Hey Guys, I was doing some research for work yesterday and came across a photo in a book with a 1957 Chevy engine that was factory painted in yellow. The book only said that some engines came in yellow in 1957. I searched on line and found that only 265 2 barrel engines where painted yellow. While all the 283 engines where painted orange. Yesterday was the first I had ever heard of this yellow engine color for a 1957 Chevy. Does anyone know anymore about this or have any more info? Thanks, Sean
my buddy had an s-10 with a yellow 350, and a yellow frame and a red body. I called it the Ronald McDonald Mobile Cancer research Centre. No one found that amusing though......
That seems to be the case. Why yellow? Ha, Ha. I have a similar story. I had just taken the red rally wheels off my Chevelle. My buddy with a bright yellow '67 442 wanted to see how rallys would look on his car. We rolled up to his car and stood back to take a look. I said it looked like Ronald McDonalds car and besides there's already a clown behind the wheel. He was pissed and didn't speak to me for a couple of weeks. Sean
I don't know why they used a different color, unless it was to simply identify to the buyer that they were not getting the 283. Remember the flap in the late 70's when people found out they were getting chevys in their Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Pontiacs?
I had one back in 1964, and the word then was that there was a problem (fire?) at one engine plant, so they substituted engines from the truck line. The 1957 truck engines were still 265's and came in yellow. That's what the word was back then, and I know my 1957 V8 was a yellow 265.
I don't think they were really yellow, the color had more of a greenish hue. Maybe chartruese? My '57 265 block was showing traces of greenish-yellow paint. Small point maybe, but when I read yellow I though YELLOW. And yes, I think I read somewhere it was done to distinguish the new and more expensive 283 from the base(cheap) 265.
Not to hijack, but I've also heard that you could only get a 265 in a '57 with a 3 speed, no 265/powerglide in '57. Is that true? Because I plan to use a '56 265 with a '57 powerglide in my '57. I guess I don't really care if it was original or not but it would be interesting to know.
The standard 2 barrel engine in stick shift V-8 1957 Chevrolet 150 and 210 models were 265s . All the 2 barrel V-8 automatic cars were 283s.
I've heard the '57 Handyman 150 wagons with V8 all got the 265. The story on the one I have is that it was street raced from the day it was new. When i bought it, it had a 3spd OD trans, 4.11 Posi, rolled rear fender lips, a Sun tach mounted on the A-pillar, and a 283 with 2x4 intake...and the ugly green/yellow paint on the block. I'm guessing the guy built a 283 and painted it so it'd look to everyone like he just bolted a 2x4 intake onto a 265. -Brad
This is from a tri-five judging guide (passenger cars, not pickups or big trucks): [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Haettenschweiler]"All 1955 V8 motors are CHEVY ORANGE with BLACK valve cover stencils. All 1956 V8 motors are CHEVY RED, with BLACK valve stencils. A few EARLY 1957 265 V8 engines (standard transmission ONLY) were painted chartreuse (lime green) by Chevrolet, and they had BLACK stencils on the valve covers. After about November 1956, all 265 engines were CHEVY ORANGE (as are the 283 motors), and the valve cover scripts were SILVER." (so apparently you could get a 265 in a '57 that was orange like a 283 if it was after November '56 when it was built.) The judging guide site is http://www.emarkay.com/joutline.html [/FONT]
I bet the guys at Chevytalk.org could shed some more light on this, too. By the time they get to me, the engines are all the same color - rusty metal brown - so I'm not much help.
2 barrel 57 engines were 265's. They were kind of a yellowy with a green tint. As far as Handyman wagons were concerned, you could get any drivetrain combo you wanted in them. My wagon was an original power pack 283, 3 speed o/d, 4.11 posi car.
There was a 2 barrel 283 available in '57, 185 horse, compared to the 2 barrel '57 265 with 162 horse.
I was always told they were painted the yellowy color just so they could easiy be identified by assebely line workers. The base engine for all 57's, conv. sedan hrdtp 150 210 belairs, was the 235 blue flame six all others were optional.
That makes sense. A friend's first car in high school was a '57 210 four door, 265 2bbl three speed, and it was orange. When we removed it for a rebuild and cleaned the block, there was no sign of anything but orange paint, and it was definitely the original engine.
Im not sure that I agree with that about the 55s though....I have seen restored 55s with tannish colored V8s. Theres even a photo of a restored one in the hard backed 55-57 Chevrolet book.
OK, here's one from one of the guys that worked on the v8 assembly line in Flint Michigan when this all went down. I rented an apartment from him while attending General Motors Institue in 1962. The 265's that were in '57 models were left over from the '56 model year and they were painted yellow/green so that the mechanics that were going to be working on them at the dealerships would have a heads up on which engine was in the car so they could service them knowing which engine was in the car. Simple, raise the hood and see yellow...........265. Raise the hood and see orange................283. OR, it could have been some sort of conspiricy (cue Twilight Zone theme music) Frank
sean72 i have a belair with the motor in side date code 108c just a a car show they taking many pics its yellow 3 on the tree if you have any questions contact me i have had it for 20 years now
i have this engine thanks for the info just at a car show in wildwood nj and met a gentlemen for took a ton of pics of it because he remembered he was thrilled
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