orange painted block

Spanish Dave · Jan 23, 2004

I have just pulled the motor out and stripped it down (1965 289) ... behind the flywheel it is painted bright orange which looks original ... in fact the whole motor shows traces of orange paint. I thought the 289 was either black or a couple of different shades of blue ... any ideas

1973mach1 · Jan 23, 2004

Spanish Dave said:
I have just pulled the motor out and stripped it down (1965 289) ... behind the flywheel it is painted bright orange which looks original ... in fact the whole motor shows traces of orange paint. I thought the 289 was either black or a couple of different shades of blue ... any ideas

I think I have heard early 289's and ford blocks in general in the early 60's were orange? Not sure though.

Jim

SuperDave · Jan 23, 2004

A '65 block and heads are correctly BLACK (not blue or orange). You may paint them any color you wish.

GaPonyFarm · Jan 23, 2004

Somebody just painted them orange... its not a Ford color. You can now paint them any color you wish...

SandSprite · Jan 23, 2004

most orange motors I see are chebbies..... :0

65shelby · Jan 24, 2004

289hp?

I think I read that the 289HP was painted orange in that general area. A look at the main bearing caps can confirm this. If they are beefier than the normal 289, you have a 289 HP.

SuperDave · Jan 24, 2004

Don't mean to parse but there was never a 289 cubic inch rated at 289 horsepower. Hi-Po 289's were rated at 306 HP.

mr-fixit · Jan 24, 2004

SuperDave said:
Don't mean to parse but there was never a 289 cubic inch rated at 289 horsepower. Hi-Po 289's were rated at 306 HP.

Actually they were rated at 271 HP from Ford. Shelby rated them 306 H P after installing Tri-Y headers, aluminum intake and larger carb.

Spanish Dave · Jan 24, 2004

I guess by getting the average of the 2 figures (271 & 306) we get 288.5 hp which is just about 289 .... the numbers fit really well !!
What I think 65shelby meant by 289HP was not 289 horsepower ... but 289 Hi-Po.
I will take and post a pic of the block tomorrow as it looks quite an original finish to me. BTW has anyone got any measurements of these main caps on the Hi-Po that are *beefier* than stock. It may be obvious to someone who has seen dissembled plenty of small block Ford motors ... but I haven't.

mr-fixit · Jan 24, 2004

Is is really orange, or more a red oxide color, similar to the color of the rear center section ( or "pumpkin")?

P_T_Bishop · Jan 24, 2004

Ford didnt paint any of there blocks or heads orange. early 289s were painted red as well as blue, this may not be the stock engine for the car.

SuperDave · Jan 24, 2004

mr-fixit said:
Actually they were rated at 271 HP from Ford. Shelby rated them 306 H P after installing Tri-Y headers, aluminum intake and larger carb.

I realize the difference but I was responding to "65Shelby" hence I stated Shelby numbers.

65shelby · Jan 24, 2004

SuperDave said:
I realize the difference but I was responding to "65Shelby" hence I stated Shelby numbers.

Yes, I was referring to the 289 High Performance engine, when I said "289HP". In case you were wondering, I saw the reference to the orange paint in the book titled "How to rebuild you small block Ford" It's in chapter 3 I think, "Parts Identification and Interchange".

Spanish Dave · Jan 25, 2004

I have taken a pic to show the colour block.jpg .....
block1.jpg.... I mean it's no big deal if someone has painted the block at sometime ... it is just that they seem to have done a really good job of it so it looks to me original. The guy the car came off said he thought it may be a Hi-Po engine (it had 351W heads fitted too). Is there any other way of checking the block out other than measuring these *beefier* mains ... which I have no exact dimensions for ?
I have also attached a pic of one of the cracked pistons (the worst one).
cracked piston

Spanish Dave · Jan 25, 2004

GaPonyFarm · Jan 25, 2004

Spanish Dave said:
I have taken a pic to show the colour block.jpg .....
block1.jpg.... I mean it's no big deal if someone has painted the block at sometime ... it is just that they seem to have done a really good job of it so it looks to me original. The guy the car came off said he thought it may be a Hi-Po engine (it had 351W heads fitted too). Is there any other way of checking the block out other than measuring these *beefier* mains ... which I have no exact dimensions for ?
I have also attached a pic of one of the cracked pistons (the worst one).
cracked piston

If its a Hi-Po the crankshaft will have the markings "1M", as do all 289's, but there will be a "K" stamped close by... The crankshaft is actually the same as for all other 289s, its just been Brinell tested for toughness and does have heavier main bearing caps. The harmonic balancer is also beefier and is 3 37/64" total width and 6/12" diameter.

The 289 Hi-Po used a unique head design, with easily identifiable valve spring pockets, screw-in studs, and a "double dot 289" cast (2 dots ove the 289). It didn't use 351 heads. Somebody has added those heads later.

Hope this give a couple of things to look for.

orange painted block

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