but the thing is .....

1969 340s were assembled & painted at the WINDSOR engine assembly plant - they had NO need for orange paint (the ORANGE engines * 383HP & 440HP * were built at Trenton & * HEMI * at Marysville)

Chrysler Blue engine paint was NEW for 1970 on low performance 318/383-2bbl/non-HP c-body 440s

there is NO good reason for a Chrysler Blue '69 340 to exist that one would want to copy in a restoration (mistake/repair/other/??)

It will go down as one of the great mysterys of our lifetime. Civilizations will rise and fall over this journey into the unknown. Any who paint their engine blue will be ridiculed and banished to the X brands for life.

My 69 GTS 340, and yes it is blue:

BTW, its EW340P26690176

Build date 17th November 1968.

Gorsky, is that factory original paint? Are those headers and a spool type engine mounts? What's the story on the car?

The engine is now in a Charger.

Someone hand painted the top of the engine red, but the bottom is all still original blue. I've scraped paint off down to bare metal, it's blue.

Can you post a pic of the assembly stamping on the face of the block (drivers side)

Sure.

Sunday, Nov 17th, 1968

Yeah I know.

I posted that info further up the page

Hmmmm, odd date to be painted anything but turqoise

Who knew the factory had guys punching out engines on Sundays?

The blue may be a Sunday thing...it's a mystery, to be sure.

Maybe they forgot to "stir" the paint before they used it..8*)

Does this Swinger look to have a blue engine? Of course I don't know if it is original.

http://www.siriuscad.com/dart/dart/Picture_Gallery.html#12

Can't say I have seen one without rear arm rests!

Looks like the throttle spring is painted too, where they? Mine is not, could be a paint over years ago. I have the cheapo 70 Duster with no rear armrest if that means anything.

Seen lots of Dusters without rear arm rests, not too many 67-69 Darts.

That engine paint isn't virgin, there is blue paint on the PCV hose, plug wires, etc. I'd bet they repainted it years ago and that shade of blue was the only one available in rattle cans.

My 69 Swinger with low grade interior.

Is anyone documenting the SPD's to narrow down when engines went from turquoise to blue? This gold GTS is blue, this swinger 340 is turquoise (though it appears the motor may have been apart).

I have a 69 340 that I haven't verified what it came out of (dart/Cuda) and its obviously a turquoise motor. How ever, the 340 swinger I currently have is a late build and I want to paint the original color. Unfortunately the previous owner blasted everything and no original color was left, then he painted it orange...then black. SPD is 709.




http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Dart-/162162073503?forcerrptr=true&hash=item25c19cdf9f:g:wmUAAOSwU-pXp9Ao&item=162162073503



http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/thre...atching.355933/

Mine's turquoise with pink spots. SPD 11/8/68. This is driver side behind the heat shield.

The paint is original factory. Maybe the exhaust manifold cooked the paint to pink in the center, which would be medium, steak-wise.