Chevy 427 Engine Color???

rangerj

...There are a couple of variations for the 1967 Corvette with the 427 CID engine...

There are four 427 variations for the 67-69 Corvettes:

L-36 390hp, Quadra-Jet 4V; 4 speed or automatic

L-68 400hp, Holley tri-power; 4 speed or automatic

L-71 435hp, Holley tri-power, solid lifters; 4 speed only

The L-68 looks the same as the L-71.

L-88  430 advertized hp, 500 actual, Holley 4V double pumper; 4 speed only for 67; automatic available for 68 and 69. 

...The L-88 was a 427 CID iron block with 3 two Barrel carbs on an aluminum intake manifold...

The L-88 used a Holley 4V.

... The L-89 was an all aluminum block, manifold,  and heads with three 2 bbl carbs...

RPO L-89 was only for the aluminum heads which could be added to the L-71.

...The L-89 Corvette for 1967 is one of the rarest Corvettes, and maybe one of the rarest Chevrolets ever made. There are only 12 of these cars...

16 for 67; 624 cars for 68; and 390 for 69.

All the 427s listed were painted Chevrolet Orange.  All Corvette big block engines were produced at Tonawanda, New York.

For 1969 only, you could also get the all aluminum ZL-1.  Only two ZL-1 Corvettes were produced.

fox

I'm not up on engines so I have a question. I had a '60 Chevy Convert. with a 348 / 3-2bbls. This isn't included in the engines posted above. My question is where did my engine fit in the list. I remember being told that it was originally a truck engine. It had a hot cam and solid lifters too. My old memory doesn't work too good now and then but I remember at the time not really caring as long as it got the job done.

Jim

Edit - The engine was a very bright orange.

I know this is an old thread now, but I have been away for the most part. I have a Monogram '57 Chevy in 1/12th scale that I painted orange over red. I did this because the engine was cast in red. The orange should actually be a little redish in colour because this was what they looked like when first marketed. I don't know why, but this is what the correct colour should be for the Chevy at that time. I sprayed it straight out of the airbrush without mixing. This was Testors' orange. Just straight orange in one coat without trying to recoat it to lighten the colour hue.  It came out perfectly matched to the original. Try it some time on your next build, or practice on scrap.

~ Cobra Chris

You are correct Bill, the "earliest" Shelby A/Cs were powered by Fords small V-8s. I also need to correct the facts on the ALL aluminum Chevy 427s(block, heads, and intake maniffold). They showed up after the 1967 Corvette and were put in Corvettes and Cameros. I forget the designation at the moment.

rangerj

Also note that Carrol Shelby bought the engines from Ford for the SC (street competition) 427 Cobra. Shelby's earlier conversions of the English A/C had Ford 289 engines in them, also bought from Ford. General Motors refused to sell motors to Shelby

Not to be pedantic, but the first 75 Mark I Shelby's were fitted with the Ford Hi-Po 260, while the very first V-8 powered AC briefly had a Ford 221 V-8.

Shelby's first choice was a Chevrolet engine, and while it is certainly true that GM refused to sell him engines, it was only because they didn't want to add to the Corvette's competition. Shelby didn't convert the AC to use a V-8, he asked AC to do the work first.

There are a couple of variations for the 1967 Corvette with the 427 CID engine. The L-88 was a 427 CID iron block with 3 two Barrel carbs on an aluminum intake manifold. The L-89 was an all aluminum block, manifold,  and heads with three 2 bbl carbs. The horse power advertized for these engines was way understated. There was also a 427 CID with a single 4 bbl carb.  The L-89 Corvette for 1967 is one of the rarest Corvettes, and maybe one of the rarest Chevrolets ever made. There are only 12 of these cars. Yes there are rarer cars made by Chevrolet, but they are NOT production cars as the L-89 Corvette  is. The "one-off" proto-types and COPO cars are rarer, but they are not "PRODUCTION" cars. The MM Chevy engine orange is correct for that vintage Chevy V-8. Also note that Carrol Shelby bought the engines from Ford for the SC (street competition) 427 Cobra. Shelby's earlier conversions of the English A/C had Ford 289 engines in them, also bought from Ford. General Motors refused to sell motors to Shelby. An additional note; There are at least three shades of engine blue used by Ford. The earlier color, known as "corporate blue" (blue oval blue) was used on several model years of the "flat head"  V-8. The later blue is slightly darker and was used on most Ford V-8s through the 60s. The 428s and 429 were a couple of shades of blue darker yet.  MM has the later two shades of blue for Ford V-8 engines from the 60s and early 70s. Of note is that the early 289 Shelby Cobra mustang engines were painted black.

If I recall correctly this was originally a Monogram kit and it is intended to be a L-88, or L-89 Corvette.

Cbax1234

Okay, I see.   Shows what I know about vehicles and motors   I just drive them and keep the fluids changed and serviced on time.  And, of course, model them.  But that's usually becuase I just like the way some cars look..particularly old corvettes!

 The models don't even require the maintenance and if anyone wants to start "rivet counting" you can always invoke artistic license or remind them that somewhere, someone, probably did set the precedent for what you've replicated. LOL

It's a hobby as long as you're happy that's all that matters!

Okay, I see.   Shows what I know about vehicles and motors   I just drive them and keep the fluids changed and serviced on time.  And, of course, model them.  But that's usually becuase I just like the way some cars look..particularly old corvettes!

Chevy also had a 305, and a 307. But yes, they had a 302.

But I had a 1970 Ford Boss 302 Mustang.

I thought the Chevy motor was a 305?  Just 3 cubic inches..not enough to even know the difference.

SuppressionFire

I stand corrected!

Good ol' Google & some gear heads say the Corvette had a 427 cubic inch big block motor.

Once again proves you should not believe everything you read on the 'net & only 1/2 of what you see!

A base coat of red followed with orange would be close to the red / orange shown above ^^^

 

LOL! No worries, the Ford motor is the more famous displacement. Say "427" to me in a word association game and my first word will be "Cobra" and the second will be "Cammer" both Fords. The third will be "Tri-Power" which was the Chevy 427.

It's not really surprising that people get confused by the similar displacements. But it's really just giving people what the marketers think they want, combined with maximum displacement caps by racing associations. As mentioned previously both Chevy and Ford had 302s, completely due to the Trans-Am racing series. They dictated that the maximum size would be 5 liters, or 302. Why would anyone show up with a 289 or a 283?

Well.. Monogram has been sketchy on their research from what I've seen..it can go either way.  But, that seems to be the consensus view on here as well.  You are right, then.  That model corvette did, indeed , have a 427.  I've already spent yesterday evening mixing my own custom color of orange-red to match the photo.  But, appreciate the tip anyway.  Thanks!

I stand corrected!

Good ol' Google & some gear heads say the Corvette had a 427 cubic inch big block motor.

Once again proves you should not believe everything you read on the 'net & only 1/2 of what you see!

A base coat of red followed with orange would be close to the red / orange shown above ^^^

Glad I could brighten your day, Jim! I've a hankering for the old cars. I was more into Pony and Muscle cars in those days, but I had a friend with a 64 Impala (sadly not the SS) and another with a 66 Parisienne (Catalina in the US). I used to call them "boats" to tease them, but I have to admit there was something nice about floating down the highway, oblivious to the bumps in the road.

That's the one. O - M - G Bill you just made my day. Isn't that just huge and gorgeous? It used to just float down the road. Have photos of all my cars except the '60 and my '66 GTO. I said the same thing about the price of a car but the one I have now (a Subaru Outback Wagon) cost me more USED than I paid for my first house.

Jim

You mean like this one? And it's only $60K, too! Should have grabbed it at $36K.

It absolutely boggles my mind how much people are willing to pay for cars that I drove as a kid. I never spent more than $1500 for a car, and I owned quite a few muscle cars in my day.

Bill, the car was an Impala with the 3' Continental kit and Turnpike Cruiser skirts. It was red (of course). I saw one exactly like it at a car show about 10 years ago with a "For Sale" sign on it. They were asking $36,000. If I had it, I would have bought it on the spot. It was in A-1 perfect condition. I was drooling all day and talking about it for the next couple of weeks.

Jim

Jim, the 348 was the original "W" block, it's bigger brother is the famous "She's real fine, my 409!". And you are right in that it was originally a truck engine, but was quickly installed in the full size lineup of cars. They used that size from 1958 until 1961 when it was replaced by the 409 in the passenger cars. Trucks continued with the engine until 1964.

I'm going to guess that you had an Impala or Biscayne, and I won't tell you how much one in mint condition will fetch these days! Suffice to say that you could buy a LOT of kits with the proceeds, and maybe a new car, too!

I'm not up on engines so I have a question. I had a '60 Chevy Convert. with a 348 / 3-2bbls. This isn't included in the engines posted above. My question is where did my engine fit in the list. I remember being told that it was originally a truck engine. It had a hot cam and solid lifters too. My old memory doesn't work too good now and then but I remember at the time not really caring as long as it got the job done.

Jim

Edit - The engine was a very bright orange.

Yeah, I though I read the manual correctly.  It is the 427 you guys are talking about.  And, I've got orange and red in the small bottles, and I've got the MM color, too.  I think I'll go with the orange, and add a small amount of red to it until I get something close to the previous picture.  Thanks so much all!!  I really appreciate the help and the history, too!!

Pat, Chevy actually made two different 427 engines. The first was based on the 409 "W" engine block, and was built between 1963 & 1966. The second gen engine used in Camaros and Vettes was quite a different engine. Car production with the 427 ended in 1969, though engine production continued for trucks and racing. Its replacement was the 454. The truck block you mention is based on the second gen engine, and It actually lasted until the mid-90s.

As an aside, Chevy also had a separate 427 truck engine that went into their 2 ton and up trucks that lasted into the '80s.  Our township had an '84 5 ton with one of these with a mechanical four bbl on it but due to all the smog equipment and numerous belt run accessories it only had about 160 hp left to put to the pavement.  The best you could do plowing snow was 1st high or 2nd low on the tranny @ 30 mph floor boarded. 

 I believe this engine had a higher deck height than the car engine.  There have been a few articles in the auto craft mags on how to trick one of these engines up for use in drag racing.  FWIW the engine in our town's truck was blue!

                                                                                                     Pat.

Chevy certainly did build a 427, the most famous being the L71 "Tripower" which had 435HP and came in Corvettes. I have a friend that had a 426 equipped Camaro "back in the day".

The most famous would probably the Can-Am version 427 ZL1 used by McLaren with devastating results. Devastating to their competitors, that is.

The MM Chevy Engine Red, or any of the other suggestions will work fine.

Here's a Corvette smallblock engine.  The color is neither a full red nor a full orange.  Big blocks would have been a similar color.

Go Google Images Corvette 427 and you find dozens of pics.  The Chevrolet Orange used on the Corvette big blocks is a red orange.  You can make your own if nothing off the shelf suits your fancy.

I don't wanna sound like a smarty pants but Chevy did have a 427 within their big block lineup. Essentially the same as their 396 and 454 engines. Ford's 427 was from the "FE" series of big blocks which included the 360, 390, 427 and 428 and maybe a 410 IIRC? Now to confuse things further occasionally someone will mention a '302' small block and insist that has to be a Ford but Chevy had one too!

Anyways, IMHO "Chevy Orange", for engines varies almost as much as "Ford Blue" for engines. But, the lil jar of 'Gloss Orange' Testors is close to a "freshly" painted engine while the real life ones seemed to darken a little through aging and baking on I guess? But "red", no, not really.

Hope that helps some?

'Shaker orange' is very close to what you have.

Automotive supply store will have the exact color in a rattle can, high heat paint. Be sure to prime first with Testor's enamel flat white. Go with a few thin coats as orange is one of them light colors that is difficult to lay down well. Don't fuss if a few nooks & crannies don't get covered, that will sort out later in a wash to make the details 'pop'.

The 427 was a Ford big block found in Shelby Cobras, select Mustangs and other Ford muscle cars.

The GM big block was a 454 cubic inch motor. A 383 'Stroker' was a Chevy 350 block bored out to 383 cubic inches.