Engine color 1969 Swinger 340

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there was no blue in 69.. it would have been turquoise. there is a big differnce in the two. the turquoise has a lot of green to it.

i see this question come up a lot on the different mopar boards.. most say theirs was originally turquoise. the books say it coul dhave been red too but like i said it seems most say turquoise.
 
Red for 68,Blue for 69,Orange for 71,Blue for 72.

no blue in 69. turquoise would be the closest to blue bit its a lot different..


here is blue:
mopp_1012_07_o%2B1973_plymouth_duster_340%2B340_engine.jpg



here is turquoise:
69-Plymouth-Cuda-340-DV-12-GG_e003.jpg
 
You guys are mixed up. My '69 340 is, and was always, blue. Mopar paint in the spray can, P4349217 is a near-perfect match. I know what the Mopar "turquoise" looks like, it is nearly a pastel color. I had some of that paint around, P4120752 and it is not the color of my 340!
engine.JPG
 
You guys are mixed up. My '69 340 is, and was always, blue. Mopar paint in the spray can, P4349217 is a near-perfect match. I know what the Mopar "turquoise" looks like, it is nearly a pastel color. I had some of that paint around, P4120752 and it is not the color of my 340!
engine.JPG


original owner? Have pictures of original paint?

Here's pictures of the motor I posted above when the trans was out for the first time. It's an 60K mile original car. Bought from the original owners in the early 1990's.

The motors were painted with the torque converters and flex plates on them.

7163623-69Swinger4_7_2012pic77.JPG


7163623-69Swinger4_7_2012pic91.JPG


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i guess anything is possible. but blue wasn't seen until the 70's. in 69 it was turquoise. where was the paint that you matched it to??

mopar spray paint is known for being no where near the original colors..





You guys are mixed up. My '69 340 is, and was always, blue. Mopar paint in the spray can, P4349217 is a near-perfect match. I know what the Mopar "turquoise" looks like, it is nearly a pastel color. I had some of that paint around, P4120752 and it is not the color of my 340!
engine.JPG
 
original owner? Have pictures of original paint?

Here's pictures of the motor I posted above when the trans was out for the first time. It's an 60K mile original car. Bought from the original owners in the early 1990's.

The motors were painted with the torque converters and flex plates on them.

7163623-69Swinger4_7_2012pic77.JPG


7163623-69Swinger4_7_2012pic91.JPG


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That motor looks more more like the "blue" than turquoise. Mopar turquoise is very greenish and not a bright/bold color, almost seems to have a hint of grey in it:
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Of course greens & blues are dificult to capture accurately, so much depends on the lighting, light source, use of flash or not. Plus all computer monitors are going to display colors a bit differently. Who knows...
 
original owner? Have pictures of original paint?

No, but there are places on the block where the re-paint didn't adhere real well, and it is the exact same color right on the cast iron. Galen Govier seemed to think the blue was correct too. What do I know...
 
I've had two 69 340 swingers when I was younger. I remember the turquoise
color but we called it Chrysler blue same as the 383s. It wasn't the same as the later blue.
 
That motor looks more more like the "blue" than turquoise. Mopar turquoise is very greenish and not a bright/bold color, almost seems to have a hint of grey in it:

its turquoise. just 40 or so year old turquoise. time seems to change the color some..

I remember the turquoise
color but we called it Chrysler blue same as the 383s. It wasn't the same as the later blue.

thats because the later blue was blue and the earlier color that also came on the 383 was turquoise....lol
 
Like I said, it makes "liars" out of many people. Conventional mopar wisdom - red, then turquoise, then mopar blue. Red generally before 69, turquoise, mopar blue for 71 models. Of course there are so many documented exceptions on original owner cars, nothing can be said with 100% certainty. Except, mopar painted the engines.
 
In 1972 the guy that owned one of the Texaco stations in town had a totaled 69 Charger brought into his lot. He bought the wreck for real cheap. He got the idea to put the 383 from the Charger into his 1969 Dart and put the 340 into his wife's 68 Barracuda to replace the 225. We pulled both V-8s and had them sitting in his shop next to each other on engine stands for quite some time as he worked out transmission tailshaft differences. I distinctly remember the 340 being a turquoise color but it was nowhere close to the turquoise of the 383 next to it. The 383 had a much more green tint to it. But, the first two 69 Darts I worked on had red engines just like 68s. It was quite some time into the 69 models before I realized that Mopar had gone to a turquoise for 69 engines.
 
I can see the Turquoise looking more Blue with age.
Anyone know the process for engine paint colors being choosen by the maunufactures?
There has to be a reason for a given particulate color choosen.
What is it?
 
I had a 69 340 Swinger I bought from the original owner back in the day and the engine was red. This was an early build car so it might have been leftover red from 68. My brother had a 71 Demon he bought new and the engine was turquoise. I'm not sure about the 70 cars.
 
This thread is funny.

Blue! No! Red! No! Turquoise! No! Orange! No! Wait, what was the question again?

LMAO I say mix them all together and paint it brown LOL
 
Engine painter was a job for newbies at Chrysler. Do a good job and get promoted to the assembly line doing something better. I'm sure lots of engine batches were botched up over the years. Were 68's supposed to be red? Sure. Were 71's after April 71 supposed to be blue? yup. But there were irregularities...
 
I know this topic is fairly old now, but to emphasize on the "correct" engine color, it appears that on 69 340's, at some time around a scheduled production date (SPD), apx...may/june time frame, there have been several documented Blue (rather than turquoise) painted 340's installed. Having a one family owned 340 swinger and gathering parts and info, the owner has identified to me that the original engine color, was indeed, BLUE and not turquoise. My SPD is 709. Another member is restoring a 50k mile car, SPD, 707, again blue. 20k mile original 340 swinger with a blue motor, SPD of 625.

blue3402.jpg


blue3401.jpg


69_Dart_Swinger_340_Inspection_Paint_MC.jpg
 
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