question about engine bay paint 57 Golden Hawk

[Swiss-Goldenhawk]

Hello together

I will be pulling the engine in a few weeks and therefore have a question regarding the engine bay paint.

As you can see on the photo, it is painted in black. I always thought it should be in body color (in my case coppertone metallic and not black). Now I found the following photo online and it looks the same as my engine bay. So my question is, should I leave it that way or did the factory paint it in body color?





Thank you for your help.

Ruedi

[SN-60]

The engine bay should definitely be painted the exterior body color Ruedi....Studebaker engine bays were painted black by folks over the years for various reasons, but in my opinion nothing looks as good as the the way the factory did it..... exterior body color!....Good luck!


PS....The engine bay in my Speedster is black, but then again so isn't the entire rest of the car!

[JoeHall]

I think semi-gloss, black engine bays came into vogue in the 1960s, since it hides grease, oil and dirt stains so well. With the 56J's motor currently out for rebuild, I am tempted to paint the fender wells and hood bottom black, but will probably go with white again, as is, "correct"

[StudeRich]

I think the biggest reason many are painted Black is the same reason I did one back in the day.

If you do not have the time or money and are not ready to do the exterior paint, and are not sure of the color, you just do the Engine Compartment in black knowing it will blend with any color so not have to be repainted, and it will show off/contrast with the engine color.

Then you can get on with the important job of getting a new engine in, running and driving and not have to later remove the engine for the compartment paint.

[Warren Webb]

Even the factory didn't spend a whole lot of time under the hood with paint. The inner fender aprons on my 59 project show paint at the fender jambs but as it progressed lower less & less until you reach the frame area & surface rust prevails. The front end sheet metal was painted separately & didn't receive the care that the main body did when it comes to paint.

[SN-60]

Here's an original Studebaker 'factory job'!

[tjanowia]

One of the guys that worked on the fourth floor of the body plant applying color as they called it told me stories of how cars would come out of the paint booth different colors on each side and of guys leaving nuts and things on the bodies that would be sprayed over and have their impressions left in the paint.

[studegary]

Here's an original Studebaker 'factory job'!

I know that you put "factory job" in quotes, but this is NOT a picture of an engine compartment as it came from the factory. The picture shows several modified items (besides the paint). Studebaker did not mask off parts of the inner fender. On some cars, the exterior paint did not cover some or all of the inner fender, but when this was done the part that wasn't covered by exterior paint was primer gray, not gloss black.

[studefan]

Plus, on post 6, it looks like the passenger side inner fender is black which would not be correct.

[Hallabutt]

We traveled this road in a previous thread. The picture on post #6 is correct for many, if not all, 1960 Larks. For whatever reason, maybe to save paint or time the inner fenders were not painted. They inner fenders were instead roughly masked off, or blocked, leaving the original black primer unpainted. When inspected my original 1960 wagon which has its original paint and interior intact, I was surprised to find the inner fenders a dull black. In fifty five years of owning and collecting Studebakers, I like many of you doubters would have gone to the wall over Studebaker always painting the inner fenders body color. It was suggested that the front fenders must have been replaced and just not painted. Not so with my car, verified history and thirty eight years of almost perfect storage which was like walking into a dry, dust free time warp allowed for verification. This prompted me to find as many original 1960-61 Larks to verify what I was certain was correct on "Humphrey." It might seem strange but unaltered, unpainted original early Larks are really hard to find! In seven years of my search the only year that I have been able to verify this shortcut used, was on 1960 Larks. It shows up as dull black paint, often spotted with rust, or as being completely rusted over. The primer just did not hold up to the elements. Post #6 shows a car, probably, refurbished or restored, which has had the lower inner fender painted black. I believe that restoration work is the reason that the inner fenders on #6 show up as shinny black paint. I have never been able to determine if this change in 1960 was authorized by company or a tolerance granted by individuals in an attempt to increase production or to save money. Does anyone have anyone have any information?

[SN-60]

I know that you put "factory job" in quotes, but this is NOT a picture of an engine compartment as it came from the factory. The picture shows several modified items (besides the paint). Studebaker did not mask off parts of the inner fender. On some cars, the exterior paint did not cover some or all of the inner fender, but when this was done the part that wasn't covered by exterior paint was primer gray, not gloss black.

You are, of course, wrong about this car Gary.....please read post # 10 for some helpful clarification!

[JoeHall]

We traveled this road in a previous thread. The picture on post #6 is correct for many, if not all, 1960 Larks. For whatever reason, maybe to save paint or time the inner fenders were not painted. They inner fenders were instead roughly masked off, or blocked, leaving the original black primer unpainted. When inspected my original 1960 wagon which has its original paint and interior intact, I was surprised to find the inner fenders a dull black. In fifty five years of owning and collecting Studebakers, I like many of you doubters would have gone to the wall over Studebaker always painting the inner fenders body color. It was suggested that the front fenders must have been replaced and just not painted. Not so with my car, verified history and thirty eight years of almost perfect storage which was like walking into a dry, dust free time warp allowed for verification. This prompted me to find as many original 1960-61 Larks to verify what I was certain was correct on "Humphrey." It might seem strange but unaltered, unpainted original early Larks are really hard to find! In seven years of my search the only year that I have been able to verify this shortcut used, was on 1960 Larks. It shows up as dull black paint, often spotted with rust, or as being completely rusted over. The primer just did not hold up to the elements. Post #6 shows a car, probably, refurbished or restored, which has had the lower inner fender painted black. I believe that restoration work is the reason that the inner fenders on #6 show up as shinny black paint. I have never been able to determine if this change in 1960 was authorized by company or a tolerance granted by individuals in an attempt to increase production or to save money. Does anyone have anyone have any information?

That is interesting about Larks, but the OP was asking about his 57GH.

For sure, there were plenty of differences between years, models, and assembly plants. One example is the firewall color difference between 56Js assembled at SB and those at LA. The ones from SB were painted same as upper/lower body color; the ones from LA were painted same as the "accent" (middle) color. There may be such differences in 57GH's as well, but 56Js have been far more researched and documented, thanks largely to Frank A's efforts. Of course no 57s were assembled at LA since they closed in 1956.

[Swiss-Goldenhawk]

Hello together,

It's always interesting to read something a bit off-topic, but still related to factory painting.

You all have answered my question and I know what to do next.

Thank you very much.

Have a good week.

Rudy

[studegary]

You are, of course, wrong about this car Gary.....please read post # 10 for some helpful clarification!

How an I wrong about this not being a factory picture?
I agree with post #10. Please read it carefully. As I have said now and in the past, some Studebakers, particularly early Larks did not receive much or any body color paint on the inner fenders. However, the paint that was there was primer, not gloss black. Also, the body color paint tapered off. It was not a sharp, masked line of change.
I have owned many 1959-1960 Larks in original paint.
It is not a factory picture because it has a 1963 "Caution Fan" label, a battery disconnect switch, an improper battery cable, etc.

[StudeRich]

I agree, there is no way the factory would have masked that fender and applied a Gloss Black that way, so not only is it not a Factory Picture, it also is not an Original Car!

The Original Owner probably got in a fender bender and a "nicer" repair was done.