The block in my original unrestored 65 Z16, and all the blocks in my original unrestored 66 396 Chevelles, have their original orange paint and have factory painted pads. The same is true for all my unrestored 67 396s, except for the very late ones which were masked and not painted. I do not know exactly when the masking started, but I have two T0509EG 396s that have painted pads, and three late June EGs (earliest one T0623EG) that were clearly masked. So somewhere in between those dates is when it must have started.
Note that often the paint is peeled off in spots, but you will still always find at least some paint down in the stampings on the pads on original paint 65-67(early) 396 blocks, even if it has peeled off the flat part of the pad.
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Jeff Helms
65 Z16 Survivor
65 Z16 drag car
66 Chevelle L78 unrestored
67 Chevelle L78 unrestored
67 Camaro SS350 Survivor
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