Repaint Engine Block

Q: Repaint Engine Block

I want to repaint my engine block but it appears greenish blue. I thought it was suppose to be Pontiac Blue.

A: The greenish blue is the color the original blue metallic goes after the motor has been hot and cold for 30 years. I have seen people attempt to reproduce this “aged” color, but I think that if you want to paint the motor – do it as advised on this list – the bright metallic blue looks sensational – people who are ignorant think that its not original its such a pretty color.

A: I was reading through some of my old Firebird-L emails, and ran across the thread about engine colors. This reminded me about a conversation I had with an original owner with a 1967 326 Convertible this past summer. He had restored his car a few years ago, and it is now an AACA senior car.

Anyway, the engine is painted Buick Green. I asked him about this, since it was a very nicely restored car. He said that he gets in trouble for that all the time at shows. The story is that early in the production of 326 engines, there was a fire at a plant somewhere in the supply chain. Pontiac Blue (Plasticote #227, that we are all familiar with by now) was not available, so they painted the engines in a metallic green that was for Buicks. I don’t know the dates, but maybe some people with original cars could try and determine a range. His car was purchased in March of 1967, so it probably occurred in cars that were built in February.

I would guess that this only applies to 326 engines, as the OHC6 and 400 were probably built in different plants/assembly lines. Does anybody know where these engines were built?

Just adding a little fuel to the fire, and maybe helping those that thought their engines were green gain some sanity.

A: I was able to buy the correct 1969 Pontiac Engine paint at Parts America, which is now Advance Auto Parts. The brand they carry is Plasticote and it is called Pontiac Blue Metallic. This is the same paint that Performance Years sells and may be the same as the others too, I don’t know. When you paint with it, it will look just like the factory brochures show the engines. However, as noted in the Ames catalog, after exposure to heat it begins to pickup a green hue, as the original factory paint did.

A: PEP Boys in California has a high temperature primer. Plasti-kote engine enamel, good to 500 degrees F. I have found Plasti-kote to be very good paint. Probably as good as Krylon. That is a big deal for me because Krylon harbors so many good characteristics, not the least of which is fast dry time and recoat any time. I think the number is #8334 for gray, but might be a lot number. They make the good Pontiac (metallic) blue/green engine paint, #228?

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