Wrong engine colors abound

[kink56]

I have not owned a T-Bird since about 1988. But I am in the process of buying a 1963 T-bird this month. This question does not pertain to that car. But I have ALWAYS wanted to know this: Why do I see so many 1961-1965 Thunderbirds and 1964-1965 Mustang engines painted Ford blue? This has been something I have wondered about for decades now. I thought this would be a good group to ask. Heck I even bought a 1956 T-Bird back in the late 70s with a rebuilt 312 that had the engine painted Ford blue!!! (I remedied that). Then I have also seen 312 engines painted Chevrolet orange!!!!!!!

[RAVEN]

Plus to add to the confusion of 64 and 65 Bird engines being painted an Argent silver on certain cars. Not all were painted Black.

[Alan H. Tast]

I have not owned a T-Bird since about 1988. But I am in the process of buying a 1963 T-bird this month. This question does not pertain to that car. But I have ALWAYS wanted to know this: Why do I see so many 1961-1965 Thunderbirds and 1964-1965 Mustang engines painted Ford blue? This has been something I have wondered about for decades now. I thought this would be a good group to ask. Heck I even bought a 1956 T-Bird back in the late 70s with a rebuilt 312 that had the engine painted Ford blue!!! (I remedied that). Then I have also seen 312 engines painted Chevrolet orange!!!!!!!

Why so many painted Ford Blue that originally weren't? The primary reason is Ford's switch to 'Ford Corporate Blue' for all their gasoline-fueled engines used in cars (Ford, Mercury and Lincoln) and commercial vehicles (trucks, vans, pickups, etc.) in model year 1966 was a very shrewd marketing/branding move. How many of us use the phrase "I bleed Ford Blue" in conversation? The usage of Ford Blue has been so prevalent over the decades that many 'uneducated' people think every Ford engine from the mid-'50s-'60s should be that color. In fact, many engine rebuilding companies 'simplified' their procedures and followed through using Ford Blue on everything, regardless of year of manufacture of the engine, and as such the legacy of Ford Blue was extended.

One of the reasons why VTCI has produced a series of Original Factory Specification (OFS) manuals for the first 4 generations (1955-57, 1958-60, 1961-63, 1964-66) of 'Birds is to educate owners and restorers in detail as to the factory-original colors used for each of these generations. Over the years we've been gradually updating these - in fact, right now we're in a massive research/editing mode for the '64-'66 volume that has taken much longer to complete than anticipated because, to use one of my favorite phrases, "the more we dig, the more we find," but the end result should blow most people away as far as what's been documented - the color pictures we've been compiling for use will certainly be a great upgrade to help people see what things should look like. Current versions of the OFS do spell out finishes for engines that are in line with the factory specifications. The OFS manuals are available for sale to dues-paying VTCI members through VTCI's Country Store http://vintagethunderbirdclub.net/country_store.htm

Back to my comment about 'uneducated' people assuming every engine should be painted Ford Blue: During the '50s through 1965, Ford used different colors on engines blocks/heads/intakes/oil pan/front cover (what some refer to as the 'long block' assembly) and air cleaners to ID either their displacement, horsepower rating, or place of assembly. As Raven alluded to, Ford of Canada painted engines assembled in Windsor, Ontario that were designated to be installed in Ford products to be sold in Canada an Aluminum-silver color so that the import/tariff inspectors could immediately tell if the engine was 'made in Canada' and thus not impose additional import taxes. This happened at least in model years 1964 and 1965 (there are some anecdotal accounts the this may have happened as far back as 1962-1963).

Here's a link to a posting I have been revising for quite a few years (I first posted this list in 2014, and last edited it in 2022) on engine/air cleaner colors with Ford's original "M"-numbers and commercially-available approximations (when known) to same. We had this linked on the Club's home page under the 'Technical Articles' tab at one time, but the recent 'overhaul' of the website got rid of the links. I need to visit with our website administrator about creating a 'sticky' in each of the generation sections to get to it, if it's not already in place. There's still a lot of question marks as to paint/part numbers from the various manufacturers which need to be filled in, but most of the common ones are shown.

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=10463

Long story short about engine colors: For Ford from model years 1960-1965, gas-powered engines were to be painted black for the 'long block'. There were exceptions to the rule, such as aluminum intakes on hipo cars not being painted but left a natural finish, such as the '62-'63 "M"-series tripowers, but typically 'long' block assemblies were painted one color, and air cleaners/valve colors another.