painting my 273

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Tadams

Tadams
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I am going to remove my 65 273 to paint and also take care of painting under the hood. My question is what color red is the best choice for a stock motor. I've read several different suggestions.
Also I have read to use primer, and not to do primer. Any thoughts.
I've also looked at some photos of the exhaust manifold. Some are painted red, some black, and some silver. What would be the best.
This is a stock 65 Barracuda Formula S, not a show car, but would like a good looking ride.

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I used International Harvester red on mine. It is a very good match to the original red color and is available at most Tractor Supply stores.
 
Best shade of red engine paint I've come across.

Follow manufacturer guidelines in reference to primer.

Silver manifolds or black. Silver looks nice but turns shitty faster and shows ANY rust break through.

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IH red is a good match so is ford (gasp) red . Remember, the factory did things the cheapest way not the best way . Exhaust manifolds were painted on the engine so they got red overspray . How you wish to paint your engine is a personal issue . Some people are factory and some are tidy . I am tidy . Fifteen years ago I had a 273 , had all the tin powder coated red and the valve covers powder coated black wrinkle black . Brackets black p.c. also . Still looks fresh today . Exhaust powdered flat black . Holding up great . Hope this helps . Later, Tom
 
Be sure to knock out all of the old freeze plugs, and use a pressure washer to blow the gunk out of the water jackets. Be sure to put brass freeze plugs back in, ESPECIALLY the 2 in the back of the block. The IH red from Tractor Supply is close, and is probably the exact same color as the Massy Ferguson red they also sell. Any color red from an auto paint store is going to be expensive. Red is the most expensive color of paint you can buy. I have never used primer on an engine, and had mixed results. The engine in my purple car has had paint come off, but the paint I put on every other engines I have ever painted has stuck like white on rice! Good luck, and hope to see you at Farmington.
 
JD, I am so ready for Farmington. Rockingham was good, but I really like the cars on display better at Farmington. They are better organized and normally look great.
 
Is the red from tractor supply in spray can's or not. The pollen is to bad today to do much. My allergies are going crazy. I'll do some other things in the garage.
 
JD, I am so ready for Farmington. Rockingham was good, but I really like the cars on display better at Farmington. They are better organized and normally look great.
When is the mopar show at farmington.???
 
I bought the correct red spray from Dodge dealership about $8/can in case qty. We also used Red brush on from Eastwood

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I used this Eastwood Stainless Steel Gray on my exhaust some 25 + years ago... Just took this picture a few minutes ago.... As for the Red... I used the Mopar Engine paint... Now part # P4349218AB...

I glass beaded the exhaust manifolds before paint... Then put them in my oven.. ( boy did I catch hell for that as it stunk up oven/house)

On the Red 273... I let it sit out in the Arizona Sun for a week on the engine stand, rotating it once a day... Then once installed in 'cuda, I started it up and on the first "wisp" of smoke I saw coming off the paint... I shut down and let it go to "stone cold"... Then repeated that cycle several times....
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I think the exhaust manifolds look good painted "cast iron " with maybe a bit of over spray optional.

Somewhere in Ulf's 65 Dart Charger build thread there's a nice summary of what each component was painted from the factory. Check around page 35.
 
Chrysler Industrial Red on the pan (after a coat of IH red) The distributor is 40 year old original paint.
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I used ford red. VHT red and maybe even Chrysler red over the years, I see little difference even when they are next to each other. IIRC, the 57 year old Chrysler red on my head was a tad more orange. The Mopar engine red as well as other Mopar engine paints go on super thin, multiple coats mandatory. the IH red went on nice as well as the always available Autozone Ford red for half the price. Just get block clean. BBQ black works good on manifolds. FYI, Red is also the most difficult to digitally photograph so dont bag on others pics.
 
mike, great job on the Master cylinder. as much as I fiddle with mine it always rusts 3 days later.
 
Plasti-Kote International Harvester Red 14-227. Available in spray cans at CarQuest stores. Used it on this Commando and this slant six. Did not use primer. I've heard that engine paint should go on thin, so I did multiple light coats. The six looks good after six months of daily driving, though the manifold has darkened. The Commando, alas, still hasn't been fired. The manifolds on the Commando are Eastwood bare metal gray, I think.

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