I am about to put my freshly rebuilt 1977 360 back in my Warlock and I am going to freshen up the transmission housing with some nice durable aluminum paint (yes I know they were not factory painted) but I need to know what color, if any, the transmission drain pain was painted? If they were I cannot remember...... HELP!

They weren't painted. Use "cast aluminum" paint on the trans for a more stock look.

There was a lot of stuff under the car that was never painted. Think they'd waste paint on something that no one would ever see?

R.

I like the rebuilders cast paint I prefer the cast gray but that is just a personal preference
http://www.plastikote.com/products/Specialty/Rebuilders-Cast-Finish.html

Thanks for the idea. I was also thinking of gun metal grey also.

Well if Mother Mopar would not "waste" paint on things people would not see then why did they paint the engine oil pan and the frame bottoms and other underneath items!

Oil pan was painted when the rest engine was. Frame was dipped for rust prevention. Trans didn't need painting because it was aluminum so why spend the time or money painting the pan separately.

If you were in the process of completely restoring your 37 year old truck and the engine is going to be like "NEW", would you bolt up an old gungy looking transmission to it? True, originally the trans was not painted but after 37 years of road grime, grease, fluids and use it will never look new again without a decent coating of a good durable paint. It has been completely rebuilt internally so the outside deserves to look just as good. I no not what you would choose to do if it was yours but for me a few extra dollars to make my old Dodge truck look good is worth it no matter how it was done 37 years ago!

Lighten up. Nobody said don't paint it. Your question was what was it painted originally, the answer was "nothing".

I paint everything that I put back together because I like the neat appearance. But I am not restoring to "factory new appearance" either.

So if I want to paint the block black, I go ahead and do it. If the valve or cam covers get painted aluminum color, it's because I think it contrasts the black nicely.

And if my newer truck engine is a bright gold color, it's because there were three spray cans in that color in the Clearance section at Walmart!

R.

I paint my transmissions and engines black. But that's just me.

Once you've had to clean a few hundred unpainted cases you'll realize the value of painting them. Paint seals the pores of the casting so crud won't stick to them as tenaciously.