Frank Swygert <farna@xxxxxxx>, you said... >The engines of 64+ models were definitely assembled then painted, so the >cover should be turquoise as well as the block. Anything that might have >been put on the engine before paint would be that color also. Accesories >(including the oil filter in the case of the 195.6) were put on later. All >oil filter brackets I've seen were unpainted. Coil should be black with an >unpainted bracket. IIRC the alternator bracket was unpainted as well as >the alternator. The auto trans and filler tube are unpainted, top and >"handle" of dip stick painted engine color. > >Older engines are different. The oldest 195.6 OHV had a grey block and red >valve cover and dipstick handles. Accessories unpainted. In the earliest >60s they were painted all red (don't recall exact years -- 60-62?). The >aluminum engine had a natural finish with a silver/aluminum painted valve >cover. It will look like bare metal unless you look closely -- that might >be what you're seeing and mistaking as "unfinished". All steel valve >covers were painted. The early air cleaner cases were black, even on the >red engine cars. I'm not positive, but all the turquoise engien color cars >had housings painted the same color as the engine. ::nod:: The fact that some have valve covers painted differently than the blocks is another thing that threw me on this: that and the number of '64 engines I've seen with no paint chips on their metal covers. Speaking with the owner of a '61 with an OHVA only muddied matters for me, given the silver/aluminum cover you mentioned above, as well as seeing older OHVCs with the red cover/grey block. I wasn't sure on the oil filter bracket: I'll have to spend some time with mine, looking for any paint traces. I would make sense that this would be natural metal, given it's assumed state in the assembly process. The transmission filler tube on mine *is* painted the engine colour (it's not been repainted), as is the transfer case: I did not hop under the car to check the rest of the transmission, but I believe its unpainted. The air cleaner was also originally turquoise, and I've repainted it to match. Thanks for clearing up the valve cover colour issue! Cheers, Gwen Smith ______^_____^______ (O|O) =RAMBLER= (O|O) Gwen Smith * gwen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------- www.gwensmith.com/interests/rambler \-<>---|770|---<>-/