TR4A Engine block colour

[EdMcC]

Anyone know what colour/finish TR4A engine blocks had originally? My engine should be rebuilt by the weekend (new pistons, liners, main/conrod bearings, oil seal conversion, valves cut/reground etc etc) so I want to finish the thing off consistent with its original external finish. Thanks.

[OLDMAN]

Anyone know what colour/finish TR4A engine blocks had originally? My engine should be rebuilt by the weekend (new pistons, liners, main/conrod bearings, oil seal conversion, valves cut/reground etc etc) so I want to finish the thing off consistent with its original external finish. Thanks.

 

 

 

My cars only done 27k ( first time round) and it`s Black, but I`ve not had it from new.

 

 

Derek

[EdMcC]

Derek - thanks. My engine seems to have been painted red at some point judging by what's left of the paint. It looks remarkably similar to the signal red bodywork though which arouses a few suspicions.

[Chilliman]

Derek - thanks. My engine seems to have been painted red at some point judging by what's left of the paint. It looks remarkably similar to the signal red bodywork though which arouses a few suspicions.

 

 

For what it's worth my original block on a TR4 is black - it's been totally cleaned and I'm as confident as poss that it's original

John

[stuart]

Original would be black unless it was a SAH conversion in which case they were often Blue

Stuart.

[angelfj]

Anyone know what colour/finish TR4A engine blocks had originally? My engine should be rebuilt by the weekend (new pistons, liners, main/conrod bearings, oil seal conversion, valves cut/reground etc etc) so I want to finish the thing off consistent with its original external finish. Thanks.

 

 

Ed: Just like Model T Fords, TR engines were available in multiple colours of BLACK! Simple black always.

 

If yours is not black, it wasn't painted that way at Canley.

 

By the way, did I say all TR engines were black?

Edited March 25, 2010 by angelfj

[randall977]

Mine was original black (33K) until last week - now it's red! Sad I know but I saw a 4a engine with a red block and black head and thought it looked great! I'm just at the same stage with my 4 engine; is the oil seal upgrade worth it?

[Alec Pringle]

Black was the normal colour for TR engines, and from all I've ever seen the overwhelming majority of TR engines came painted black - but not all. The same applies to Standard engines, both the Vanguard/Ensign ranges and the 8/10 ranges, black was the norm but not invariably so.

 

Factory reconditioned Triumph engines could be green, metallic green, or blue. Standard FR engines could be any of these, plus silver or gold metallic. I've seen original one-owner TR3 and 3A respectively with dark blue and silver blocks and heads. SAH engines were frequently metallic blue.

 

At least some Dorettis and Morgans came with lighter coloured engines, but from contemporary black and white photographs it's not possible to ascertain just what colour.

 

Bill Piggott has in the past mentioned the possibility of some engines having been painted red as original, but I've never seen one. In view of the numbers of early TR2 engines that required replacement at low mileages, perhaps owners had the FR or rebuilt block painted to their own spec ?

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[randall977]

...yes I mean mine is original red...