I-232 Engine Color?

Forgive me if this isn't purely an "Early Jeep" topic, but it is research related to restoration...

I'm ready to jump in and start rebuilding my "new to me" 1975 AMC 232 engine. And when I got it, I was surprised that it was not painted AMC blue, but it was red! Plenty of careful inspection shows no trace of blue anywhere beside the TorqueFlite 727 transmission. Puzzlement, no?

Now, over the weekend, I ran into somebody who told me that the red engines were manufactured for sale in California and had extra/additional emissions gizmos installed. I gotta say that I cannot prove either statement, and that is why I am coming to you all.

Anybody heard that California compliant engines were painted differently as a clear marker? Or that it has special non-standard emissions stuff on it?

While I am not an overly religious person, would I be annoying some minor AMC deity somewhere if, when I get the engine block and head measured and machined, I have the shop repaint the block in correct AMC Blue?

Thanks in advance!

 

I have attached a chart with AMC engine colors I found on The AMC Forum. It looks like 232's were red from '64 to '67 and V-8's from '71 to '73 were red if they were intended for California. Yours being a 1974 should be AMC blue. This is assuming the chart is correct.

Any possibility your engine was swapped out at some time for an earlier 232 that would have been red?

 

I expect the AMC rules don't apply for AM General. Both the AMC blues are hard to match, so I'd go with the original red.

Pretty sure the only Jeep AMC engines delivered in civilian Jeeps that were red were the '71-72 engines for delivery in California. 49-states engines and the CA '73s were the metallic blue, and the solid turquois-ey blue arrived around 1975.

 

Good point about AM General being different from AMC. Here's a picture I found of a '72 DJ-5 with the 232. And it's red.

 

Now I am completely befuzzled.

The original engine that was in this jeep - the one with the badly cracked block - was coded 706E21. Perfect for the age of the vehicle (August 1974). And it was that funky blue color that I cannot seem to find anywhere in a spray can.

The "replacement" engine is a 1975 code (I don't have it handy) but it is red, through and through.

I know that I'm being a royal PITA here, but I highly doubt that AM General had AMC do custom painted blocks for them. They wanted Cheap, Off-The-Shelf and In-House goods, so they probably just pulled them from the assembly line. Occam's Razor and all, right? They'd dumped the previous engine designs just so they could use the AMC ones, pimples and all.

Anybody got a time machine? Can ya point me back to the engine manufacturing facility, circa 1975?

[EDIT: I now know that this wasn't a "virgin" engine - it had been professionally rebuilt at some point, and that's how it got the generic red paint on it]

 

Does anyone have any info to a 2.5L 150 4cyl on a 1966 CJ5 stock engine color?

 

A stock 1966 CJ5 was built by Kaiser and would have had either the 134 cubic inch F134 or the 225 cubic inch Dauntless V6. The 2.5 liter 150 cubic inch 4 cylinder was an AMC engine and wasn't available until 1984. It was used in various Jeeps (and several other AMC vehicles) through 2002. For a few years prior to 1984 (1980 through 1983), Jeep offered a 2.5 liter GM 4 cylinder in the CJ5, but it was 151 cubic inches.

 

Ok, what was the stock colors for engines in 1966?

Guess I am too dumb to know engines. How can I find out what motor is in it?

 

Ok the mechanic said F134 .

So in 1966 what was the engine color for a stock F134 engine?

 

There are several threads on this site about F134 colors. Here's one, Engine Paint Color?

Here's another, Factory Engine Bay Photos?

Not sure either one will give you a definitive answer. Go with black?

 

Thank you Bigbendhiker!

So black it is.

 

How about a 1965 cj5 with a perkins 192 motor? That belongs to the shop.

The F134 is a customer jeep rebuild. New tub and wiring harness.

 

Interesting thread! My '73 has a red valve cover & intake manifold, and the head & the block are blue.