what color would the engine be ,if my car was built in march of 69?

 

If it is the original 400, it should be bronze.

 

Amen

 

X 3

Fusick has the paint you need.

 

Saw a totally original 69 W30 at the Mid Ohio OCA show last week. The car had less the 35000 original miles. The engine paint was of course original and with so few miles I would doubt the color would have changed much from new. Anyway I had repainted my engine last winter with Hirsch bronze engine paint and I was really surprised that the color was spot on to the original W30 engine paint. Now how well this paint will hold up ect only time will tell. One other drawback it is real thin and easy to run.

 

One of the reasons that finding the "right" color of bronze ('65-'69 400s) is that there was in reality different variations (shades?) that came out. Not intentionally, but due to a lack exacting standards and the paint being a metallic type (state of mix), there was some variety, even on the same production line. Keep in mind that engine paint color consistency was not high on the QC chart in the '60s.

 

Fusick paint is as good a match as I've found. Along with their other parts for our 442s, decent pricing and ultra fast delivery (2-3 days from order for me) you can't go wrong.

 

Many years ago Curt Anderson told me the reason the bronze deviates so much is because the paint came from a 55 gallon drum. So when the drum was first tapped the shade would be a lot lighter and as the level went down the color would get darker and darker. So to have a "correct bronze" is tough. I have no proof of this but he always seemed to be a gentleman in the know so I believed him. Maybe a retired Olds assembly line worker could shed some light on it?

I have some bronze from Supercars that goes on real light (almost a champagne gold) but darkens considerably as engine heat bakes it. After some running time it looks pretty good to me!

 

Curt A. knows as much about 66-67 as anyone and his explanation is plausible.

There's also a running debate over 50s Olds engine green with some saying they have the ONLY correct match, mixed from the factory formula.

Well- Duane Allen (deceased Olds retiree) worked the engine lines back then, and he also said the green engine paint came in 55 gal drums marked "Industrial Green". I've noticed the Olds green is very close to the industrial green we use to paint stuff at the plant.

When someone who worked the factory lines says this is what was used, it's kinda hard to argue with that.

And as Kurt points out- engine color consistency wasn't a high QC item. They wanted enough paint on it to give the engine some brand identity and enough to keep it from rusting on the showroom floor. The idea back then was not restoration perfection. It was get the car built, out the door and sold hopefully without any warranty work.