Re: [Amc-list] '63 Ambo answers to questions noone asked!

["Jerijan" <jerijan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings...
OK, since you  have asked...the information in fact does come from 'under
the hood'.
The specimins I present are 'virgins'...thus the colors I 'see' are what
I've represented.
Now, as you note, I too 'always' thought these engines were ALWAYS
red..Rampart Red...however...
I do NOT know about 1957 for I've not experience with these..
But..
My '58 Ambassador with its original engine was, in fact, the Orange.  Now I
thought this orange was some alteration of the original Red, you know, sort
of 'bleaching' or something...but in fact, when the engine was bathed clean,
lo and behold, ORANGE!  Absolutely. Not Rampart Red.  So my theory went
straight down the tubes...
Then along comes my '62...and the same story...  I bathed the engine using
my usual petrochemical wash (read that, 'gasoline on a brush') followed by a
rinse (clean gasoline dumped to wash away the yucky)...and it, too, is
orange.
So...Now along comes a '65 engine from a parts car in Arizona.  Obviously
not quite an original to that car..but when I cleaned 'er off, this '287'
engine shows a '4' on the where the bore number is, as well as the
alternator's bracket (original to that engine but NOT to the car) and it is
a 327 HICompression (how do I know high compression?  Removed the heads and
counted notches, of course).  Now when the valve covers on the parts engine
were cleaned off they showed their original color as RampartRed (obviously
not original to that car either since the parts car wanted to be a '287').
The red valve covers were not original to the orange engine...
So...for what this is worth...
Every 327 HiCompression I have encountered (early, ie, thru '63) has been
Orange in color.  Lower compression 327's appeared to all be RampartRed.
287's are, as far as I know, Lancelot Turquoise..  
These are definitely, absolutely never ever painted-after-the-factory
engines, so it presented a pattern to me which I've relayed here.
If there is any difference of opionion (based on facts, observations, or
otherwise) I AM most interested in hearing about it...
However, since my standard practice has always been to 'redo as ye hath
found it', Orange is my color of choice for 327 HiCompression engines and
RampartRed for Low-compression numbers.  
Now, for your consideration I offer this: I have a Chevy Blazer which is
RED.  My brother in law had a chevy blazer which was also red.  Same year,
same mostly everything, except color.  RED on the registration and title,
but on appeared 'darker' than the other.  I'd call mine 'orange', but for
some reason, Chevy calls it red.  The other was red and I'd call it red for
sure.  So, Orange may be, in the case of Rambler Engines a variant NAME of a
REDDISH color...fact is, when I first saw it, I thought, 'what a red this
is, it looks more orange to me!!'...and when I matched the Red I thought it
SHOULD have been, I found at that point RampartRed and this other 'red'
aren't one and the same...
So it may be in the name...BrightFireRed vs RampartRed or something akin to
that...both ROOT color Red (and thus so described in the literature), yet to
the eyeball of the beholder, 'Orange' vs 'Red'.
That is the ONLY way I can account for the differences...
Again, it was unmistakable that these colors described herein were original
to the unit, so that it would not be a mistake of the eye...One is more
closely in hue to ChevyOrange (the hicompression) and the other to FordRed
(the locompression).
I do NOT know of any further documentation to verify or disprove this except
that in my experience over a fair number of units this was invariable...
(And why do I remember this so keenly?  Because I did NOT want my engine, a
327 to be ever mistaken for a Chevrolet's 327, yet there in number (327) and
color (chevyOrange), it sure could 'look that way' (to the uninformed, of
course).
RampartRed is what I always thought they should have been, but, alas,
experience altered my outlook...)

Now...anyone want to know how many colors can be found on the '54
Ambassador's engine and where they break??  JeezumCrowe, they sure liked
'contrast'!!  (Almond, RampartRed, Black, Silver, yellow (yeah, yellow!
Over the Engine Number to make it 'outstanding'!!)...I could not figure out
why so many colors but same applies...original unit, never painted, and
cleaned slowly to allow the color palette to manifest itself.  It DOES look
cool!!

And on that note, I go shovel some Snow...

Jj



-----Original Message-----
From: amc-list-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:amc-list-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Frank Swygert
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 1:51 PM
To: amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Amc-list] '63 Ambo answers to questions noone asked!

Jerijan, all the notes I have from way back only state that the 327 was RED
-- no difference between hi and low compression (or rather high and "normal"
compression). WHERE did you get the info that the hi-comp was a different
color? Don't say "under the hood of a car" unless you know 100% that it was
factory -- too many places just paint everything whatever color most of the
engines they rebuild are painted, or as in my case, whatever they think will
look good. Now if you have a factory color photo, that's different! 

The sales brochures and show displays, by the way, aren't the correct
colors. I've seen YELLOW AMC sixes in brochures and new car show displays --
those are just "eye candy" colors, not what was used (I'm sure you know that
Jj, as most of the regulars here, but some may not). 

---------------
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:52:49 -0500
From: "Jerijan" <jerijan@xxxxxxxxxxx>

If your engine is "Ramparts Red" (or Rambler Red), and it is original to
that car, then it IS a 327 LO compression (ie, two bbl).  The HiComp number
was more Orange (as in, umm, well, ChevyOrange)...ChevyOrange in fact is the
nearest color to that I've seen, and it's what I've used to recolor the
engines (in 58 up).
Jj

-- 
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AMC.html
(free download available!)

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