WLA Replacement Engine Color?

[Johan WILLAERT]

From Type IV WLAs onwards, engine crankcases were painted OD with black heads....
ALthough I have seen NOS replacement engines with OD painted cases and black painted heads, I'm wondering if the extra engines were all painted at the factory... I'm currently looking at a blank VIN boss replacement engine which doesn't seem to have been painted ever... Crankcases numbers are 45-15100

Or could it be an engine assembled from parts as the heads have no paint either..

Any ideas???

Thanks

Johan

[Lib45]

As far as I know Johan, all Blank Boss Replacement Motors (BRM) delivered after the "introduction" of type IV were painted.
Look at this one: it was a BRM which was stamped with a wrong type-number (if the 1 would be a 6 it would be more believeable..).
It looks originally painted and is higher in casenumbers then the one you're after.
Probably that one was either build from scratch or rebuild and cleaned earlier..
My two pence..

[OLDABEWLA]

Could it be replacement cases for the civilan Harley's during war time? I know they were still making small numbers of civilan bikes during the war due to special needs of doctors or ETC. I also know they shipped parts to Europe just after the war that they had on hand to the civilan market war relief program or the Marshall plan.

Craig

[chris haynes]

In late 1945 H-D was doing some civilian production. With that very high line bore number I would think that it was a civilian replacement engine.

[Johan WILLAERT]

Thanks Chris

[doug p.]

Here's a replacement engine seen at Wauseon, Ohio, several years ago:

[diebold]

Gary's Bunker has an original unstamped replacement motor in the original crate with shipping papers intact from HD motor company. to Uncle Sam dated 1943. This was part of Gary's display at the 2014 MVPA convention in Louisville KY earlier this year. This motor is all original with OD painted cases and black cylinders/heads

www.garysbunker.com

[FlyingDutchman]

Does a green painted engine run hotter? What black paint best to use for cylinder and heads?

Talking about engine paint. The red paint on the inside of the crankcase, what precisely does it do? Is it to make the oil run better/quicker down the sides when the engine runs? What best to do when you restore an engine? What is the actual paint pattern inside the engine?

Thanks,

Chris

[donk_316]

Chris
I believe its called Glyptol or something to that effect.

[diebold]

Glyptal is an enamel based paint developed by General Electric. It was painted on the inside of gear boxes, motor frames, generator stators, turbines etc. First developed as a high temperature oil resistant dielectric coating, the product saw benefits in drivetrain/engine housings as it allowed oil to quickly drop to the sump for better circulation. The product also smoothed out sand cast porosity allowing for faster drainage. The product was used on everything from small electric motors to WLA sumps to radial engine aircraft crankcases. Working for GE early in my career I painted my share of housings and turbines with "Glyptal Red".... It was also the hot rodders trick to paint the insides of muscle car engines which was standard practice of mine on every 327 small block that came into my shop.

[FlyingDutchman]

Thank you gentlemen, useful information. I guess the advise is to use it in an engine overhaul? Is there a pattern that can be copied?

Thanks again,

Chris

[diebold]

I may have some original cans on the shelves