red engine

H

Hoovercw

Member
Occasionally I will see a photo of Model A engines painted red instead of green. Mine is red. Is there some reason that there would be a group of engines painted red?
 
Can't answer your question, but if you put your county and state on your avator you some times will find out people in your area will be willing to stop by or know somebody in your area that can help with problems you may have.
 
i THOUGHT sears back in the 50's offered a rebuilt model A engine - i thought these were also painted red...

That or someone wanted a "hot rod" look and the trend caught on.
 
My father who was a mechanic during the 30's thru the 70's always told me that when they rebuilt a motor they would paint them red so that any other mechanic that worked on the motor new it had been rebuilt.
 
Hoovercw said:
Occasionally I will see a photo of Model A engines painted red instead of green. Mine is red. Is there some reason that there would be a group of engines painted red?
Click to expand...

Ford painted ALL engines Ford Green NO exceptions at all
 
Mine is a sears replacement - it was red before I rebuilt it.

Also had been rebuilt to 040 before I rebuilt it again to 060. So it was definitely a "reworked" engine.

Joe K
 
I am rebuilding mine from a '30 coupe.
It was a dark blue under some green when I hot pressure washed the oil off.
It also does not have any ID number stamped on the flat rectangle on the generator side.
Is that where the number should be?
My shop man says it has also been rebuilt previously.
Any thoughts?
 
I have no documentation of this, but old timers have told me that the major sources of rebuilt engines would 'color code' them so they could tell it was one of theirs. I seem to remember that Sears painted them red, Montgomery-Ward was silver (which is what I have), and somebody else painted them blue. I can't swear that it's true, but it makes for a good story.

Of course, your engine could also have been rebuilt by just about anybody that happened to have some red paint around.

Ken
 
Jerold Ebke said:
I am rebuilding mine from a '30 coupe.
It was a dark blue under some green when I hot pressure washed the oil off.
It also does not have any ID number stamped on the flat rectangle on the generator side.
Is that where the number should be?
My shop man says it has also been rebuilt previously.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sounding like one of the "surplus" engines left over after Model A production ceased.

The green is likely Ford Green and with which most factory engines are a single coat.

The underlying blue might be from tail end Ford production of the 30s - and Henry's "wear it out make it do" personal philosophy.

Any other markings on the engine might give you more clue. Like a "diamond" block (showing a diamond shape on the engine block "transition curve" above the timing gear cover) or the shape of the actual number pad itself which went through several iterations and has been mostly documented (can be found online with Steve Pluckers excellent research.)

The fact that is unstamped for number is a clue too, but only someone familiar with the engines could tell if the number has been ground off or removed during a re-work.

I correct myself. Engine in my truck is a 1930 roadster engine. My red sears replacement engine is as yet unrebuilt and is unstamped and unmodified in the stamp area. These blocks are somewhat prized by restorers looking to have the ultimate "matching numbers" designation. This even though the chassis number is normally unreadable except by removing the body - a difficult at best task.

An unstamped virgin appearing block, a set of reproduction number stamps, and a readable chassis number is all you need to get to that "original" condition (and may be willing to pay extra for.)

I may yet restore that Sears engine and keep it red simply as a way to prove "history." And to attract attention and comments.

If all the Model A engines are brought to Ford green and numbered matching the frames - then who will be the keeper of knowledge of what once was but is no more?

"Hey, that engine is supposed to be Ford Green."

"Not this engine..." (opening for discussion.)

Joe K
 
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When I was a teenager, I worked in a shop that installed Sears engines. I think the short blocks were red and complete engines were green or blue. This was in Pasadena California.
 
My friends 30 roadster has a Sears rebuilt that was painted red, it was always very strong and would top the double hill by my house in high gear and still does, 50 years later.
 
George Miller nailed it, red engines produce more power....I know it's true, because I read it on the internet
 

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Thanks for information. When I started cleaning the block I found silver paint under the red. I wonder if it could be a Sears rebuild on a Montgomery ward rebuild. I wonder how many lives this engine has led.
 
Hoovercw said:
Thanks for information. When I started cleaning the block I found silver paint under the red. I wonder if it could be a Sears rebuild on a Montgomery ward rebuild. I wonder how many lives this engine has led.
Click to expand...

They needed a thicker coat of paint to get full advantage of the horsepower upgrade of red paint.

I wonder if Chinese red gives a little more horsepower than mere fire engine red?

Joe K
 
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