Two questions, one about color and one about options

[texasmike]

I was reading a recent thread in which two separate guys included a picture of their '83 305 engine. What was the factory color of the valve covers for this engine?
Last question, would a 305 sb with a q-jet, 700 r4 and a 2.73 rear end be an available (common) option for '85?
Thanks

 

[TotalyHucked]

Someone else will chime in that's more knowledgeable than me but I believe the VC's were either Corporate Blue or maybe they'd switched everything to black by then? Can't remember.

The 305/700R4/2.73 and a q-jet is fairly common combo, as is the same thing but with a TH350 (what my truck was).

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Someone else will chime in that's more knowledgeable than me but I believe the VC's were either Corporate Blue or maybe they'd switched everything to black by then? Can't remember.

The 305/700R4/2.73 and a q-jet is fairly common combo, as is the same thing but with a TH350 (what my truck was).

IIRC the last several years of the perimeter bolt valve cover small blocks, they were corporate blue. I think the black engine started with the TBI and center bolt covers, in '87. Our '84 Burb had a blue 350, and the '90's was black. '79 Burb had a blue 350 too but it was a GM Goodwrench or Target Master....

 

[Goldie Driver]

Looking at sold pictures of what are supposed to be original 84 vehicles ( trucks, SUVs , both small & big block ) it appears 84 may have been a transitional year. I'd guess early production was corporate blue and then maybe mid year the black came about.

For the whole engine paint, not just valve covers.

 

[TotalyHucked]

My '85's 305 was so gunked up and nasty, I couldn't tell ya what color it was

 

[Sad Sack]

I was reading a recent thread in which two separate guys included a picture of their '83 305 engine. What was the factory color of the valve covers for this engine?
Last question, would a 305 sb with a q-jet, 700 r4 and a 2.73 rear end be an available (common) option for '85?
Thanks

I know my '85s VCs are black.

 

[texasmike]

Mine are also black and I’m almost 100% sure they haven’t been messed with. They bolt to the head in four places along the lip. Both of the ‘83 engines I mentioned were red. I thought all 350’s were red and the 305’s were black and that’s how you could tell them apart.

 

[Rustisbest]

Chevy orange is the best

 

[Sad Sack]

Chevy orange is the best

Adds horsepower I hear too.

 

[texasmike]

I said red but it may have been orange.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Definitely weren't orange/red from the factory, orange/red went out sometime in the '70s

 

[xm20k]

The Small Block Chevy (SBC) engines were painted corporate blue from 1977 to 1982. This change was primarily due to a lawsuit involving the presence of Chevy orange engines in vehicles, leading to the adoption of a more standardized color across GM's various divisions.

People were dumb and got mad when they'd open the hood of their Buick Pontiac or Olds. and it had a Chevy orange engine despite the fact they were using almost exclusively the SBC at that point with very few BOP engines still being produced.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Seriously? That's why? That's so dumb

 

[goldpack]

I was just looking at a sunny day video I took of my 86..

350 M engine/ 350 C trans have never been touched. ..can't see any paint on the valve covers
so either black or dark grey,...
NOT blue/orange/red.

the whole thing is like a time capsule, except some small things. like R134a A/C conversion.

 

[Old Guy Bill]

1979 GMC Sierra