Originally posted by rogergarrison: Ill see if my production book has the Corvette colors, but I need the year you want. I gave all my Corvette restoration documents to a friend thats a Bloomington Gold Corvette Judge. It even told me what engine parts had overspray from the factory and where on the body the paint was skimpy, rough, or had runs.
1994 Corvette with LT4 RPO.
The LT1 intake was unpainted. The LT4 intake was painted red (I think it might even be the exact same red as on the FIero) .The block, being iron, was painted black.
After a career in the auto industry, I have seen more undocumented 'running changes' than I can count. Most go undetected.by the buyer (in this case, the buyer would be Pontiac). It would be interesting to line up a dozen upper plenums at a Fiero flea market and see if they are all the same color.
I have never seen an OEM painted Fiero 2.8 intake or valve covers that varied from the red in hue. Every one I've ever seen, have all looked the same.
My books dont show that new. and like I said, I gave away all the Corvette restoration stuff. I assume an LT4 has a plastic intake ( I think everyone is these days) so I dont know about how they color them. So I dont have any answer for you. My latest book is 89, mostly because SW stopped issuing them with new model year. Its all on cmptr now.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 02-06-2014).]
My books dont show that new. and like I said, I gave away all the Corvette restoration stuff. I assume an LT4 has a plastic intake ( I think everyone is these days) so I dont know about how they color them. So I dont have any answer for you. My latest book is 89, mostly because SW stopped issuing them with new model year. Its all on cmptr now.
No, the LT4 intake was cast aluminum, same as the LT1 intake. It was better flowing and painted red, though, and was available 94-96. The switch to the LS1 was with the C5 in 97, and it had a plastic intake. I don't think any of the engines with plastic intakes were painted. They all got plastic covers to hide the fuel rails and injector/coil wiring.
Ill take your word for it. I wouldnt know an LT4 if I saw one myself. I dont know why they would paint it red other than bling. Manufacturers all generally leave alloy parts bare. Was that the year they had the blue/purple Corvette w/ red interior and yellow wheels ? If so, then I understand it being red It was like the paint shop threw up on them.
Ill take your word for it. I wouldnt know an LT4 if I saw one myself. I dont know why they would paint it red other than bling. Manufacturers all generally leave alloy parts bare. Was that the year they had the blue/purple Corvette w/ red interior and yellow wheels ? If so, then I understand it being red It was like the paint shop threw up on them.
The red paint was obviously for bling, but there are plenty of differences between the LT1 and LT4 internally as well. I was just curious if it was actually documented in the manual. The LT4 red intake paint, and the Fiero 2.8 red intake and valve cover paint were both conscious decisions that lasted the entire life span of the production of those engines. And the top of the Fiero intake is clearly machined in a way that suggests very intentional painting and improvement to the presentation of the engine in the bay, that was in the design of the intake from the start.
Oh, I totally forgot about this one as well. The turbo 4 cylinder in the Sunbird GT also got the red paint treatment. I think it's also the same color as the Fiero 2.8's engine.
And the Fiero GT was the only Pontiac with the GT badge until 1986 when the Sunbird GT came out. Pontiac was also getting into the "We Build Excitement!" advertising at that time, and as the historic racing breed of GM, they wanted to push that image. Red paint on the highly visible Fiero intake, and the intake/valve cover on the turbo 4 cylinder in the Sunbird would certainly have helped them sell that image at the time. Red was a big part of the Pontiac branding.