Thank you folks for all the feedback. There are really two questions here: (1) paint quality and (2) color match.
1. Quality:
Wyatt has never had a problem with how the VHT paint sprayed ("didn't come out stringy or spray funny at all"). More broadly, he says that he has "used a variety of VHT products throughout the years and never had an issue whatsoever."
@Ripinator and others have been very happy with (or, like
@Big_John, have only heard good things about) Hirsch paint.
--> Bottom line, it seems to me that folks have had good experiences with both Hirsch (all) and VHT (one
exception is here). At this stage, therefore, what I am interested in is the paint that will be the right shade for a 1971 T-code (i.e., regular) 440 block.
2. Color:
You really cannot use the paint on the engine as reference after 50 years worth of heating/cooling cycles and exposed to the elements. Naturally it will be lighter than the new paint which will be darker as shown in Rip's pic.
Agreed! While the passage of time
per se may or may not lead to discoloration
, the grease running on the engine, the hot/cold cycles, the "elements" as you say -- all should for sure discolor the paint. I think that the difference between the original paint on Medina's block at the top and bottom of the block (as seen in the picture below, cropped from one that I posted
at the top of page 8 in the present thread) is consistent with your point: the bottom of the engine looks more "blue" whereas the top looks more "green" — and I see a continuous gradation from the oil pan to the top of the block.
What I was
comparing Rip's engine repaint to, therefore, was (i) not Medina's original engine paint but, rather, (ii) the VHT that
@71Polara383 applied last summer when he replaced my water pump (as seen in the VHT/original comparison). That VHT paint was the "last can he had, that he finished on Medina's engine last summer." He had bought it in 2015 and had some left in the can (some used in 2015, some in 2017), but not enough so he only sprayed the intake (and not the water pump housing). That VHT Sp126 paint can be seen on Medina's engine in the pic below, in the area surrounded by a red "lasso". To my eyes, that color is very close to both Rip's engine color (which is the Hirsch turquoise and should not be correct for Medina) and to the faded/discolored top of Medina's engine -- but not quite to its bottom. That point is even clearer in the second photo below, which Wyatt took today in the daylight from the other side of the engine.
Hirsch offers two Mopar shades of engine blue (
turquoise "for all BBs 1962-1971" and
blue for all engines 1973-1983) whereas VHT offers a single color (SP126). The latter color is called "early Chrysler blue" and, as I noted in this post, the shade seems a close match to the Hirsch turquoise. Because
@cbarge and
@saforwardlook (above) say that Chrysler switched T-code engines (regular 440s) to corporate blue for 1970, and as
@Ripinator provided a
link on MyMopar.com that consistent with that claim, I should order a bluer paint -- so Hirsch. BUT, I don't think that the Hirsch corporate blue will match the current shade of Medina's paint. Furthermore,
@ceebuddy (in this
thread) reported that "regular 440 engines were corporate blue beginning in 1970 which is also (his) personal experience but some sources say there have been turquoise engines in 1970 and 1971, too."
So... I'll order both VHT SP126 and Hirsch "1973-1983 blue" and make a decision after seeing them.
