Mine was rattle can black since around 1980 and looked like crap. So this winter with the engine out I took everything out, wire wheeled it down to bare metal, primed it with rustoleum automotive primer, and painted it body color with spray cans from
www.towerpaint.com. Put new engine in twice, dropped wrenches on the finish a couple times, and it seems pretty durable. This is a job any weekend wrencher can do with good results:
