318 engine paint color

[66patrick]

On my '69 D300, the engine is blue. I've yet to see if the engine is original to the truck. It may not be, because the pan is red, from another engine, or possibly a replacement engine that didn't have the truck pan and oil pickup tube installed. I know that a '69 small block could've been Red, Hemi orange or Corporate Blue in cars, but it's been quite a while since I've seen under the hood of another '69 small block truck. Since my interior is Blue, I've thought both about keeping that Blue, or going to Red for a more patriotic scheme.

I know '69 trucks don't have Hemi Orange 318s in them. So, was the odd possibility with cars also applicable to trucks? There really wasn't a rhyme nor reason to the cars having one of three colors in a small block engine. I've owned 1969 Mopars with any of the three possiblities.

Did the trucks have the same seemingly random occurrence with Blue and Red?

[712edf]

The two older poly engines that I owned were red. There is a 68 D200 for sale on FB marketplace in Marlow, Oklahoma. Not too far from you. It is all original been in that family since new. The picture of the LA318 engine shows it to be red. Red seemed to be replaced by blue on truck motors by 72.
Yes no rhyme nor reason to mopar.

Bucky

[66patrick]

Corporate Blue was universal in all Mopars in MY1972, and that way until MY1983.

I'm leaning more and more to keeping it Blue, throw on my old Direct Connection chrome valve covers and dress it up a little. I like there is just an alternator to concern myself with (one belt). The truck shows 68K miles, which I believe to be original, judging from the overall condition from when I got it.

I have a 318 I have on a stand that is Red, and I'll likely paint that one Red again. The truck is my only small-block vehicle, so this engine is gonna be my spare. It's a 4,000-mile engine with some healthy add-ons. It's also out of a low-mile red '72 Barracuda, which the long-time owner painted the block to match the car.

[Hobcobble]

https://www.dodgesweptline.org/technica ... Colors.htm

John