1957 312 lower bell housing cover paint color

[twstnshout]

Is the 312 lower bell housing cover painted ford red or black or unpainted?

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[doug7740]

In the pictures below you can see the color of my engine and Ford-o-Matic transmission. The finish of the transmission and bell housing was natural cast. This applies to the bell housings of the water-cooled transmissions as well as the earlier air-cooled transmission. The flywheel (flex plate) covers were painted black.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[twstnshout]

I have a 3spd overdrive transmission which has a much larger bottom piece on the bell housing. My feeling is it is painted black and the transmission unpainted

 

[doug7740]

The standard shift bell housing was in place when the engine was painted at the factory. The attaching hardware, the clutch lever and boot also received the red/orange paint

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[twstnshout]

Ok thanks the lower stamped piece is also red? Or is it black?

 

[doug7740]

There is nothing in the judging criteria that calls out the color for the inspection cover for either the manual or the automatic transmission. Since it does say "including the attaching hardware" for the manual transmission, I would go with the engine color.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue