What are the engine colors used on these vehicles? I have '74 F-100 with 360 which to my knowledge is original (block code D3TE), and the original paint seems to be a medium greenish blue, at least on heads, intake, pan and covers; definitely and distinctively NOT a classic Ford blue....I haven't been able to locate or even to verify the use of this shade on Ford engines. Would the air cleaner (missing) be this same color?

 

-Ford Corporate Blue-

 

...Unrestored FE in a Bumpside.

 

hm, all I can say is that's not the hue i'm seeing...I suppose it's possible that age and engine heat has affected the color appearance, but typically with that you see variances depending on how hot different areas get...

Is the use of this color (Ford corp. blue) consistent across the era? this engine compartment has a number of differences from my '74

 

Your color variations sounds heat-related but valve covers on an FE are not typically affected. It's usually isolated around the exhaust ports. Post a pic and let's see what you're actually seeing.

Nonetheless, aftermarket paint colors will differ by manufacturer so keep track of what you use and from whom. Oh, colors can also shift between batches too.

Here is a comparo of Ford blues by Rustoleum.. Ford Dark Blue, Ford Corporate, and Ford Blue, L to R respectively... the latter is too light in my opinion. I went with the middle.



.

 

ok, thanks for the assist....I have found medium blue paint on a couple areas away from engine heat- the charcoal canister and the trans fill tube....so apparently some items also get painted blue not directly attached to the engine....just now noting the engine pic above is actually from a bumpside....

for the accessory brackets, ps pump, frame, etc, i'm presuming a medium-gloss black- I can get that in a 'paint and primer in one' that does a good job....I did use some shade of ford blue a few years ago on valve covers, etc, but there has been a lot of loss, even though I prepped to clean metal....I don't think it was the rust-oleum brand, so using that might help, but would any priming be advised?

also, I ended up removing the heads and they're atrocious....one exhaust seat gone altogether and the others bad off- shop man says they weren't hardened....afaik the engine's the original from 74, which I have presumed as new enough they were hardening them....coded D2TE, on D3TE block, I would guess these carried over to 74....it still ran strong, though....

cylinders show very little wear after 160,000; not even a discernable ridge....some light rusting in a couple from head gasket leakage- one cyl had both pushrods bent, probably from a hydraulic lock on startup from leaked-in coolant....2 bad cyls and it still ran....anyway, any advice about deglazing/scuffing cyl walls (not removing pistons)?

 

Deglaze? I use a dingleball hone on a drill driver and WD40 as a lube to make crossatch pattern. Gotta remove pistons though. There is no other acep table way to do it.

Brackets... I stripped mine down to bare steel and applied etching primer. For color, use a satin black engine enamel. I ordered them by the case (six cans) from Summit. Use engine enamels since they are formulated for heat exposure.

Yes it's a Bumpside pic above... unmolested engine though and the color is accurate as accurate can be.

 

You should measure a cylinder once and see if it's ever been bored. I'm not saying it's not possible but 160k and no ridge doesn't sound right.

 

My 390 Had no ridges either, a small amount of carbon buildup, but that cleaned off with WD40. Here is my take on the heads. The whole head was heat treated, but due to the environment had a tendency to do what your did. Or, someone did a valve job that didn't know what they were doing and removed the heat treatment.

I used Duplicolor engine enamel on mine. I primed most of the parts before painting (ran out of engine primer and didn't want to wait till I could get more). I used 2000 degree paint for my exhaust manifolds, in flat black. And cheap old walmart crap paint on engine bay and bolt heads. This was a must rebuild situation on a 76 f350 dumptruck I bought to simple use. So, not going for show quality or even longevity. Just wanted to clean it all up.

 

my machine shop told me pretty much same, that they are supposedly induction (heat)hardened, but that this can ultimately fail to adequately protect....I was too lazy to pull off the heads and check things out when I should have, soon after getting the truck....

couple more questions on the paint- it looks like all of the parts attached to the crank (damper/pulleys) might have been blue originally, as I found some blue on the back of the front-most pulley that drives the steering....it would make sense that those pulleys would be assembled onto the long block before paint....the water pump pulley seemed as if it might have been black, but it looks (sort of) like some blue on the back as I did cleanup....were water pump pulleys always black? any other thoughts on what to do blue and what black?

i'm trying a 'paint/primer in one' spray can from krylon in satin black for parts/brackets, and it seems good....cheap enough....cleaning/using acid to remove all rust....in looking around at engine enamel, I see there's a '2k ceramic' in a spray can from eastwood in ford corp. blue....price is $29.99 per can (!)....I tried to reach eastwood to ask about it- it kind of implied like it's a 2-part formula and you have to use it all up at once, but I don't know how you do that in a spray can....