Parts Colors

Original Color	Part
Black (See Note below)	Starter Generator Distributor body Carburetor body Engine under (splash) pans Emergency brake-rod body Oil filler tube (Note:1) Radiator and surrounding metal Transmission
Dark Blue Gray	Engine body Head Bell housing Water pump Water pump pulley Side cover Valve cover Valve Cover acorn nuts Fan Blade Oil Filler Tube (1) See Note Below Spark plug wire brackets Generator pulley Generator bracket Generator brace Harmonic balancer Exhaust manifold Intake manifold Intake/Exhaust manifold clamps Spark advance cable bracket Oil distributor Flywheel cover Oil gauge line bracket that attaches to the flange on the engine block behind the oil distributor
Bare metal	Fuel pump Cowl Body Tag
Nickel Plated	Emergency brake handle, Pawl rod, and pawl 2-Front Door handles and escutcheon plates (shallow height) 2-Front window handles and escutcheon plates (deeper height) 2-Rear window handles and escutcheon plates (deeper height) 4-Gauge bezels 1-Smoking Case and Ashtray 1-Accelerator Foot rest (or unfinished steel) 1-Seat adjustment handle 2-Detachable Pillar escutcheon plates (Landau)
Chrome Plated	Headlight wiring cable (or Stainless) 2-Outside door handles 1-Outside Trunk handle 5-Handle ferruls 1-Radiator shell 1-Lower radiator ring 1-Crank hole cover 1- Stone guard 4-6 Hubcaps 2-Headlights 1-Headlight bar 4-Headlight bar acorn nuts 1-Wiper motor (Landau)
Black Background	Generator Tag Starter Tag Distributor Tag

NOTES:
Glossy Black verses Flat Black	A note regarding the gloss vs. dull paint; there actually wasn't any dull (flat black) paint used in 1931, since everything was glossy, including the frame. From what I was able to find out, flat black had not been invented yet
Oil Filler Tube	(Note: 1) There is some discussion as to the actual color of the oil filler tube. Skip feels that it's Gray. Most of the Chevy literature shows the oil filler tube as engine color. But a lot of people (in the midwest or east coast) swear that they've seen original cars which had black ones. Because of these variations it would appear that either black or engine color would be correct! I have an original car which has one painted factory black. The jury is still out on this one!
Engine Painting Scheme	From: Skip Geear To: Bill Barker Date: Thursday, April 27, 2000 8:51 PM Subject: Re: 1931 Chevrolet engine colors and stuff Hi Ya Billy! Okay, now picture this! The 1931 engines were completely assembled with all parts except for the generator, carburetor, starter and distributor. Everything else, including the manifolds, were already on the engine, and then they painted it! Which means, that the exhaust manifold was also painted engine color (it immediately burned off when the engine was started), and the oil filler tube, as you know, was also attached to the pan with a bracket, so it would have been on the engine as well. Even the edges of the cork gaskets on the valve cover and the push rod cover were painted engine color! Look at the original factory film strips, and they show the oil filler tube as engine color. My all original 1932 Chevy as never been touched and I am second owner, and I have checked my oil filler tube and it is engine color. HOWEVER, some cars have been known to have a black oil filler tube, and the reason why is unknown. Maybe it was added after the engine was painted, or maybe it was replaced, or whatever, so a disclaimer would be correct to add to the above information, because there are variations. Also, remember that the correct engine color is a very Dark Blue Gray, and after a few years of use it looked almost black! I hope that this helps you! Skippy
Pulley Color?	Bill Barker wrote: Skipper,What color should the pulley on my 1931 Chevrolet generator be? I'd assume black since it was added after the engine was already painted. --- Bill Barker (Clueless in Seattle From: Skip Geear To: Bill Barker Date: Monday, May 01, 2000 12:20 PM Subject: Re: 1931 Chevrolet engine colors Hi Ya Billy! The color of the generator pulley should be engine color, Dark-Blue Gray. I really don't have a definite or logical answer as to why, and I have been trying to figure it out for years, but I have not come up with a common sense solution. In going through my original factory film strips for 1929 through 1932, I found a number of shots of the front of the engine with no radiator and in every view the pulley is painted engine color. I have also checked my original dealers album for 1932 (it has original factory photos and not artists renderings), and various other pieces of original literature from 1929 through 1932, and all of the literature showed the generator pulley as being painted engine color as well. My 1932 Special Sedan is totally all original (I am second owner) and untouched by human hands, and when I checked the color of the generator pulley on the car, it was Dark-Blue Gray! Also, I have rebuilt many, many 1929 through 1932 generators for fellows throughout the country, and I always check the generator pulleys when I'm cleaning them in the solvent tank and bead blaster. Most of the pulleys have been painted before, but, occasionally I do get a pulley that still has the original factory paint on it, and in every case the pulley was painted Dark-Blue Gray! The gray generator pulley just doesn't sound logical, but that's the way it has proven out over the years of checking! Skippy