In the never ending saga that is my pursuit of the proper engine color, I got the M number from the Ford museum. Can anyone match this to an existing color in a current paint line? The number is M-4J-119.

I ask because I recently picked up a '53 overdrive tranny from truckfarmer and it came with a bellhousing. I found what may (and I stress "may") be some original paint under a layer of crud. It is darker than what I found on my original engine. To confuse the matter, I found a couple spots of a similar shade of green under the mint green paint on my inspection cover. I'm hoping I can find a sample of the M number above to clear things up once and for all.

You don't know how close I am to just spraying it pink and being done with it.

Kevin Kessler
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini

 

Kevin,

Did you get my email? I sent it to your email address from your website. I, too, am searching for the proper engine color for my '52 215. As you probably know, I recently picked up a 215 from a '52. The inspection cover is mint green while the valve cover is a darker green. I also saw on your website a picture of an engine with the same color scheme. Any idea why the different colors? Which is correct? Also, should the entire engine be painted the same color?

I plan on getting my inspection cover color matched (if it's the right color).

Thanks, Ilya

 

I got the 1956 colors from the dealer brochure. Any chance somebody has a 1952 dealer brochure that shows the engine colors?

 

I believe the correct color scheme is a dark green valve cover with light green block. Here's a bad scan of a '52 advertisement. It doesn't show the inline six but the color scheme would be similar.



Here's a scan of a '53 advertisement.



Unfortunately, we can't really go by advertisements but I have seen pictures of supposedly original engines with this paint scheme. It's hard to tell what the actual colors are due to the way photos can look vastly different on various monitor and comuter settings.

This is another photo of a '53 215 that looks to be original.



I don't know what to make of my engine. It's a rebuild. The block was orange or red but they must have saved the lifter and valve covers since they were still green. I would have expected the valve cover to be dark green so it may have been repainted. It was one of the first things I stripped paint off of almost three years ago so I don't recall if there was any darker paint under it. There is a darker green under the light green on my inspection cover. This is the part of stock restorations I could do without.



Kevin Kessler
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini

 

I don't think that I'll dwell too much on the colors. The entire engine will be mint green with a darker green valve.

See how easy that was!

Ilya

 

Found a decent advertisement of a '52 215 on eBay (item #7141645161):



I'm pretty well convinced now that the inspection cover, valve cover, etc. on my '53 215 were repainted incorrectly at some point in time. The shade of green I found on the bellhousings of my '52 215 and overdrive is different. Looks more like what I see in the ads. I also got a paint sample from another FTE'er that is very similar. I'm going to match the bellhousings and be done with it.



Kevin Kessler
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini

 

As Kevin's blood pressure slowly diminishes back down to the high-normal stage.....

Now you see the true beauty of being a darksider. Paint that ***** a nice Ford dark blue with a spraybomb and throw 'er in!! (Maybe add a couple more cylinders... )

 

Yeah, there are advantages to embracing the dark side.

I have an extra 215 and there sure is a lot of room in that engine bay. Maybe I could squeeze both of them under the hood?



Kevin Kessler
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini

 

with this much fuss over colour, why not rear mount it so the world can see the result?
cya,,gary

 

better yet, bolt it to a frame ( as per the factory motors) then put it in the back ( for the world to see ) then put a wedge up front ( painted any colour !) so the old girl will atleast have a bite to her
cya..gary

 

Just noticed one of the Ford ads talked about saving 14% on gas costs. I didn't think anybody cared about gas costs in 1952?!? What was it, like 5 cents a gallon?

Rob

 

PlastiKote offers a light green engine paint that is so close to the stock green that someone would have to place a paint chip of the original color next to it to verify that it wasn't stock. I'm not even convinced the PlastiKote color isn't exact, in as much as the original engine light green paint color on my 215 block was 52 years old and spent most of its life covered in oil and grease. The original paint appeared to be just a little bit darker than the new PlastiKote green.

 

I remember you used Alpine Green but I thought it was the Krylon/DupliColor version. Did you use PlastiKote?



Kevin Kessler
1953 Ford F-100
Go Illini

 

Hi all,
I have an original '55 F100, 6 cyl., 223, 3-on-the-tree. Can anyone help me to get the original (or colored copies) of the sales brouchues and the different paint colors throughout.
It has the original yellow under one coat of red paint in and out. I would love to have it put back to either an original blue or red. The original yellow, ahem, is definitely not to my taste. I also need the original oil bath air cleaner. Other than that it is all there.
I noted above someone went to e-bay. What would be the different search words?
Thank you all for any help you could give me.
Have a super day!
Tom

 

Kevin, I'm finally getting around to responding to your post of 4/22. I had lugged all the truck stuff that I had lived with inside my studio over the winter back down to the barn. Paint included. I went down and painted the transmission this afternoon. I brought back a can of the green. The paint I used is Plasti-kote Engine Enamel. The color is Alpine Green No. 225. As I mentioned, it appears to be a tiny bit lighter than the light green that I found on my block, bell housing and tranny. But I can't say that the light green that I saw hadn't been tinted by fifty two years of encrusted grease and grime. Also, when I rebuilt the motor back in '76, I sprayed it Ford Blue. Some discoloration of the original green may have been affected by the blue paint. I based my decision to go with a readily available rattle can color on the difficulty that you are having finding the exact shade. Anyway, it's too late for me to turn back now. There is some comfort in knowing that as long as Plast-Kote dosen't discontinue the color, I'll have a source for touch up painting. I'm completely convinced that after my freshly painted motor gets a few thousand more miles on it, especially up here in Vermont bouncing along on dirt roads, that no one will be able to determine whether the motor has stock paint on it or not. Also, I have to say that neither the stock color or the Plasti-Kote color are on my list of favorite shades of green. They're both pretty gross. My feeling is that when I tell folks that my motor is painted the stock color I will be believed because there is no other reason on earth to use this color anywhere.