Auburn 8 Engine light blue?

Auburns are not easy to restore on in US either. Plenty of us will help wherever possible. I orchestrated restoration of a 31 Phaeton for friends back in the 80's - it is Silver/Black with Black top and Carmel leather, plus Bedford Double whites - next owner changed painted wires to chrome. It was one challenging restoration - a car out of Australia and had been repaired for years with a welding torch and hammer. I see it at Auburn each year.

Stan doesnt ship chemical products overseas, as far as I know. But I will have the engine paint from another fellow (hanging around here).

I will stay with the original hardware as much as possible, even if not everything ist still original. But it will be hard enough finding the big and important parts I need, so I doubt I will be able to locate also original hardware.

Its really a masochistic job restoring an american classic like an Auburn in Germany. I dont have the connections, there is the language and time difference - what makes phone calls difficult, and last but not least the shipping costs and custom fees and taxes.... :rolleyes:

By the way: As you are taking this Auburn apart you want to pay particular attention to the hardware. I would assume 898 cars had very specialized bolts (and nuts for that matter) - as I know they are unique on L-29's, V-12's and 851 and 852 cars (mostly having N's, W's 30's O's on the heads). The parts books are also very specific about bolt thread/length, if it has a washer, a lockwasher, and .... And, amazingly an 851/852 with marked hardware done in parkerized finish looks much more "at home" than the one parked next to it displaying all stainless from the corner hardware store. I know it gets overwhelming (and is a thankless task) to get one on the money, though a worthy challenge and Curt Schulze is reproducing the hardware for 851 and 852 cars and much interchanges.

Excellent about original Date Plates.

I have been buying my engine paints from Stan Gilliland and have been very pleased with paint quality and color. www.auburncordparts.com/Auburn_C ... /Home.html

The judges do not take off points for a less than perfect dataplate or engine tag. Beat up generator, starter and distributor tags are another matter.

Of the original engine tags and dataplates that I have, about half are lined up nicely. (they nust have used a tool to gang punch them) and the other half are the durnken sailor variety.

Does ACD club take off points for original data plates and engine plates that are not perfect ? If Club does it is possibly a point that needs re-thinking.

And, Curt and I always joke about the drunken sailor that stamped the numbers on the plates, engines, and frames (rare to ever see a number all lined up in an even row ? some do exist though). This engine plate seems a fine example of what is commonly found.

RandyEma wrote: Engine rebuilders had std colors they used when and after they rebuilt an engine to help id that they did the work . The engine from a rebuilder in S. Calif would have hot tanked the motor so you would have no old color remaining. Randy

This sounds very reasonable. I will go for the original olive green. Unfortunatly I already purchased the Bill-Hirsch paint, which seems to be wrong.

BTW, Randy: I found a cent coin from the early seventies in the RH frame rail (probably a left over from the accident - see my restoration thread). Is it yours? If you like I will send it back to you <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: -->

Curt Schulze wrote:

GIVNER wrote: Why wouldnt you use the original engine tag??

AMEN to that Joel!

I will use the original tag, of course.
I purchased the repro 3 years ago together with a new (original missing) body tag. I only wonder about the different design.

Don't have the engine block decked either if that will remove the engine number. Only deck if absolutly necesary.
CORDially Mike

GIVNER wrote: Why wouldnt you use the original engine tag??

AMEN to that Joel!

Why wouldnt you use the original engine tag??

Engine rebuilders had std colors they used when and after they rebuilt an engine to help id that they did the work . The engine from a rebuilder in S. Calif would have hot tanked the motor so you would have no old color remaining. Randy

auburn653 wrote: I would tend to think this was a repaint of a rebuild, not factory, as the Lycoming name plate is painted over.

May be, but in this case the old paint has been removed perfectly by sand blasting. And I wonder why anybody painted the engine blue?

BTW: The new repro engine tag is different. Not original? Another year?

I would tend to think this was a repaint of a rebuild, not factory, as the Lycoming name plate is painted over.
I would venture to say originally, the engines were painted prior to id tag being applied.. otherwise, we wouldn't ever see any brass with black background.

I just removed the old paint of the Lycoming engine of my 1931 8-98.
I only found a light blue color everywhere. Not the smallest sign of olive green.
Anybody knows if there were Auburn engine painted light blue original?
Possibly this engine comes from another year or another model or make?









Thanks
Andreas