Upper intake and valve cover finish? Whats correct?

[86FHPssp]

I own 4 foxbody's now, (2) 88's, a 90 GT, and a 93 GT. I also had a 86 5.0 SSP, and a 89 LX 5.0. The color of the 86-88 upper intakes were a brighter silver stock it seems vs. The 89-93 that seemsto have a darker color on them, almost gray. The valve covers on my 86-88 had just the raw aluminum. My 89,90, and 93 had the weird gray/silver coating on them. BUT..I have seen 89's that had the raw aluminum valve covers also. Another thing...when did the black cover on the front of the intake stop coming on them?

[slickshift]

I was hoping to add the '86 upper plenum color to the Official Rattle Can Paint Guide thread
I have three "silver/gray"s to try and match the '86 color
I haven't found any reference to a good match so far so I was going to wing it while there was still some original paint left on mine
I wouldn't call it bright silver though, is your SSP intake original?

I may be able to start testing in a week or so, we'll see how the rest of the project comes along
I'm hoping the fact that it's aluminum won't be a problem

At some point '90-'93, probably '91 they started clearcoating the upper
Not sure of any actual color change around that time, as the same original color in a clearcoated vs. non-clearcoated upper would certainly show a difference after 15 years
Could very well have been a color change in there also

[86FHPssp]

My 89 had clear coat also. I'll have to look for some hig res pics of low mileage cars. Over time the heat I'm sure makes a difference too. Yes, my 86 and my 88 both had original intakes. Actually, every 5.0 I have bought has had the stock stuff intact oddly enough. I have never owned a 5.0 that did not have the silencer still intact! Also, every 5.0 but one had original paint too...lol

[black86capri50]

my upper intake was yellow on mine, kinda like old schellac, but i guess that is not the right color


j/k i thought they all got yellow with time

[Kevins89notch5.0]

I have a BUNCH of stock engine pictures I've been saving from ebay, but I haven't been saving them accoring to what year they are. :( Guess I'm not much help.

[StangBoy]

the one on my 86 was bare aluminum.

[86FHPssp]

I have a BUNCH of stock engine pictures I've been saving from ebay, but I haven't been saving them accoring to what year they are. :( Guess I'm not much help.

You can tell the 86 by the intake plate at least. 87-89 will not have the airbag sensors in front either...

[slickshift]

the one on my 86 was bare aluminum.
Are you sure it wasn't aluminum colored paint?
Unless you really looked you wouldn't necessarily notice
What was the build date on that '86?

[slickshift]

the one on my 86 was bare aluminum.
The upper?
Are you sure it wasn't aluminum colored paint?
Unless you really looked you wouldn't necessarily notice
What was the build date on that '86?

[StangBoy]

the one on my 86 was bare aluminum.
The upper?
Are you sure it wasn't aluminum colored paint?
Unless you really looked you wouldn't necessarily notice
What was the build date on that '86?dunno about the build date but the intake is now white. i thought it was funny toowhen i was painting it but you could see where the throttle cable had been rubbing on it and you should tell there was no paint on it.

[roadburner]

If you like, I can try to get some pics of stock intakes. I have the original 100k+ 86, a 100k+ 88 and a sub-6k 89 along with an unknown 94/95 I could document. From memory, I can tell you the 88 was a lighter color upper, but i doubt raw alum. The 89's upper is a much darker metallic looking gray. This car hasn't seen much sunlight nor a single heat cycle since 1989, so it should be close to original. I'll look at the valvecovers on it as well to see if there are any differences. So far all of the one's i've had have been a coated like cast alum.