Just trying to check if anyone knows specifically what colour the engine block and air filter would have been on the 1 1/2 litre 1948 Mk IV when it left the factory? I thought it was green on the engine and black on the big air filter box, but I’ve also seen photos of all black but don’t know if these where colour changes during restoration. Thanks.
Here are what mine appeared like when I purchased it.
Car had been in the same family since new and had been off the road since 1970.
May or may not be of help.
Regards, Jordy
Black and black would be my take on it.
Peter
Looking on saloondata:
430209 engine seems to be green
410915 engine seems to be black
411227 engine seems to be green
411544 engine seems to be black
413158 has a gray air cleaner and brown or rust block in the pre-restored photo
413334 has pix of a black and a red engine, both unrestored
413776 has a lot of pix but appears to have been haphazardly repainted so better call it questionable authenticity
413985 has a green engine but might be an old restoration
414492 has a black air cleaner
414747 has a black engine and black air cleaner in the pre-restoration photos
I’m ignoring all cars that are restored, including those with red and purple engines.
Bearing in mind that these engines came from Standards so may have been painted according to Standard’s standards. The air cleaners were probably painted by AC (the filter maker, not the car maker).
How’s that for a non-answer? 
That’s my problem - lots of different photos !! Not sure if that is down to the year or even month date of manufacture and changes in the paint stock that Standard had in their store room, or if they all were off the production line in one colour and changed by owners over the years.
My engine is currently black with a black air filter. I have taken some paint off them - the air filter seems to be black down to the bare metal (so this will go back to black), but the engine has an under paint colour below the black of a light shade of green. I need to establish if this green is the genuine colour to restore the engine or if this was simply an undercoat primer.
Whilst I guess it would be OK to paint in either colour of black or green (looking at what other people have in their photos) I thought that whilst I was restoring the engine I would like to honour the original factory build if possible.
Any definitive information would be much appreciate. Thanks.
Alan Logan is a current owner but also had one or two 1½ litres back in the 1960s.
I asked him:“What colour were the engines of your unrestored 1½ litres from the the past?”
His reply was: “From memory black or unpainted.”
Peter
I assumed they were black, but I have seen a few in green that made me wonder. The red ones I have assumed were the factory team 1 1/2 litre team cars for Le Mans.
But speaking
of air cleaners The 2 1/2 and 3 1/2s had a tecalemit stick , a transfer , on each one , Being a transfer most did n’t last long . But I did manage to find one and clean up the image and have some made , Similar tiems i think wer ein MG TCs [ similar air cleaners too , bot only similar.
Black seems to be the one to go for on the engine, and I will do the air filter in black as well. Thanks for the information everyone.