Engine colour, 6 cylinder petrol

[BradfordS2]

Hi

What paint colour would the 6 cylinder have been finished in? Standard blue-green or another colour altogether?

Also, did they have an aluminium cylinder head?

I've owned many variants of Series Land Rovers but never owned a 6 cylinder!

Thanks for any answers and pics if possible!

[22900013A]

Standard colour.

Yes the head is alloy.

[diffwhine]

I thought that was only the Westlake head on US models?

[Alan Drover]

Checked with James Taylor's Series 3 book and all 6 pots had an alloy head and a light Admiralty Grey block.
I thought the Weslake head was only on the 3 litre versions.

[diffwhine]

Ah - that would make sense. I didn't have much to do with 6 pots despite owning two of them...

[island dormy]

    Hi

    My 69 nada dormobile engine was light grey from the factory with an aluminum Weslake head. But that was a high performance Nada, they might have been different?
I have not seen any other 6 cylinders.
The 811 Nada's built were all 2.6lts.

    Victor

[BradfordS2]

Thank you that's great. Very helpful pics too 

[James Ham]

I'd better paint mine grey then.  I had come to the conclusion, or had been informed, that they were the standard colour.  Is that the same grey as 2 litre engines?

Going off topic, I see in Victor's photo that the radiator is deeper.  Perhaps that would make sense as there's more engine to cool.  Mine, however, is a skinny one.  Any idea what was standard to a UK 6-cylinder in 1968?

[James Ham]

Here it is.  Hopefully not a replacement with a Series 3 one or something.

[diffwhine]

It is what is known as a Series 3 one, but in fact that radiator was introduced in 1968 / 1969, so could be correct.

[James Ham]

Ominously, in the parts catalogue 2.6L engines have a different part number for the rad, 577383.  Nothing much coming up online for that.  Only this lot in the states and it looks slender: https://ukarauto.com/cooling/14949-land-rover-radiator-br1174.html

[Calum]

Standard late 'round top' radiator on the Euro market 6-cylinders - don't forget the NADA vehicles came a year or so earlier than the Euro market versions and so had earlier features like the flat top radiator (obviously a 2.6 rad has the hose connections in different places to that of a 2.25 rad)

My 1967 2.6 was painted light admiralty grey and I repainted it as such when I rebuilt it. You could see several areas of the original paint, and only one owner before me so hadn't been touched (inside the valve chest was/is a cream colour)

[Craig T]

There is a 6 cylinder Land Rover engine in the British motor museum and that is painted the duck egg blue colour, same as the 4 pots.
After working for so long on my grey series one 2 litre engine it was a surprise to see it in blue.

Craig.

[jkhackney]

I have a 1970 Euro sixpot and used to have a 1973 S3 one.

Aluminum heads, both.

Both blocks are a bluish-green color on the outside. There was some discussion about this color on the old forum. I and some others found that it's greener than duckegg blue. Others were convinced it was the same as the 2.25L.

I never opened the S3 engine, but my IIA engine is admiralty grey inside, as well as beneath the timing and flywheel covers.

Here's a photo I took of the original paint under flourescent lights and with a flash. The white balance in the original looks too "blue" to me, my hand too purple. So I adjusted the colors in the 2nd photo to a warmer balance that corresponds more to my memory.

I repainted my IIA block in a poorly-matched minty green, so it's not a valid reference anymore, but it always looks fresh!

-Jeremy

[22900013A]

Euro sizes had the "narrow" radiator from introduction in 1967.