Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Greetings Friends I am the one who has the 52 Mayfair with a 327 motor it only has 64,000 and is in very nice shape. The motor and engine compartmant are soptless but the only problem is the motor is painted Green and not Gray. So would it be a replacement motor or did the original owner paint it Green because that was the paint he had?? How do I go about painting it with the correct paint? Thanks Dale

I got my paint from Bill Hirsch Auto at:

hirschauto.com

But Kanter Brothers also has their own version of it.

kanter.com

I also replied to your question in my Blog about how I painted my motor. Also there are more details in the narrative of my Blog.

There is no doubt your engine should be gray. You asked if it could have been a replacement engine since it was green. To be a legitimate green it would almost certainly have to be 1947 or earlier (though there is some debate about the 356 engines in the 22nd series) and there are so many differences, motor mounts for one, water pumps for another, that that's really not very likely. Checking the motor number would of course settle that issue. I'd bet that someone repainted it green either because they found that more appealing, or were just uninformed.

Thank you for the help, now since the motor is realty in nice shape, and there is only two spots where the Green paint is coming off, should I just touch it up with the Green paint or go to the trouble of painting the whole motor Gray, and is it a big project to repaint the entire motor. Thanks again Dale

I guess it would be as big a job as you want to make out of it. Look at Big Kev's beautiful engine paint work which I'm sure took more hours that he wants to count. If that's the kind of result you want, then do it. If not, do something less ambitious. That said, I've always though that making the engine compartment attractive and correct is a nice job, no particular skills needed, inexpensive, and very rewarding.

If you just want to keep it from rusting and it's not for show. Then just touch it up. If you want to show it, or restore it to original, then a gray repaint is in order. It's not an easy task. Mine was a PITA because I had to strip all the rust and grease off it before I could even start the painting process. I always joke that my engine looked like something salvage from the wreck of the Titanic!

You can do a very presentable job of painting your engine without going to show car standards. Clean off all the grease and dirt, clean off rust with a wire brush then paint 2 coats with a brush.

It is best to remove accessories like coil, distributor, air filter, etc if possible. They usually need to be painted a different color (black) anyway. These can be painted with black spray bombs.

As I said this will not be a 100 point restoration or show car job, but it will keep off rust and preserve the parts while keeping your engine compartment spiffy.

Get some corks from the hardware store in assorted sizes. These are to plug the distributor hole, oil filler pipe hole etc after you remove them, to keep water and solvent out of the engine while you are cleaning and painting it. Cover the carburetor with plastic.

Fine steel wool can be used instead of sandpaper to clean and prep irregular shaped objects.

Thanks t all. The motor it self is clean and free of dirt and rust, It would just need wiped down and gone over with steel wool.The only hard part would be getting to all the areas with the new color paint.I will have to use a brush to apply it. thanks again "Many Heads are Better the One"