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I have a 374 Packard with dual 4 intake and big valve heads that I am rebuilding to put into my 49 Studebaker 2R5 truck. Can anyone tell me what the block and head colors were for this engine?

Thanks,

Steve

Packard bronze. There are several places that sell the paint. There has been a lot of discussion on which is the exact match. For what you are doing try Bill Hirsch, he has the color listed.

IIRC Jack Vines of Washington state put a 374 in a Studebker truck or is in the process. He posts here on a semi regular basis. He's probably one of the foremost Packard V8 engine and Studebaker experts that posts here.
Mite give him a call or drop him an email.

Just do a search on this forum for "Jack Vines".

See FIRST post of this thread for JV's contact info
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5817&forum=8&post_id=64278#forumpost64278

Maybe ssaeger and JV can get a truck with 374 thread going on this forum. I'd really like to follow the projects.

Packard engine colors.

We have a vast stock of used parts and have had some new parts with the "original" color on it, whether it be red, green, ivory, bronze, metallic green etc. Let me tell you , there is no a single "original" shade of any of those colors.

Some people find an unexposed portion of an engine and take it and have it matched, feeling that theirs is THE EXACT ORIGIANL COLOR. Yes, but time and temperature take their toll adn I have compared original new parts from different engines and years adn while the packard greens RESEMBLE each other they are not the same. Sort of like determining the original color for grass (the lawn type)

Unless you think Packard green is like a swimming pool color then it's "original" in my book..

That's my 2 cents
fred Kanter

One thing for sure, engine "detailing" was a lot less important to the folks at Packard, epecially in the junior and postwar eras, than it is to us. I agree, the colors were all over the map, and many parts got hardly more than a vapor of paint on them--with no primer. This was just standard industrial practice. My customers would be irritated if I detailed their engine compartments EXACTLY as original. Would save a lot of paint and materials tho.

Hi, Ross,

Agree. I've been to just about every major car museum in the country. Some have a few near-new, low-mileage 'survivor' cars which look really pathetic sitting alongside today's over-restored jewels. I remember them when new and a '55-75 car came out of the showroom with thin and/or orange peel paint, wonky panel gaps all over the place, thin chrome and an engine compartment which no owner was ever expected to see. If a dealership wanted repeat customers, every new luxury car had to have several hours of hand buffing and detailing prior to delivery.

Sad as it is to say it, the Japanese learned from Henry Ford and W. Edward Deeming and applied our own concepts and techniques much better than we ever did here. Without the competition from the Japanese, we'd still be driving 1975 Novas and Dusters.

jack vines