Paint colors

[refit1701]

What color should the engine compartment, and undercarrige be? Olive Drab or black?

The frame is OD or black?

[HingsingM37]

Generally the engine compartment and undercarriage is also OD. As for the frame, the civilian PW's were black. The military frames were green to the best of my knowledge. If you are looking for a original look then OD everything (engines were Chrysler industrail silver from the factory, but a depot rework would have been OD). If you want some contrast and are not a purist you can do what you like

[refit1701]

I've not been bit by the purist bug as of yet. OD is the way to go for me.

My engine is an Industrial Pymouth rebuild, so it's blue right now. I might do it in OD, I dunno.

[Longhunter7]

I can still see some silver paint on the engine of my 63' M37-B1.

Is that an indication that the engine could be the original?

[Lifer]

Okay...here we go again.

The frames and driveline components were almost always black when they left the factory.

The engine bay was painted the same color as the truck body...not necessarily OD. AF trucks would have been blue under the hood, Navy trucks would have been gray, Army and Marine Corps trucks would have been different shades of OD.

Yes, the original engines were painted a silver-gray. During depot rebuilds, they were usually painted whatever color the depot had the most of at the time. Usually OD for the Army and Marines, blue for the Air Force, and gray for the Navy. I doubt that any were repainted the original color.

[HingsingM37]

Sorry Lifer, I was thinikng in Army terms and temporarily forgot about the other branches. My frame/driveline had OD with red primer underneath as did my friends truck when we restored his, so I never considered black as a possibility on the milspec trucks. I had only experienced black on civiliansPW's hence my error. I stand corrected