Bellhousing paint?

[The73vetteman]

Was the bellhousing ever painted or was it just left bare?

I'm part way through relacing the clutch, and found my bell' was painted aluminum, over a blue. Is any of this original? What's the NCRS view?

J

 

[waterboy1976]

Mine is Chevy orange.....I think they switched to Blue in 76 or 77?

 

[LVMYVT76]

Engines were orange until 77. Blue after 76. Don't know if bell housings were ever painted.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

The bell housings on small blocks were attached while the engine was being painted. Although the housing was not normally painted there is usually some engine paint over spray on the mating flange and maybe half the bell housing. The remainder of the housing would have been left natural aluminum.

Some have been seen with 100% coverage however. Guess it depended on who was manning the paint gun at Flint that particular day.

As others have said, engines in '73 were orange. Blue came out in 77 I think.