Engine swap and frame color?

So, what I want to know is how did my simple engine swap turn into a full out assault on my engine bay?

Should I paint the frame semi-gloss black or the saphire blue? I like the way the black looks but, I believe that all the pics of spits that I've seen have the frame the body color. I've seen GT6's with black frames no matter the body color and they look much better.
What do you all think?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

maybe-
a/ your a perfectionist
b/ your tv is'nt working
c/ your playstation 3 has'nt arrived
d/ other
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
must admit i usually go for black rubbery seal on chassis.blue would look good, & in 2-pac or powder coated, should recieve adequate protection.

All Heralds, Vitesses, Spitfires and GT6s originally would've had body color frames; it's a byproduct of the method of assembly and painting on these cars (different than the TR production). The only exceptions (other than "restored") cars were Works competition cars, which often had white or light gray frames so as to better spot fatigue cracks and such.

But it's your car to do with as you wish, of course!

imho,
i like anything but black or dark colour because it makes it harder to see dropped nuts or washers.i'm going to do my tr4 frame white and my engine white so i can see better when i work on it. it will always look dirty i suppose but i don't mind. flat black is the best colour to radiate heat away from a engine but most people put it on too thick so it acts as an insulator anyways.(I know i'm off topic)
it's your car, do what you want
rob

This is my 67 GT6 when it was new and original condition.
Sorry about the quality but it is the best I have.

I dug out the original photo and looked with a magnifying glass. The suspension parts are black as well as the side of the frame member. I assume it might look strange if the side of the frame was the body color and it would be difficult to keep clean. I wish I could see the Vin number, it was in the 200's but do not remember exactly what it was.

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So, what I want to know is how did my simple engine swap turn into a full out assault on my engine bay?


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It's called, While I'm There, or three years later, or I just really wanted to...! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh, I like gloss black,/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I think you should do what you like best. Personally, I like the look of the frame being the same colour as the car, but my tastes lie half way between race-prepped, and stock.
It is very tempting to want to shoot some rocker guard paint on the frame, and cover all of those surface rust spots etc., but once you do that it can be a nightmare to take off.
My first Triumph(1974 Spitfire) had such a paint job under the hood. It was white, with black rocker guard under the hood, looked good but could have looked better.
My second Triumph(red 1978 Spitfire)was original stock colour, with chrome springs, stainless header chrome valve cover etc. It was clean and perfect. It was very hard to not open the hood and gaze at the engine every time you went anywhere.
I find that one of the alluring things about the Spitfire is the forward-folding hood where everything is exposed. I'm in the same boat, waiting for the right(dry) moment to repaint my engine bay.
I've been concentrating on making mine reliable but, I think I might have to start polishing and chroming bits again though...


Adam H.
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1972 Triumph Spitfire.