Annoying detail question (engine paint)

[Gwendolyn Ann Smith <gwen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes, another in a long series of really anal-retentive questions.

Unfortunately, I was unable to see anyone else's 1963-1964 195.6 engine 
at the show this weekend.  If I had, well, this post would likely be moot.

I'm still trying to verify the colour of this block and its components.

>From my own engine, I can verify that the block, head, oil cap and filler 
tube, Transmission fluid dipstick (head only) and tube, air cleaner, 
exhaust manifold, and vibration damper pulley are definitely in Lancelot 
Turquoise. The oil filter bracket and thermostat housing likely also 
Lancelot Turquoise, but I cannot 100% confirm.  The fan is semi-gloss 
black.  The Alternator, fuel pump, coil (and bracket), distributor, and 
carburetor were unpainted.  

The one thing I cannot verify is the most obvious: was the head cover 
unpainted, or was it also Lancelot Turquoise?  A large number of vehicles 
I've seen photos of, as well as my own, sport unpainted covers: not a 
fleck to be had.  Those I have seen with painted covers are also 
repainted engines, and therefore potentially unreliable as "proof" one 
way or another.

Period Rambler brochures is vague, but seems to show a painted head 
cover.  That said, the head is mostly obscured, and the engine is shown 
with a chrome fan blade -- and the lighting on the image is also a 
greenish/blue, making the alternator look like it too is painted.  Hence, 
this image is completely unreliable.

The dealer data book shows only black and white photos, and there is not 
enough tonal variation in the images to make a determination one way or 
another.

A Motor Trend article from the era also shows the engine in black and 
white, and doe snot have enough clear tonal variation.  The head cover 
appears somewhat "shinier," but it is also less textured than the head 
itself, and would appear so regardless.

Dealer filmstrips look like it is a silver head, but the film is so 
poorly degraded that the air cleaner also looks to be natural silver 
through part of it.

So I'm wondering -- should I repaint it, or was it natural metal, only in 
need of a good polish?  Does anyone know for sure?

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

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