Two related Dagenham-built vee engines: the V4 of 1965 to 1977 in the Corsair, Transit, Zephyr 4, Capri 2000GT and Consul, and the V6 of 1966 to 1988 in the Zephyr and Zodiac, the Capri 3000 and the Granada, and in TVRs, Scimitars and other specialist cars. Owners describe both as black from new and a blue one as a Ford exchange engine. The exception is the Capri RS3100, whose rocker covers were painted blue to mark it out.
Also known as: Essex V4, Essex V6, Dagenham V4, Dagenham V6
One statement about the V4 itself was found, and it is one word long: black, for a 1969 Transit. It agrees with what owners say of Ford of Britain engines of these years generally, and nobody offers another colour for a V4 that was not a reconditioned engine. That is thin, and the record is graded C for it. The same member gives the Transit's air filter box as black. Recorded as gloss because no source states a sheen; the people who give a sheen for other Ford engines of these years say satin, which is why a satin black is listed first. The engine's article also lists the Mk1 Granada from March 1972 with no end date; that row is left out until its dates are established. The blacks listed are general engine blacks, not matched to anything.
Sources
forum:Ford Transit Forum: mk1 engine original color? — The owner of a 1969 Transit asks whether its Essex V4 was black, blue or something else. A long-standing member answers black, and black again for the air filter box
forum:PistonHeads, TVR Classics: Painting an Essex V6 — Two owners state it as the rule for Ford engines that blocks and heads were black from new and that genuine factory reconditioned units were blue all over. The thread is about the V6; the rule is stated for Ford UK engines generally
community:Wikipedia, Ford Essex V4 engine — Capacities of 1,663 cc and 1,996 cc, built at Dagenham from 1965 to 1977, and its years in each Ford: the Corsair from 1965 to 1970, the Transit Mk1 from 1965, the Zephyr 4 Mk4 from April 1966 to December 1971, the Capri 2000GT from March 1969 to March 1974 and the Consul from March 1972 to July 1974. Says nothing about colour
community:Wikipedia, Ford Corsair — The range changed to the Essex V4 in September 1965 and kept it until the Corsair ended in 1970
History
2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-10-01 · Sources read again and checked against the record. A Transit owners' thread that answers the question for the V4 itself added; the draft had nothing specific to this engine. Model years taken from the engine's article in place of its whole span; the Granada row removed until its dates are established. Satin and gloss engine blacks added as matches. Published
Not flagged as disputed. The one different account in the thread is the questioner's own memory of unpainted engines with black rocker covers, offered as a question and answered by three owners with black. If his memory is right about anything it is the alloy timing cover and inlet manifold, which nobody contradicts; treat those as probably unpainted and unconfirmed. Two of the three who say black are speaking from memory, and none describes original paint on an engine in front of him, so this is consensus without a specimen. Red rocker covers and a red plenum on a turbocharged Essex are described as Broadspeed's finish on its own conversions, so a red-topped Essex is not necessarily a wrong repaint. The engine was built until 1988 for the Transit and for other makers' cars; the table lists the Ford cars whose dates were established, and the Transit's dates with the V6 were not. Recorded as gloss because no source states a sheen. The blacks listed are general engine blacks, not matched to anything.
Sources
forum:PistonHeads, TVR Classics: Painting an Essex V6 — Asked what colour an Essex was from new, three owners answer black for the block and heads: one from memory of Ford engines of the time, one saying Ford UK engines were always black from new. Two of them add that genuine factory reconditioned units were blue, down to the spark plugs and the oil filter. The owner asking remembers the engines as unpainted apart from black rocker covers and perhaps heads, with the timing covers and inlet manifold in bare alloy. A Broadspeed-turbocharged engine is remembered in a red wine colour; its present owner says little paint is left on its block but that its rocker covers and plenum cover are Broadspeed red
community:Wikipedia, Ford Essex V6 engine (UK) — Capacities of 2.5, 3.0, 3.1 and 3.4 litres, built at Dagenham from 1966 to 1988, and the Ford and specialist cars it was fitted to. Says nothing about the colour of the standard engine
community:Wikipedia, Ford Zephyr — The Mk4 Zephyr 6, Zodiac and Executive of 1966 to 1972, with the Essex V6 at 2,495 cc and 2,994 cc
community:Wikipedia, Ford Capri — The 3.0 litre Essex in the Mk1 from September 1969, in the Mk2 from 1974 to 1978 and in the Mk3 from 1978 to 1981, after which the 2.8 Injection replaced it
community:Wikipedia, Ford Granada (Europe) — The Mk1 Granada of 1972 to 1977, and the Consul sold beside it, with the Essex V6 at 2.5 and 3.0 litres; the Mk2 used the Cologne V6 in its place
History
2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-10-01 · Sources read again and checked against the record. One source removed: the draft cited a second PistonHeads thread as showing that blue belonged to refurbished engines, and what it holds is an owner about to repaint his own block asking for a match to the blue Ford used. The remaining thread's summary corrected: the owner who says little paint is left on his block is describing a Broadspeed turbo engine, not doubting the black. Model years taken from each model's own article in place of the engine's span; the Mk2 Granada removed, since it used the Cologne V6. Satin and gloss engine blacks added as matches. Published
The one colour difference on an Essex that the sources describe as Ford's own decision, and a record of its own because only the rocker covers differed. No source gives a shade, a name or a code for the blue, and none is guessed here, so no paint is listed. With 250 cars built, an original unfaded cover is rare enough to be a reference sample. Recorded as gloss because no source states a sheen. The cars were built in late 1973 and sold into 1974.
Sources
community:RS Capris: RS3100 information — An enthusiast's site on the RS Capris. It gives the engine as the 3000 V6 bored out to 3090 cc and says the rocker covers were always painted blue, with the exception of one car built before the rest, which it takes to be a pre-production car and which had black covers. 250 were built, 249 of them at Halewood in November 1973, and 50 were exported to Australia in mid 1974
community:Wikipedia, Ford Essex V6 engine (UK) — Says the 3.1 litre engine of the Capri RS3100 had blue rocker covers to distinguish it from the usual 3.0, and that 250 cars were built for homologation in 1973 and 1974
History
2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-10-01 · Source read again and checked against the record; a second, independent source added, which also records black covers on one early car. Published
Black, as far as anyone who has stripped one will say. In a PistonHeads thread about painting an Essex V6, three owners say the block and heads were black from new, and two of them add that the blue ones are Ford's factory reconditioned engines, blue on every part.
For the V4 there is one statement, and it is one word long. The owner of a 1969 Transit asked a Transit forum whether his Essex V4 had been black, blue or something else. A long-standing member answered black, and black again when asked about the air filter box. That agrees with what owners say of Ford of Britain engines of these years in general, including the Kent crossflow and the Pinto.
No factory document, parts book or club technical page saying any of this was found. Both block records are graded C for that reason. Neither has a sourced sheen: gloss is this site's default when nothing states one, and the people who do give a sheen for other Ford engines of the period say satin.
What changed, and when
The V4 ran from 1965 to 1977 at 1,663 cc and 1,996 cc. It replaced the Kent in the Corsair in September 1965 and went into the Transit from its launch, the Zephyr 4 from 1966, the Capri 2000GT from 1969 and the Consul from 1972. The V6 followed in 1966 in the Mk4 Zephyr and Zodiac, then the Capri 3000 from September 1969 and the Granada from 1972. Ford's last car with it was the Capri 3.0, which gave way to the 2.8 Injection after 1981. Dagenham went on building the engine until 1988, and TVR, Marcos, Gilbern and Reliant all bought it.
One colour change inside that span is described as a deliberate factory decision. The 3.1 litre engine built for the Capri RS3100 had its rocker covers painted blue to tell it apart from the ordinary 3.0. A site about the RS Capris says they were always blue, with one exception: a car built before the rest, probably pre-production, whose covers were black. Only 250 cars were built, nearly all of them in November 1973. No source gives a shade or a code for the blue.
Common mistakes
Blue. As with the Kent, a blue Essex is much more likely to be a Ford exchange engine than a factory finish, and the owners who say the engines were black say so in the same breath. Blue paint tells you where the engine has been.
Red is the opposite mistake. A turbocharged Essex with burgundy red rocker covers and plenum is described in the same thread as Broadspeed's own finish on its conversions. Stripping that back to black in the name of originality would remove the evidence of what the engine is.
Painting everything. The owner who started the thread remembers the timing cover and the inlet manifold as bare alloy. Nobody contradicts him on that, though nobody confirms it either.
What to buy
Black engine enamel for the block and heads. Nothing is matched to a Ford reference because there is none, and black has no shade to get wrong, so choose on heat rating and finish. A satin black is listed first on each record because satin is the sheen given for other Ford engines of these years. Engine enamel explains the ratings, and you can compare the black engine enamels in the shop.
For RS3100 rocker covers we list nothing. Nobody has published a shade for the blue, and with so few cars built, a tin chosen by name would be a guess on a car where the guess matters. Match to an original cover.
Exhaust manifolds need a different paint altogether. Very high temperature coatings covers what survives there, and the preparation guide covers the cleaning that decides whether any of it stays on.
What is disputed
Nothing on this page is flagged as disputed, and that is a judgement about the evidence, not a sign of confidence. No source names a colour other than black for the block and heads of a standard Essex. Three people saying so, two of them from memory, is thin. It is also all there is, and nobody describes original paint on an engine in front of him.
The owner who asked the question remembers the engines as unpainted apart from black rocker covers. Three people answer him with black blocks and heads, and he does not argue. If someone with an untouched Essex reports bare iron under the dirt, the record should be flagged then.
Finding original paint on your own engine
The V6 is a good engine for this because it has plenty of sheltered geometry. Look inside the vee, under the inlet manifold and its gasket faces, behind the alternator and dynamo brackets, and around the bellhousing flange. Those are the last places to be wire-brushed and the least likely to have been sprayed by a previous owner working with the engine in the car.
Cut down through the layers in one small protected patch, and record what you find in order. Blue over black is a reconditioned engine. Black over bare iron, with no blue, is the closest thing to a factory sample this family has, and if you find one it is worth more to this page than any of the sources cited on it.
For an RS3100, the blue rocker covers are the thing to preserve. So few were built that an original, unfaded cover is a reference sample. Have it measured before you touch it, and tell us what the reading was.
Every record above has a correction link. Applied corrections are logged on the record and on the changelog with their source and date.