-66]

A picture is what I need of the build sheet. Too many things on a build sheet to ask for.

Yes your engine is a 283 PG A.I.R. engine . Couple things , I looked over the one or two pictures I could find of your truck. Its a very nice looking truck ! I'm not putting it down when I say this next, but at some point in its life it was completely repainted , possibly engine compartment also, and obviously the engine.

I was looking for another clue but that did not happen. There were green 283s, but, they were installed in the larger c40-c60 trucks. They were much different than C10 engines. They, GM , actually raised up the water pump on some like the 1961 C60 283 I have, with special made bolt on adapters to get the fan in line to the radiator , also different things about brackets , pulleys and intake manifolds. All of those differences are WHY they were painted a different color though.

My GM parts book specifically says your engine is from a C10 only. Therefor I'm in complete agreement with OEM and Sodly , that your engine paint shown is not factory , it changed over time with chemicals to come up with a green appearance .

Also the correct name for the engine paint is really not Alpine green , its just Green. Alpine Green is a close match but a lighter color than Chevrolet engine green.

After what I've looked at of your truck , it seems very original as far as the parts it came with from the factory , that's a huge plus ! It would be a shame to paint the engine green , ( like painting a GMC V6 GREEN ! ) . Paint it Gray if you want it correct , there's no doubt in my mind that's how it left the factory.

As for the AIR engine, theres a clue on the build sheet or spid that may tell you if your truck was a California sold in state truck or a California export truck , its called " Engine Conversion " in which they plugged the exhaust manifolds for the AIR tubes and changed brackets and pulleys.

Nice truck !!

[billetproofcustoms]

Originally Posted by 60-66

A picture is what I need of the build sheet. Too many things on a build sheet to ask for.

Yes your engine is a 283 PG A.I.R. engine . Couple things , I looked over the one or two pictures I could find of your truck. Its a very nice looking truck ! I'm not putting it down when I say this next, but at some point in its life it was completely repainted , possibly engine compartment also, and obviously the engine.

I was looking for another clue but that did not happen. There were green 283s, but, they were installed in the larger c40-c60 trucks. They were much different than C10 engines. They, GM , actually raised up the water pump on some like the 1961 C60 283 I have, with special made bolt on adapters to get the fan in line to the radiator , also different things about brackets , pulleys and intake manifolds. All of those differences are WHY they were painted a different color though.

My GM parts book specifically says your engine is from a C10 only. Therefor I'm in complete agreement with OEM and Sodly , that your engine paint shown is not factory , it changed over time with chemicals to come up with a green appearance .

Also the correct name for the engine paint is really not Alpine green , its just Green. Alpine Green is a close match but a lighter color than Chevrolet engine green.

After what I've looked at of your truck , it seems very original as far as the parts it came with from the factory , that's a huge plus ! It would be a shame to paint the engine green , ( like painting a GMC V6 GREEN ! ) . Paint it Gray if you want it correct , there's no doubt in my mind that's how it left the factory.

As for the AIR engine, theres a clue on the build sheet or spid that may tell you if your truck was a California sold in state truck or a California export truck , its called " Engine Conversion " in which they plugged the exhaust manifolds for the AIR tubes and changed brackets and pulleys.

Nice truck !!

thanks, it has been in my family since new, my grandfather bought it new in 66 at a local dealership as stated on the build sheets, so it was for sure not a California truck.

Yes, it is quite original except for the air cleaner, and the hubcaps, some fasteners, crappy spliced up wiring harness, and bed wood is not original and is rotting out, other than that, its completely original, that's why I want to restore it instead of hot rodding it.
and yes, I was already aware that it was completely repainted, and not very well either, engine compartment was rattle can sprayed all black which is not correct. it was originally body color, and yes the engine probably was sprayed as well, I found out all that was done in 1991, and unfortunately, it was done poorly if you look closely. No offense taken, I already knew all that.

So, you think grey, not the chevy blue? would be correct?

I have a few pics posted through several of my posts, I also started a blog to follow the build, lots of pics there. http://billetproofcustoms.blogspot.com

[billetproofcustoms]

Here are three pics of the build sheet.

[60-66]

Yup , no A.I.R.

[billetproofcustoms]

Originally Posted by 60-66

Yup , no A.I.R.

So, 60-66, a couple questions if you dont mind. The build sheet says chrome front bumper, but does it indicate a spec for the rear bumper? It currently has a whit utility bumper on it that I really dont like at all, I would like to do a matching chrome bumper.

It seems any reference i can find on motor color indicates either gray, or blue. i'm really leaning (but not set in stone) toward the chevy blue, because I don't see any evidence of gray on the engine anywhere. would the chevy blue be correct for this year truck? My research seems to indicate yes.

[60-66]

Originally Posted by billetproofcustoms

So, 60-66, a couple questions if you dont mind. The build sheet says chrome front bumper, but does it indicate a spec for the rear bumper? It currently has a whit utility bumper on it that I really dont like at all, I would like to do a matching chrome bumper.

It seems any reference i can find on motor color indicates either gray, or blue. i'm really leaning (but not set in stone) toward the chevy blue, because I don't see any evidence of gray on the engine anywhere. would the chevy blue be correct for this year truck? My research seems to indicate yes.

I'll be more direct , Chevy Blue for V8s started in 1977 , period .For C10 in 1966 283s were Gray. For 1966 292 and 327 only, were Green , 1966 250 was Blue. LT1 Burb has an excellent restoration going on in the build section for reference .

There isn't a rear bumper reference because rear bumpers were installed at the dealer , not on factory assembly line. Basically you can put whatever you want on the rear. The chrome sport bumper would look great but theres many utility bumpers that look good also.

Heres a pretty good thread of stock trucks. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=439322

[60-66]

Original paint 283 , truck has 8700 original miles.

[billetproofcustoms]

Originally Posted by 60-66

Original paint 283 , truck has 8700 original miles.

just to be clear, what color is the engine in the pic you sent? chevy blue? or gray?

is the color I am looking for commonly called "ford gray" ?

[60-66]

Its Gray . Ford gray is a lighter gray than this, but is used often by some.