I have a 55 F-250 with a 239 <a href="http://www.motorhaven.com/">y-block</a>. I am in the process of cleaning and fixing up the engine after 27 years of sitting. All is going fairly well for someone who has never done this much engine work.

I am wanting to paint my parts back the original yellow. Does anyone know where to locate Ford yellow engine paint? Auto part stores seem to have only Daytona Yellow. It seems to brite.

Also, as I pulled off the cylinder heads, I noticed that the passenger side head is ornage. What is up with that?

I bought this from my wife's grandpa. He says that he replaced the engine at one point in time. I kind of have my doubts, since he bought the truck in '62 and the 239 is not a very common engine.

Thanks,
Joe

 

You should E-mail Earl he will know since he painted engine parts yellow.

 

Hi Joe,

WRT the paint colors, I’ve been trying to work out that issue for some time now. Keep in mind that I'm looking at 1956 and not 1955. For what it's worth, here is a page from a Ford brochure for 1956. Steve Eldred from Battle Creek, MI gets the big thank you for the image. From what I can gather on a few other threads the yellow/black engine color scheme seems to be original - at least for the 1956 model year.



The engine and bell housing color I found on my F-250 272 seems to match the bright yellow in the illustration for what that’s worth. It sounds like at least some of your parts match the illustration as well. I’ve also found a number of web sites that mention a bright yellow block and heads on the 272 <a href="http://www.motorhaven.com/">y-block</a>s for 1956, including a few where the engine had been transplanted into another vehicle. Many of the sites say “original engine and paint” but you know how that goes. The engine accessories look like they should be black except for the silver valve covers. The firewall is a semi-gloss or semi-flat black – I can’t get a solid answer on the exact color but the consensus is that it’s not too important. The inner fenders should match the body color.

Check out this older FTE post: “My name is Earl.....Help Me!!!!!” 11-27-2002 11:54 AM by fatfenders

Between the ribbing and laughter there is some info on engine colors.

Anyway, here’s what I’m going with unless I find some better information.

Engine yellow: Krylon DE1642 Daytona Yellow, 500 F
Engine black: Krylon DH 1602 High Heat Black, 1200 F
Engine silver: Krylon RTA 9213 Aluminum – (valve covers only)
Firewall: Krylon RTA 9203 Semi-Flat Black

Good luck on your project.

 

George,

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you have developed a nice standard for engine colors. After looking at your web site, I believe I can safely trust your judgment.

If you ever want to show me (I am from Missouri) how it should be done, you are welcome to visit beautiful California, Missouri.


Thanks,
Joe

PS. Send money, Gwen won't let me sell the kids to rebuild this truck.