1963 FE Valve Cover Color

Z

Zpintar

Junior Member
Need to know the correct color for 63 t-bird valve covers. Also where to obtain the paint. Thank you kindly.
 
Gold. Donahue reproductions has it I believe. I have also found out that the gold for Oldsmobile engines you can find in the auto parts stores is really close if you are not too picky on being perfect.
 
Thank you 34pickup. This is why I joined Ford Barn, the people are great in helping folks out. Again Thank You kindly.
 
Uh, sorry, but Greg Donahue only has it partially right (at least the last time I looked in his catalog). The 390-4v/300 hp air cleaners/valve covers on T-birds and full-size Fords used Castillian Gold, Ford color M-1459, which was also an exterior paint color, code "I" in 1962-1963. The gold that typically is passed off by parts vendors, which was used on small-block '64-'65s like 298 Mustangs is too bronze. The Oldsmobile gold also falls in the "too bronze" category. The gold color used in 1960-1963 for hipo 352s-390-406s is Gold Bronze, Ford color M-842 - it is a more-golden/bronze color, but it is NOT the correct color for '63-'64 390-4v/300 hp engines. If you're looking at old Ditzler/PPG paint charts, Castillian Gold is color number 32277, while Gold Bronze is #21903.

A very close match to the Castillian Gold is a '84 Hyundai color - there's discussion about it at www.vintagethunderbirdclub.org in their '61-'63 Forum. http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6993

T-bird parts vendors do get this wrong - a LOT. One vendor I know has a spray-bomb formulation for Castillian Gold that I've used which is mixed correctly - The Bird Nest in Portland, Oregon.
 
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