Dodge Performance Engine Block Colors Over the Years

Majority of Dodge engines have been orange, but blue, red, and yellow are in the mix as well.

The odds are good that if you look under the hood of many Dodge muscle cars from the 1960s, 1970s or the modern era, the engine block will be painted orange. Orange has been the most commonly-used color for Mopar engine blocks dating back to the 1960s, so even in situations where the engine came in some color other than orange, Mopar fans have often painted the block orange during a build project.

Dodge’s official blog site The Dodge Garage recently did a piece detailing the various engine block colors offered on the older models. While a few different orange hues have been used to cover the engine block, there have also been blue, black and yellow engine blocks on older models along with a bright red engine block in the modern era.

Mopar’s Oranges

First up, we have the two main orange hues offered on Dodge performance cars from the past 50 years.

The first and most famous orange is Race Hemi Orange, Mopar part number P4120751 (above). This color was featured on the 1962 through 1964 Max Wedge engines the 1964 and 1965 426 Hemi racing engines and the 413- and 426-cubic inch cross-ram truck engines.

This is also the color featured on the modern Hemi engines, including the 5.7-, 6.1-, 6.4- and original 6.2-liter Hellcat engines in the Charger and Challenger. In the picture above of the engine in my own Hellcat Challenger, you can see the Hemi Orange valve covers and for comparison, my oil catch can is painted the modern Go Mango to match the exterior.

The other orange hue is known as Street Hemi Orange, Mopar part number P4349216. This color was used on the Mopar performance street engines from 1966 through 1971. This included the high performance versions of the 383- and 440-cubic inch V8 wedge engines, as well as the 426-cubic inch Hemi. This is the color that became known as “Hemi Orange”, even though mopar Hemi engines over the years were painted with the earlier orange shade.

Other Alternatives

While orange is the most popular color for the engine block of a Dodge performance vehicle, there are a handful of other colors used over the years.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, the majority of the go-fast engines from Dodge were painted Aluminum Silver, Mopar part number P4120751. This color was also used on the earlier flathead-six engines.

While the high performance versions of the 383 and 440 were painted Street Hemi Orange, the other big block V8s from 1962 through 1971 were painted Turquoise Rising, Mopar part number P4120752 (below).

There was also another variation of blue engine paint used in the late 1960s on a handful of small block engines that has not been reproduced, so there is no modern Mopar part number. This color was unique from Turquoise Rising, even though the two look similar when the engines get a little dirty.

Dodge trucks in the 1963 through 1969 model years could be ordered with a “Slant 6” inline-six engine and that engine was painted bright yellow. That color is evidently so rare that Dodge Garage doesn’t have a picture of it, and we don’t either.

While the engine in the original Hellcat Hemi that was introduced for the 2015 model year is Street Hemi Orange, the supercharged Hemi in the 2018 Demon and the 2019 Hellcat Redeye is painted bright red. Along similar lines, the Hellcat and Demon engines have uniquely painted valve covers, with the 707- and 717-horsepower engines having orange valve covers, the 797-horsepower Hellcat Redeye has black valve covers and the 840-horsepower Demon has bright red valve covers that match the engine block. If you look closely at the image of the Redeye supercharged engine below, just behind the green blower belt, you can see a few bits of the engine block in red, but from the top, it is hard to see the engine block color of the modern supercharged Hemis.

Finally, while it isn’t as interesting as all of the bright colors listed above, many Dodge vehicles have come with a black-painted engine block, Mopar part number P4120753. This includes the four-cylinder powerplants as well as the 318- and 360-cubic inch V8s that were offered from the 1980s until they were replaced by the modern Hemi engines.

Photos: The Dodge Garage (classic Dodge engine images), Patrick Rall (modern Dodge engine images)

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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