1966 C10 Correct engine color (foam green) for the 283 V8

[64jmb]

Hello,
I am putting in a new motor in my 66 C10 and was considering the factory green for engine color instead of the orange. Anyone know what the color it is and where to get it and did them make stickers to go on the valve covers as well for the 283? Please let me know thanks! 64jmb@cox.net

[TJ's Chevy]

I am not sure of the Factory color, but I did used Dupli color engine paint Alpine Green for my GMC V6 and it's darn close if not exact.

[cv65]

I also used alpine green, although Im not stock

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by cv65

I also used alpine green, although Im not stock

Wow that is a beautiful 327! Excellent job on it

[jocko]

looky here - http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=392554 - post #11, very helpful. Footnote calls out alpine green (plastikote, but am sure several hi-temp coating paints provide same). Some threads reference the 327 being gray, but they are incorrect. Green is correct for 327, gray for 283. Recommend give member Chipflyer a shout regarding the engine stickers - but the truck vendors carry them also (LMC, etc - most all of them I believe)

[64jmb]

ok thanks for the info. I am planning on a crate new 350 but wanted to paint it to look like the original 283. So do I do the green or the grey or the orange? I like the green as my truck is original 503 green truck, but the motor is orange and believe it was orange from the factory. Ill bet they ran out of paint and just used what they had there is a guess from that article that was posted. I am planning on driving mine so I really did not want rebuild my original 283 and it run warm here in the desert, not to say for sure, but my experience with rebuilds in AZ can run warm at least on the 289's when I had my mustangs. A new crate 350 seems to be a much better deal right from Chevrolet 190HP/230HP with 4BBL GM Alum intake and a 36 month 100K mile warranty $1499 long block, and they have the GM Aluminum intake and the holly recommended from them right at the dealership. Seems like a great deal to me!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

ok thanks for the info. I am planning on a crate new 350 but wanted to paint it to look like the original 283. So do I do the green or the grey or the orange? I like the green as my truck is original 503 green truck, but the motor is orange and believe it was orange from the factory. Ill bet they ran out of paint and just used what they had there is a guess from that article that was posted. I am planning on driving mine so I really did not want rebuild my original 283 and it run warm here in the desert, not to say for sure, but my experience with rebuilds in AZ can run warm at least on the 289's when I had my mustangs. A new crate 350 seems to be a much better deal right from Chevrolet 190HP/230HP with 4BBL GM Alum intake and a 36 month 100K mile warranty $1499 long block, and they have the GM Aluminum intake and the holly recommended from them right at the dealership. Seems like a great deal to me!

They didn't start using orange until 1967. If your 283 ran a little warm it was a coolant problem not the motor itself. A new 350 will be no better. Will run just as warm if you don't add some cooling power.

[64jmb]

Ya the 283 is a great engine, it has served its purpose well! But I like the 350 idea better. For one it will pull a trailer better then the 283 from everyone I have spoke to and the water jackets will be really clean no thin cylinder walls from the rebuild, not saying that all rebuilds are like that, but this motor is pretty worn out. The newer technology new never used clean block with the aluminum radiator and intake from GM with the warranty too good of a deal. My truck is staying all original in appearance, but the motor and fact in-dash AC is all going to be updated for daily driving. As far as the engine color I know that 67 was orange but the articles I have seen say if they ran out of paint they used what they had and all the other engines at that time were orange including 283's in the cars. And it seems like Ill bet later in the 66 model year they may had already switched over to orange from the gray. Seems some of the original 66 trucks I have seen have the orange 283's, not gray. Maybe they were later in the year, the last ones on the line. Ya never know.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

Ya the 283 is a great engine, it has served its purpose well! But I like the 350 idea better. For one it will pull a trailer better then the 283 from everyone I have spoke to and the water jackets will be really clean no thin cylinder walls from the rebuild, not saying that all rebuilds are like that, but this motor is pretty worn out. The newer technology new never used clean block with the aluminum radiator and intake from GM with the warranty too good of a deal. My truck is staying all original in appearance, but the motor and fact in-dash AC is all going to be updated for daily driving. As far as the engine color I know that 67 was orange but the articles I have seen say if they ran out of paint they used what they had and all the other engines at that time were orange including 283's in the cars. And it seems like Ill bet later in the 66 model year they may had already switched over to orange from the gray. Seems some of the original 66 trucks I have seen have the orange 283's, not gray. Maybe they were later in the year, the last ones on the line. Ya never know.

They did do some strange stuff. haha I'd paint it the color you like best. Like said, grey would be original for that year. And, less used. I've seen thousands of Orange SBC's. A grey one is a nice change. haha But whichever color you choose will look great. A big dual core aluminum water with electric fans and a shroud would be best. It might trailer a load a bit better.....personally I think with a 290/350 you'd actually Feel a difference...but torque is the important factor here.

[64jmb]

Ya I thought about that one but I have a limited budget and the trailer I was thinking about was a pretty small 16ft Airstream Bambi, a vintage one restored to go with the truck. The 190HP one also is bumped to 230 HP and I have dual exhaust which I am sure bumps it up a bit more with the 4BBL and has the 100K 36 month warranty where the 290 HP only 24 month I found out as well, not that it would need anything anyway both are great engines. But from what everyone has been saying, the 350 is the most common motor used and easy to get the parts. I am not sure on engine color most likely it will be orange kinda cool to offset the 503 foam green! I am looking at a dual row aluminum radiator with he electric fan and the shroud that covers the whole back of the radiator with one large fan. Still kicking that around of using the stock fan and shroud. I had a electric fan on a mustang I had before and it did not work very well. Thoughts?

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

Ya I thought about that one but I have a limited budget and the trailer I was thinking about was a pretty small 16ft Airstream Bambi, a vintage one restored to go with the truck. The 190HP one also is bumped to 230 HP and I have dual exhaust which I am sure bumps it up a bit more with the 4BBL and has the 100K 36 month warranty where the 290 HP only 24 month I found out as well, not that it would need anything anyway both are great engines. But from what everyone has been saying, the 350 is the most common motor used and easy to get the parts. I am not sure on engine color most likely it will be orange kinda cool to offset the 503 foam green! I am looking at a dual row aluminum radiator with he electric fan and the shroud that covers the whole back of the radiator with one large fan. Still kicking that around of using the stock fan and shroud. I had a electric fan on a mustang I had before and it did not work very well. Thoughts?

It should get a bump with the dual exhaust, carb, and HEI. All SBC's are super common and easy to get parts for so you'll have no issues there. I'd bet rebuilding the 283 would be $2K or less, but if it requires an overbore because of wear then the price will go up. If you have a good charging system and a high flow fan you should be good. I have two electric fans in front of a duramax diesel radiator for my 572 big block. On a 100 degree day the motor has never gotten over 200. I think those fans are rated at 2500 CFM. If your doing One I would do a 3000 cfm fan, but make sure you have a good alternator to maintain the extra draw. The stock fan may work, but if your not at an RPM that really moves the air...the motor will heat up on a hot day...whereas with electric the fan is still pulling a good amount of air through the rad.

[bpmcgee]

64jmb,

No matter which engine you pick, make sure that it has the correct radiator and radiator shroud. As TJ pointed out, those will have the biggest effect on cooling.

[62 Barnfind]

I am still running a 235 in my 62 which is gray. I found that Jim Carter has the correct blue gray but they want $45 for a quart. So I went with Ford gray and its real close. The only way you can tell is if you had another engine next to it. I vote for gray!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 62 Barnfind

FORD gray

So That's why it spun a bearing! lol

[64jmb]

Hey Guys, Where can I get the Alpine Green paint in a can? I think I wasn't to paint it green..... Let me know! I am taking it in Friday for the new motor!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

Hey Guys, Where can I get the Alpine Green paint in a can? I think I wasn't to paint it green..... Let me know! I am taking it in Friday for the new motor!

Napa no way, O'riellys, Auto zone. I got mine from Napa. Duplicolor Alpine green. Edit: Spray can or Can to pour in a spray gun?

[64jmb]

Hi TJ,
Thanks, so I have it right, NAPA Auto parts, O'Relieys, And AutoZone carry it in store right? And the color is called Alpine Green and named on the can and 2 cans covers it? Is it gloss or is it satin in the sheen? Or do they have both? Let me know and how many cans would be great thanks!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

Hi TJ,
Thanks, so I have it right, NAPA Auto parts, O'Relieys, And AutoZone carry it in store right? And the color is called Alpine Green and named on the can and 2 cans covers it? Is it gloss or is it satin in the sheen? Or do they have both? Let me know and how many cans would be great thanks!

You can tell by the cap on the can what color it is and yes they should have it in the store an should be marked. It is somewhat glossy, but I recommend using the duplicolor engine high gloss clear coat. I did primer, color, and clear on the v6 pictured. And since I stack paint probably went through about 4 cans of primer....4 cans of paint and 4 cans of clear. haha I painted the motor and bell housing in primer, green, and clear. All I know is I bought out the whole shelf stock of green. lol Want the paint to last...stack it on and Really stack the clear. The clear is your main source of protection. And makes it look better.

[64jmb]

Hey TJ, Thanks for the help! My new motor is in primer black already painted. So it would jut be covering the black. I am not a fan of the shinny look...... Your engine looks very nice though! I am still deciding on the color I just though that the green would be a nice change since it is a 503 green truck!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

Hey TJ, Thanks for the help! My new motor is in primer black already painted. So it would jut be covering the black. I am not a fan of the shinny look...... Your engine looks very nice though! I am still deciding on the color I just though that the green would be a nice change since it is a 503 green truck!

It would look good, if you don't do the clear the motor will look more like the pictured 327. I prefer clear for added protection and I like shiny. haha I go over the hill on painting motors.

[64jmb]

Hey TJ, Thanks for letting me know I like the way the 327 looks in sheen. Is this paint at all these places engine paint or just regular paint my mechanic said it needs to be the engine paint for sure so it will hold up to the heat. Let me know, thanks!

[66Submarine]

Just FWIW on the 290hp 350, most say don't do it anyway. AFAIK it's the same weak-suck goodwrench 350 for $750 more (???) with the addition of a 222/222@.050 cam that really doesn't belong there. I think the actual compression on those is 7.8:1? Not exactly what you want to see for a NA hot rod piece. Bad heads and low compression. A cam and lifter kit costs $100 anyway if you wanted that.

The smaller cam is vastly better suited to that engine and your intended purpose. If you want a hot rod engine later on, just stick some Vortec heads on there with a mild cam. It's a proven combo that will do everything better than the 290HP 350.

[66Submarine]

And yes, it's ceramic high-temp engine paint. Plasti-Kote or Duplicolor will probably be what you find. (Detroit Diesel) Alpine Green.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 64jmb

Hey TJ, Thanks for letting me know I like the way the 327 looks in sheen. Is this paint at all these places engine paint or just regular paint my mechanic said it needs to be the engine paint for sure so it will hold up to the heat. Let me know, thanks!

You will see on the can that it is engine paint. You Can use regular paint but you risk it burning. I believe regular paint is ok up to 500 degrees.

[64jmb]

Thanks for all the info! Ill let ya know what color I decide for sure!