Engine painting what is the correct color

[67L78conv]

Putting together a list of things that will need to be done to restore the engine to my car and have a quick question.

I know that pretty much everything in 67 was painted orange but have seen a few sources stating that some of the L78 motors were black and am not sure if that is correct. I have a few vintage shots of the car from the 70's where it is black and in one you can see where the paint has been warn/flaked away in a few areas and there is no sign of orange that I can see just some surface rust. Being that the car was close to 10 years old and was run hard it may have been apart by then and the color changed. From what I can tell in the pics the only things that were changed at that point were the valve covers to M/T and the addition of headers. The car came off the road less than 6 months later and has been parked since 1978. If date matters the car is an 05E with a mid may assembly for the block.

Being that some of the top experts in the field read these forums I would greatly appreciate any opinions on which way to go and what paints match the colors best.

[firstgenaddict]

Chevrolet Engine Orange.
The intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and valve covers were on the engine when it was painted so they would have some overspray on them as well.
The key to a long lasting paint job on an engine is surface prep AND very light coats until covered... just enough paint to cover allows the heat to dissipate through the paint without burning it off as badly.

[Bergerz28]

Everything engine wise is painted orange, we use Glasurit products and start with after cleaning the engine is epoxy primer 2 medium coats looking for protection not build followed by single-stage urethane I use code 72 hugger orange with some black mixed in with a flattening agent. Cast iron intakes painted, aluminum intakes minor overspray some like it clean and the same with the exhaust manifolds big block had more overspray then small blocks but thats just what I have seen on original cars in the shop. By-pass hose and clamps painted, bellhousing and fork should also have overspray all accessories installed later. With the singl-stage urethane I have had no problems with it burning off or discolor, if you put on heavy coats of paint it will begin to peel, if you look on my website you will see some engines in the chassis of which all have been dynoed and no problems. Good luck.

[67L78conv]

Thats pretty much what I expected. Thank you the answers and tips.

[Kurt S]

Tom mentioned it above - the paint is not full gloss. It's a few notches down.