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I've looked through the photo library and have not seen anything on the details of the engine compartment for the six.
I am not certain that the engine in my car is original but it has been in place for a long time by all appearances. The photos that I have seen show a dark green engine block....but these appear to be eight cylinder. Mine is an off red.
If anyone has any shots of the engine compartment please post or advise where I can find them.
Thanks
RJR

On engine color - whether six or eight all pre WW2 engines are Packard Engine Green.

Available from Bill Hirsch Auto and no doubt others.

Hi all,

I recently went through the research on engine colors for my 1929 model 645. The research was a dead end as I couldn't find any decent paint chips. I spoke to a long time restorer who has forgotten more about these cars than I will ever learn, and he suggested that the color was a dark green, but that Packard may not have used the same shade of dark green from year to year. I have seen blocks painted with the Bill Hirsch color and they come out very nice.

My father had the exterior of the engine on my car sandblasted in the 1970's, so I thought I had no legitimate color samples to go by. However, as luck would have it, I took the cap off the end of the starter, and there was a fairly good original sample of that dark green paint. I matched it to a stock Valspar color at my local automotive paint store. I could have had them do a custom match, but the guy said that given the curvature of that starter cap, and the fact that the light bounces around down inside the cap, the custom color wouldn't be any better than the stock color. I can look up the Valpsar number if you are interested. The results are below. The block and head were both shot in two stage polyurethane with a satin clear coat at the same time. Mine is shinier than the original, but just a little bit, because I went nuts with the polishing compound. The difference in shade is due to lighting. This shade is slightly darker than the Bill Hirsch, but again, it may not matter.

You may notice that the aluminum crankcase is also painted. Yes, they painted them silver from the factory. Again, I went to that same guy who has done this for a living since he was a teenager. He assured me they painted them. As to the shade of silver (there are probably a hundred shades of silver), this is Valspar's pure silver tint, nothing else. Your guess is as good as mine!

Just sharing what I have learned in my quest to try and get it right.

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Nice color match on the '29. You are correct in that the green changed shades. The early Packard green was almost a brownish green. Toward the late 1930s, yellow pigments were eliminated from Packard's green, as chromium was a rare commodity. Thus, Packrd's green had more of a bluish cast to it.

This is Bill Hirsch green and looks pretty good, my '39 Six.

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Hi RJR,

I am in the process of R&Ring my '39 Six motor. When I bought the car I posted the block, anti theft and chassis #'s and I forget who, but someone clued me in to the fact that Packards 'numbers' weren't matching per se, but that if they were reasonably sequential to known 'sets', then the likelihood of the motor being original was good. Mine fell within those parameters so I thought it was probably the original motor. It turns out that it had been rebuilt twice and my guess is whoever the 'last guy' was, he just 'picked a green' and that is what it ended up being. When I got it back from the rebuild shop, they had painted it 'Detroit diesel green' and, although I knew it wasn't 'authentic' Packard green, I thought it would do. I have since been 'educated' that the 'correct' green is the proper way to go and I have Bill Hirsch rattle cans on their way. Below is a pic of my motor after it came out, one after rebuild and one of the correct color. After taking the time to think it through, I have to agree that the correct paint not only looks better, but renders the car more original. I'm new at this, so the learning curve remains steep!! LOL

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Have also been told that BMC Engine Green paint is a very close match.

Yes Ozstatman, I ordered a can of that and it is close, a wee bit darker and 'greener' if you will - the 'Packard green' seems to have a bit more 'olive' in it, but that 'British MGB green' is definitely close.

PI has issued a judging guide for engine compartment and other areas of the car. Krylon Hosta Leaf is very close to the Packard engine color.

Just a question here... Krylon is not a high-heat 'engine paint' per se... Does this matter?? I found a couple of different brands of spray cans up here in Canada that looked very close to Packard green, but they couldn't be had in 'engine paint'. Too fussy????