Hi all,
engine is currently being built for chassis 1044 that we're restoring at Mathwall. The valve covers were passivated gold on this car, but research suggests they should be the same blue as the engine? There's also some confusion of the correct blue for this - it seems the engine may of been painted when the car was repainted in 2007, as traces of a darker blue were found underneath the top colour.
Any advice would be great,
Chris @Furlonger cars.
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definitely just Ford Corporate Blue for 1968, matches the block, heads, oil pan and intake manifold. DeTomaso added the throttle spring return tab on the passenger side and added the Detomaso Emblems, but otherwise its not clear that even the valve covers were repainted or just re-touched after adding the throttle return tab.
I think earlier Ford Blue (before the 302) was a little lighter, you can google any of the Ford forums and confirm the right hue.
Btw, the Powered By Ford valve covers are repro'd, in case yours were swapped for something inspired by a K-code, the only thing missing is the throttle tab.
deniscCaretaker of 8MA1244 '70 Euro Mangusta DRIVE THEM, THEY WERE MEANT TO BE DRIVEN, IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT ONE, BUY A POSTER!
Valve covers were corporate blue for 1968. Ensure you have original motor, then match that shade. Ford corporate blue has been a long discussion on Mustang forums. PM me for details on identifying true original motor. Also tab may be on different side depending which side the throttle cable is located from the factory.
Officially, it's Ford Corporate blue.
Most have noticed a difference in the shade over the years though.
The official EXPLANATION is that it is a "batch" color. What Ford means by that is that there is no official formula for it and the shade varies from batch to batch like some of the primers do as can be seen on the underside of the floor pans on production models.
VHT paints long ago had two shades of it. Ford blue and "Mustang blue". The Mustang blue is what is more commonly seen by me on 302's and 351c's and from VHT is the darker of the two colors.
It can and does vary though depending on the engine plant assembling the engine. Cleveland v. Windsor for example.
I personally prefer the "Mustang blue" but that is just personal preference. MCA doesn't have a points penalty for using one shade of blue vs. another simply because of the normal discrepancies possible directly from Ford to begin with.
