air cleaner: is grey the new black?

[golf73]

i have a '73 sedan and the air cleaner is black. i have also seen other cars around the same vintage that had a light grey paint on them. wondering if there was a specific point in production where the factory changed from one to the other, or if it was just a matter of them using what was available?

mine could use stripping and repaint so i want to paint it back to whatever it's 'supposed' to be.

[quinnfiske]

I had 3 of these cars back when they were new (about the 1975-78 time frame). I had a 1968, 69 and a 70. All had light gray air cleaner housings.

[Arshloch]

What about the brake booster, I assume gray?

[John_in_VA]

The 1-bbl air cleaners I've seen have been gray; the 2-bbl ones have been black.

[peteinjp]

I remember that early suspension and subframe parts were gray as well.

[bmw_jeff]

The first year at least, 67, had a black air cleaner housing. Mine (original) is black and the factory brochure I have for 67 shows black. My '70 1600 had a light grey housing, but it looked like a repaint not original.

[InkaSteve]

1974 1802 single barrel solex.....GREY

1976 California 2002 2 barrel solex.....BLACK no pic.

[Harv]

What about the brake booster, I assume gray?

Brake boosters are black.

John

[Mike Self]

the earliest 1600s had black air cleaners, then sometime in late 67 or early 68 they changed to grey. All the single barrel Solex 2002s had grey air cleaners, and the two barrel ones were grey until 1975 (I think) when they reverted to black--definintely on the 76s, and I think 75s also. The lids were subtly different on these air cleaners--radial ribs while the earlier (grey) ones have smooth lids.

So...take your pick. Krylon makes a nice medium grey (smoke grey, I think) that's a great match for the factory grey paint.

mike

[InkaSteve]

So...take your pick. Krylon makes a nice medium grey (smoke grey, I think) that's a great match for the factory grey paint.

That is good info, I was wondering what would be a good match. Thanks.