Wow! No answer to my dumb question!

[Dave Suesz]

At the tail end of a post farther down (concerning exact color and markings of oil filters) I have to ask- Was the oil filter installed when the engine was painted? If so, then a filter painted to match the cylinder block color should also be acceptable. I mean, so much of the judging is aimed at getting the cars "as original".

[Patrick H.]

Re: Wow! No answer to my dumb question!

No, it was not installed.

[Loren L.]

No. Would you like to buy a Judging Manual? *NM*

[Dave Suesz]

I HAVE bought the Judging GUIDE...

and since my car is a 1955, There is, of course, NO MENTION of oil filters. Of course, even a later version would be of little use, since GM used cannister type filters when they finally got around to installing one.

[Dave Suesz]

Huh! Ford did the opposite...

Instead of blocking off the filter mount, they just installed a filter! This means to be truly "original", you can just take a Fram filter, paint it Ford Corp blue, and spin it on! Of course, people spend up to $30 to get repros of the service replacement filters, because they look really cool on the engine, but they get exactly the same points.

[Chuck S.]

Might Work For 'Stang Judging...

But, I'm sure NCRS judges would be using mirrors to check the back side of the filter to make sure it didn't have 100% coverage...an easy check for inaccurate restoration.

On a factory painted chevy engine, a filter painted completely on the backside would surely indicate that it had been painted and installed AFTER engine paint. Can you imagine the number of questions we would have here for guys wanting to get the filter "overspray" correct?

Corvette Trivia I Know From Somewhere: Did you know that less than full coverage on the bottom of Corvette oil pans is correct?...Engine paint guys didn't have time (or inclination) to bend over.

[Dave Suesz]

It does, and thanks for the trivia...

because Ford put the filter at the front of the engine, ergo, full paint.

Thanks for the tip on oil pan paint. I pulled a LH exhaust manifold off a '55 Chevy (which was junked about 1960) in a yard 12 years ago, and on the manifold under the generator bracket I found- orange paint. I wish this yard, with it's vintage cars, was still there. I'd love to get at least photographic proof of early V8 engine paint color. They had piles of 53-54 Chevys, too.

[Mike McKown]

If you want a reference for '55 Chevy engine color

Look at the January, 1955 cover of Motor Trend magazine. It has a right front view of a '55 V-8 pass engine. Manifolds are painted. Of course, the cover is in color.

[Dave Suesz]

Now if I could only see that cover... *NM*

[Roy B.]

Re: If you want a reference for '55 Chevy engine c

1955 engines V8 were RED not orange car or vett.

[Dave Suesz]

About that cover...

What color was the engine on the cover of the Jan 55 Motor Trend? Was the passenger engine orange or red? Was the Corvette engine painted the same color? It would seem odd of they were not the same, but I am wide open to suggestion.

[Mike McKown]

Re: About that cover...

The engine is RED, not orangy red. The exhaust manifolds appear to be fully painted. The base of the spark plugs look like they are painted with the white ceramic portion no paint. The fuel pump plate is bare metal along with the two 1/4" attaching bolts. Oil fillter pipe is black with no visible overspray. Generator adjustment brace is red. Chevrolet script on the valve covers are black. Left hand oil dipstick. No overspray on the fuel pump.

Once again, this is a passenger engine.

[Mike McKown]

While I'm at it

You can also reference the February, 1956 cover of Hot Rod magazine. Shows a 1955 crate engine being swapped into a '39 Ford. In color. Engine looks a "little" orangy compared to the Motor Trend engine. Hard to tell.