I went ahead and purchased the steel plugs. That is what came out of the engine and if they lasted that long then the next time they need replacing I'll be history. Here's an FYI for the next guy, there is a freeze plug, 1 3/8", on the back of the water manifold. Mine looked just as corroded as the engine block plugs.

PM on the way.

I will go with the brass plugs. Where can I find "Indian Head Gasket Shellac"? Napa or Knecht's? (The only games in town)

I'm jumping in a little late here but... I'm in the process of replacing my core plugs and found that Dorman offers two metal types of the same plug, brass and steel. Dorman P/N 565-036 is brass and 555-036 is steel. Both are shallow and 1 49/64" diameter. Is one more correct to use than the other? My thought is that brass doesn't rust so it will last longer, yes, no, maybe?

I've decided to leave the transmission in the car and only pull the engine. The repair manual says the grill and fenders have to be removed to pull the engine and transmission simultaneously and I'm not ready to do that much tearing down at this time.
Where can I find Kevin from AZ's project blog for his restoration of his '55 400? That blog should have all the information I'm seeking. All I can locate is the blog about restoring his steering wheel.
Thanks in advance for your help. Brian

Great! That's what I'll do then. Pull them both as an assembly. Thanks

I remember seeing pictures of Kevin's project when he was painting the headlight buckets. I have looked everywhere but can't seem to find them or any others. I'm looking forward to him giving me some advice.
Another quick question, is it that much more difficult to pull the engine and transmission while they are bolted together than just pulling the engine? The tranny works fine but I thought as long as I've got some paint why not paint it also. Dropping the tranny is not an option because I'm working on my back on a creeper. If the tranny can be pulled at the same time as the engine while they are bolted together then great, I'll paint the tranny, if not, then it stays put in the car.

Hello everybody,
I'm getting ready to pull the engine on my '55 400 for some maintenance. While it's out I want to detail the engine bay (clean and paint). A previous owner painted the engine blue, I know that's wrong. Is there a reference with modern paint numbers for under the hood? I've looked at the paint cross reference on this websight but it doesn't have any info for engine block and the black parts like the generator, etc. I'm going to use the picture of the engine from the sales brochure as a reference for what is black and what is ivory. Should any part that isn't ivory be gloss black, flat black, or somewhere in the middle? Should the fender walls, fresh air ducting, radiator top be gloss black? They say a picture is worth a thousand words so if someone has a picture of their engine bay that has been redone that would be a lot of help. Thanks in advance for any input. Brian

Pat
I did the electric wiper motor conversion on my '55 400 and am very happy with the results. I live in OR and needed my wipers to work. I bought it from Newportwipers.com and it bolted right in. The only modification I did was to grind down the bezel ring that controls wiper arc. I did this to keep the knob as original looking as possible. Brian

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Do you have coil over shocks in the rear? If so, they may be lifting the rear.