[Hippie]

Originally Posted by jvsapp

ok i'm a little confused... the original 305 pulled from my 77 year c10 was orange. the engine was never changed until i pulled it because my dad bought the truck new. also i pulled a 350 from a 78 anniversery vette. that all original engine was orange too... so i am not sure about there being a definate yes or no answer. i would definately check the casting # though. those never lie.

Truck engines didn't change for a couple more years as I recall and I also have seen '78 Vettes with factory engines that were Orange so they must have held out a little longer as well. Maybe becuase the trucks and Vettes didn't get "corporate engines". On some models back then you didn't know what the heck it was going to have under the hood, Chevy, Olds, Pontiac or Buick. Quite a few B-O-P new car buyers tried to sue GM for fraud when they found out their new Buick, Olds or Pontiac had a Chevy engine under the hood.

[glen242]

If repainting, the only color I would use is Chevy Orange!

Corporate blue - that sounds like a color the bean counters came up with. Do you have a Corporate Camero, Corvette, etc.? No, you have a Chevy Camero, Corvette, etc..

[jvsapp]

Originally Posted by glen242

If repainting, the only color I would use is Chevy Orange!

Corporate blue - that sounds like a color the bean counters came up with. Do you have a Corporate Camero, Corvette, etc.? No, you have a Chevy Camero, Corvette, etc..

lol.... good one... i really don't care for the "corperate blue" that GM has. too dark to me. i even painted an engine ford light blue once to match the rest of my trucks parts.

[jvsapp]

Originally Posted by Hippie

Truck engines didn't change for a couple more years as I recall and I also have seen '78 Vettes with factory engines that were Orange so they must have held out a little longer as well. Maybe becuase the trucks and Vettes didn't get "corporate engines". On some models back then you didn't know what the heck it was going to have under the hood, Chevy, Olds, Pontiac or Buick. Quite a few B-O-P new car buyers tried to sue GM for fraud when they found out their new Buick, Olds or Pontiac had a Chevy engine under the hood.

makes sense to me. yes i have seen quite a number of different motors under the hoods of olds, pontiacs, monte carlos, malibus of the 70's -80's... even seen an olds motor in a 80'schevy p/u once in the junkyard. thought that was weird.

[trees]

Doc, I have never known a color blind aircraft electrician!!! That sure looks like all the old peeling blue painted GM motors to me and I have passed every color blind test known to man kind.

Trees

[56 Project]

In 1955 the engines were orange. 1956 they were red. 1957 and later they were orange again. This is from " The Restorers Guide by Robert Genat"

[docvette]

Doc here,

Well, guy's I'm going to have to take your word on it, because I am now totally Blind in my right eye ( Microwave Dish antenna accident)

I can tell you, It is 1980 Corvette, The Build order was written in St. Louis,for California, but not finished or delivered until late 81, Apparently, they weren't geared up for Calif Smog in that year, and offered ONLY the 305 engine, which came from Detroit crate engines engineered for Ca smog..in addition to a $50 rebate..

Maybe this is why the different color? (if it really is?) A inside joke reminder to Corvette..engineers "We Sure aren't ever going to do that again.."

I still have the stock covers in the side yard bin, in the AM, I'll endeavor to pull them out, hose them down and shoot a digi photo of them, see what you all think..

Doc

[Hippie]

Originally Posted by jvsapp

even seen an olds motor in a 80'schevy p/u once in the junkyard. thought that was weird.

Bet it was either an Olds 350 based Diesel or had been and they replaced it with an Olds gas engine. That was VERY common back in the 80's and 90's. There was a nice little '78 Chevy short bed stepside here in town that came with an Olds diesel. He replaced it with a 455 out of a '70 4-4-2. YEAH BABY!!! In fact his son still has it but replaced the stepside box with a fleetside, more practical but ruined the looks of the truck IMO.

[Hippie]

Originally Posted by trees

Doc, I have never known a color blind aircraft electrician!!! That sure looks like all the old peeling blue painted GM motors to me and I have passed every color blind test known to man kind.

Trees

I worked with a color blind engineer once, going through a schematic on a prototype wiring harness with him was a nightmare LOL. We have a color blind painter at work, he can lay it on like Michaelangelo but somebody else has to mix it for him.

[projectjohn]

Wow this is a older post.

Truck engines didn't change for a couple more years as I recall and I also have seen '78 Vettes with factory engines that were Orange so they must have held out a little longer as well. Maybe becuase the trucks and Vettes didn't get "corporate engines". On some models back then you didn't know what the heck it was going to have under the hood, Chevy, Olds, Pontiac or Buick. Quite a few B-O-P new car buyers tried to sue GM for fraud when they found out their new Buick, Olds or Pontiac had a Chevy engine under the hood.

Well in Canada all the Pontiac's have almost always had a Chevy under the hood. I was looking a buying a 66 Pontiac full size car and it had a Chevy 327 under the hood. After a little research on it I found out that in Canada all the Pontiac's had Chevy power plants because of some legal reason. Can't remember it right now. But yeah the Canadian Pontiac's came with Chevy's ( think that the firebird came with a Pontiac power plant). Just thought you would like to know.

John

[jvsapp]

Originally Posted by Hippie

Bet it was either an Olds 350 based Diesel or had been and they replaced it with an Olds gas engine. That was VERY common back in the 80's and 90's.

it was probably a diesel. not sure though... in that junkyard, there are a lot of hornets... upon looking at the truck i heard a buzzing to look up and see this massive hornet nest sitting just under the hood and it seems opening the hood wider, i may have disturbed them. so i didn't hang around to find out... just remember glancing in on a weird motor.

[enjenjo]

You can find other colors too, and they are all stock. Some of the earlier big trucks had grey small blocks in them, 57 Chevy 265 was chartreuse. And in the 60's some truck engines were painted Hunter green.

[jvsapp]

Originally Posted by enjenjo

You can find other colors too, and they are all stock. Some of the earlier big trucks had grey small blocks in them, 57 Chevy 265 was chartreuse. And in the 60's some truck engines were painted Hunter green.

maybe that is where the green comes from....

[Jim Rockford]

I know this is old, but I wanted to add I own 2 77 impala coupes , both 305 cars, one engine was blue and the other one chevy orange..lol I think 77 was a transition year.

[Valkyrie5.7]

I had a mid-70s 350 four bolt with 991 heads that was corporate blue. I imagine someone painted it after the fact, but only god knows who would have such bad taste. The 455 olds I have now is a 70-72 block and it's been painted flat black sometime during it's life. It'll probably go back to it's stock blue shade before I'm done with it.