What gloss of black paint were these Chev engines painted - Gloss or Semi-Gloss?

 

What ever was the cheapest crap Paint, that was available.

 

Really...

Remember when GM bought tires by the pound? LITERALLY? "Request to bid on 1,250,000 pounds of tires; must fit 14x6 wheels" It's no wonder Michelin tires made SO MUCH difference on cars back then. I can only imagine who *cough*firestone*cough* was bidding "yeah I've got yer pounds of tires right here"

Seriously though: it was a kind of satin black. Not glossy, not flat. I think it would have cost more to make it more of either of those things than it was.

 

On a similar note, what was or were the colours on the small block in these cars? Were they all black? Or some GM's "corporate blue". Is it a year specific thing? I've had several of these cars and I can't say I ever even noticed the colour as all of those engines were only in passing.

 

Pretty sure they were corporate blue in 82, then black afterwards.

Definitely not that heinous orange-red from the Civil War days.

 

I grew up with the "Civil War" colours. Still kind of fond of it too. Call it nostalgia.
The latest version will get something else though. Seeing as the chassis is "officially" an 82, maybe it's blue this time around. Although, I worked on the line at GM when the blue was introduced. I was mortified. It may be hard getting past that...
I hadn't thought about the SBC being dressed in black although my 86 IROC was probably that.

 

True; me too. I just never really did like that shade though. Always kinda seemed to belong to half-camouflage pickup trucks that used to be red that was still showing through here and there with glasspacks and no taillights and one cyl that didn't run. It just ... wasn't ... me.

 

GM continues on with the heinous orange and the 632 BBC.
Must be ingrained somewhere in the General's hierarchy.

 

Back when each Division (Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Chevrolet) of GM had their own Engine Platforms...
The Engine Paint Colors were a part of that Divisions Branding.
(And an indicator of different Engine Families. An example being a Buick "Nail-Head" V8 vs a "Big Block Buick" V8 Engine).
The Colors were relatively important at the time.

The specific Engine Colors were less and less commonly being used after the Early-1970s.
After the "Muscle Car" Era ended... Power Output was drastically cut-back, and Engine Platforms were being cut-back...
Then discontinued.

With less Engine Platforms available; it became more and more common for New Vehicles to have an Engine from a different Division.
This started to upset many People who were "Loyal" to a particular Brand/ Division.
Pontiac enthusiast did not want a New Pontiac with a Buick or Oldsmobile Engine.

GM essentially decided that they would rather "Hide" the Engine Platform that came in GM Vehicles.
GM would start using GM "Corporate" Engines, instead of an Engine from a particular Division.
Of course this was BS! But with most all Engines getting Painted Black instead of a Traditional Color...
and using the term "Corporate" Engine, instead of Chevrolet or Cadillac...
Kept new GM Buyers "happily in the dark".

If events did not occur as they did...
Most Engines might still be Painted the corresponding Division Color, instead of plain old Black.

 

How long ago did Frod abolish Lincoln and Mercury engines? I can't even recall anymore. Pretty sure it was sometime in the 50s.

Frankly I'm not surprised that GM did away with each division creating their own engines from scratch. Financially it was a yyyyyyyyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuujjjjjjjjjjje waste of money and duplication of effort. Most people (new car buyers specifically... the market GM et al. live in) have not the vaguest clue about what's under the hood, as long as it goes when they want it to go and doesn't break (much). Today, do you suppose car buyers really care which division was responsible for the 3.6? Hell I don't even know. Enthusiasts who would know such a thing are a tiny minority, and those who care an even smaller slice of the pie. Car mfrs aren't in the business of maintaining purity for enthusiasts; they're in the business of selling cars. It may be sad but it's true.

 

I completely agree.
Today's Car buyers are nothing like the Car buyers of 50 to 70 Years ago.

If you are talking about the VVT-DOHC 3.6L V6 (GM-HFV6 "High-Feature" V6 Engine)...
that becomes a complete Pile of $hit, by following the "Oil Life Monitoring" System's recommended Service-Intervals...

It is an Opel and Suzuki Engineered, Suzuki Built (in Japan) Collaboration Engine Program.
It falls under the GM International Corporate Engine umbrella, just like the ECOTEC Engine program.

Some of the design aspects are actually great!
...but then you see that most of the design is Dirt-Cheap Hot-Garbage!