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New engine color thread BJ8

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"If the rivets are missing, leaving the holes empty, then the plate was probably removed and never found its way back onto the engine."

If I remember correctly the engine plate holes were empty and there was no plate included with the car when purchased in 1988. I did have a new plate made and installed with the proper rivets. Although there was no past history available with the car, I am fairly certain the engine is original.

Thanks

jjs64bj8
 
Based on the engines I have that are out of the cars and easy to inspect, the blocks show evidence of the blue paint. After assembly, with the head manifolds, pan, etc., the metallic green was sprayed over the whole thing. Some blue remains uncovered in the hard to reach areas, like under the manifolds. My guess would be that once they were cast, the blue was applied as a way to retard rusting.
Bob
 
jjs64bj8 said:
"If the rivets are missing, leaving the holes empty, then the plate was probably removed and never found its way back onto the engine."

Although there was no past history available with the car, I am fairly certain the engine is original.

jjs64bj8
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Well, I have to repeat that with no past history available and a missing engine serial number plate, there is just no way to be sure that the engine is what you think it is. It is only an assumption with little to back it up that it's the original to the car. Speaking as the keeper of the registry with desire for the data to be as accurate as possible, I hate to see missing serial number plates replaced by anyone who didn't own the engine before the plate disappeared. Just MHO
 
Certainly not the same as the 'Healey Engine Green' sold by Moss. Car has an awful lot of 'surface' rust on the undercarriage for a '47K mile' car. Methinks its time in Indiana did it no favors; my BJ8--which I believe spent its entire life in California--has almost 200K miles and does not have anywhere near that much rust on the undercarriage. Maybe salt did something to the engine paint? Wouldn't the heater pipe and manifold have been painted same color as engine? Has engine been rebuilt/repainted? Also, looks like it's had some body work; note large gap at bottom of driver's side door, and passenger side rear dogleg has probably been replaced. Aside from that, looks like a pretty nice car.
 
Bob_Spidell said:
Color looks similar to a lot of other 'Healey Blue' cars.
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I meant the engine color, not the body. Sorry, I edited my post to make it more clear.

33-620x413.jpg
 
I have seen that shade of green on some other Healey engines, in fact one the valve covers I beadblasted was that color. I would venture to say it is an original color, just one of the variations in the production.
Marv
 
Back in 1970 I rebuilt my BT7 motor and couldn't find the correct Healey green locally to repaint the motor so I opted for a Ford blue green that was very similar to the valve cover on this car. The photo of the overdrive from underneath the car looks closer to the correct color.
Nice looking car.
 
BaT has added a picture of the engine plate, so the engine is in fact matching numbers and original. The shot of the plate shows some of the blue paint, so this is one of those oddly painted engines. Made even odder with the gray paint. It is pretty ugly!
 
Marvin Gruber said:
I have seen that shade of green on some other Healey engines, in fact one the valve covers I beadblasted was that color. I would venture to say it is an original color, just one of the variations in the production.
Marv
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If they came with any of those parts that passed through Layne, it may've been painted Onan Green (Onan Generators) by me! Around that time, I was working for Electrical and Pneumatic Services, a company owned in part by Delhomme Industries. Dick Delhomme made millions selling and renting generators (I mean ones that are physically too big to fit inside your garage) to the oil field in southern Louisiana/Gulf of Mexico, and there may have been a case a aerosol cans left over from a job...
 
Possible, but still pretty sure I've seen some other engines with that green. In fact I just remembered a MGC with that same engine color. That car was all original one owner car.
Marv
 
I've used a variety of greens over the years, based on my recollection of some of the colors I'd seen on largely original cars while working at Austin-Healey West. If it was close, it was close enough! I seem to recall at least one (>1) engine that was a very dark blue, and not at all freshly painted, but I don't remember what model I saw it in.

Things weren't at all like they are today, as far as resources go; I think the Moss Motors catalog when I bought my car was either 12 or 14 pages. Sports and Classics/Jon Peters, on the East Coast carried some stuff (Ammco accessories, tops and interior soft trim mostly, I think) but I don't even know if Bill Hirsch was carrying our engine paint(s) yet (or at least, I/we didn't know about it__was at least the mid/late 80s before I personally tried it).
 
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