Standard wet-liner four engine colours

The Standard Vanguard's wet-liner four, tuned for the TR2 in 1953 and carried through the TR3, TR3A, TR3B, TR4 and TR4A. Owners say black and argue about the sheen; one says his TR4A block is green, and the same engine wore grey in a Ferguson tractor, which is where some of the confusion comes from.

Also known as: Standard wet liner inline-four, Vanguard four, TR four, 1991, 2138

Records

Black

Standard wet-liner four 1991 and 2138 · 1953–1967 · block, semi-gloss

Awaiting measurementC · Community consensusDisputedLast verified 2026-09-20

Not yet measured. The patch will appear once a spectrophotometer reading is recorded.

What is disputed

Two disputes, of very different weight. The first is the sheen. Semi-gloss is given by an owner who bought a TR4 new in 1964 and by others for the TR3 and TR4; satin is given by another; a non-gloss black is argued on heat-transfer grounds; gloss is asserted by a poster who also describes the red model markings. One participant offers the reconciliation, that a period gloss black was duller than a modern gloss and close to today's semi-gloss, which would make several of these people agree without knowing it. The record is entered as semi-gloss as the most-supported answer. The second dispute is the colour itself, and it rests on one man: in a separate thread an owner asks whether the block is not supposed to be green and says his own TR4A is. Nobody in that thread answers him, and nothing else found supports green on a TR. Two things could explain it without his being wrong about what he saw. The same engine wore grey in the Ferguson TE20 tractor, so a non-black finish on a Standard four is not unthinkable; and the family's earliest ancestors are said to have been offered in several colours including a Lumina Green in 1949, before this engine reached a TR. Neither of those is evidence for a green TR4A. The claim is recorded because one owner made it about his own car and no source read here refutes it. A third dispute, and the best-evidenced of them, is red. In the Triumph Register of America thread an owner of an early TR3 that is original down to its mouse-chewed interior cleans the engine and finds it about one third red and two thirds black, with a red TR2 designation in the right place on the block. Another member of the same forum says he has heard of red engines in the TR3B range and blue ones elsewhere, and of unconfirmed talk that particular colours went on factory rebuilt engines. Against that, the most originality-minded voice in the thread says he has never seen an unrestored TR with anything but a black block and that Triumph painted every engine on the line black. The likeliest reading is that a previous owner painted the accessible side red and gave up, which is what one participant suggests. It is not the only reading, and this record does not pretend it is settled.

Fitted to

Model	Years
TR2	1953–1955
TR3	1955–1957
TR3A	1957–1962
TR3B	1962–1962
TR4	1961–1965
TR4A	1965–1967

Modern matches

Product	ΔE	Type	Where to buy
VHT Engine Enamel, Satin Black, 312 g aerosol	not measured	1K to 288 °C	Amazon UKUnited Kingdom · verified 2026-09-20
VHT Engine Enamel, Gloss Black, 312 g aerosol	not measured	1K to 288 °C	Amazon UKUnited Kingdom · verified 2026-09-20
E-TECH Engine Enamel Paint Black A/Sol 400ml (manufacturer reference AEE01-BK) RX4097	not measured	1K to 250 °C	Amazon UKUnited Kingdom · verified 2026-09-17

Notes

No factory document, workshop manual page, parts book or club technical page stating a colour was reachable while drafting; every UK club site approached refused access, and the Triumph Experience, which holds most of the surviving discussion of this engine, sits behind a bot check. Everything here is restorer testimony from one forum, hence grade C. The most useful originality marker on this engine is not a colour: TR3 and TR4 blocks are said to have carried the model designation hand-painted on the side in orange, in letters of roughly an inch and a half, so the right engine reached the right car on the line. Accounts differ on whether the paint was orange or red, and owners report finding the residue on the side of the block; one places the letters on the manifold side. A published collector's guide is said to show them as though stencilled, while everyone who reports seeing an original describes brushwork, in one case looking finger-painted. One concours-winning owner scribed round the faint outlines on his block before repainting so that he could put them back exactly. The six-cylinder TR engines carried no such marking. The record's 1967 end year is derived from the TR5 entry's statement that TR5 production began in August 1967 with the TR4A as its predecessor; the TR4A's own end date is not recorded because the encyclopaedia entries read for this page contradict each other on it, one of them dating the end of TR4A production two years before the model was introduced. No plant is recorded: Coventry and Canley are where these cars were assembled and no source read here says where the engines were painted. Battleship grey on one of these engines points to a stage tune by SAH or TriumphTune rather than to the assembly line.

Sources

forum: British Car Forum: TR4/4A - Engine block color — Asked what colour a TR4 or TR4A block should be, owners answer black and then disagree about the sheen. One who bought a new TR4 in 1964 remembers semi-gloss black engines; another calls the original a satin black; a third argues the disagreement is about vocabulary, because 1960s gloss black was duller than a modern gloss and close to what would now be called semi-gloss. One restorer describes using semi-gloss on the block and gloss on the timing cover and pulleys as his own choice. Black is also claimed to shed heat better and to make leaks harder to spot on inspection. Rust-Oleum low gloss black and Eastwood engine enamel are named as products, and no factory document is cited by anybody
forum: Triumph Register of America forum: Engine block color on TR2/3 (read via the club's Tapatalk mirror) — An owner assembling a largely original early TR3 finds red paint under a black oil coating and, after cleaning, reports the block and head about one third red and two thirds black with a red TR2 marking in the correct place. A concours-winning owner replies that he has never seen an original unrestored TR with anything but a black block, that Triumph assembled the engines for all its car models on one line and painted them all black, and that large red-orange letters were then hand-painted on to show which TR the engine was for; he traced the faint letters on his own block before repainting it gloss black. A second owner reports finding orange or red residue on his block that resolved into a hand-painted TR4. A fourth says he has heard reports of red engines in the TR3B range and of blue ones at various points, and of talk that particular colours were applied to factory rebuilt engines, which he says has never been confirmed; he advises painting black and putting the red letters on the manifold side, and notes that a picture in Robson's collector's guide shows the letters as though stencilled while every one he has seen was brushed on
forum: British Car Forum: Painting engine block — In a thread of TR owners choosing paint for rebuilt blocks, one asks whether the main block is not supposed to be green, saying his own TR4A is; nobody in the thread answers him. Another poster repeats a story that parts were dipped in whatever cheap black paint the shop had, and says he cannot verify it
forum: British Car Forum: General TR - What color is original for engine parts? — Owners give semi-gloss black for the TR3 and TR4 blocks and distinguish it from flat black; one says the TRs were gloss black and had the model designation hand-marled onto the intake side in red
forum: British Car Forum: Engine color and paint? — A poster states all Triumph engines were originally semi-gloss black; others rule out flat black and argue that sheen varied between components. TR3 and TR4 engines are said to have carried a hand-painted model designation in orange, roughly inch-and-a-half letters, so the right engine reached the right car, and the six-cylinder engines are said to have carried no such marking. A tuning firm, SAH and later TriumphTune, painted its stage-tuned engines battleship grey. One poster also reports black, champagne, grey and a Lumina Green among engine colours offered on 1949 Triumphs, well before this engine reached a TR
forum: British Car Forum: Engine Color — In a thread on Triumph engine colour, a poster notes that Ferguson tractors, which used the same Standard Vanguard engine as the TR3, were grey; another argues for a non-gloss black on heat-transfer grounds and a third cites a published restoration guide for black
judging-standard: Vintage Triumph Register, Concours Judging Guidelines (rev. 2006) — The published VTR judging guidelines set out procedure, deductions and class rules but state no engine colour or sheen for any Triumph
community: Wikipedia, Standard wet liner inline-four engine — Gives the engine's capacities, including 1991 cc for the TR2, TR3 and TR3A and 2138 cc for the TR3B, TR4 and TR4A, its 1947 origin in the Ferguson TE20 tractor and its use in the Standard Vanguard; says nothing about colour
community: Wikipedia, Triumph TR2 — Gives TR2 production as 1953 to 1955 at Coventry with the 1991 cc Vanguard-derived engine tuned to 90 bhp
community: Wikipedia, Triumph TR3 — Gives the TR3 as 1955 to 1957, the TR3A as 1957 to 1962 with an optional 2138 cc engine from 1959, and the TR3B as 1962, assembled at Coventry
community: Wikipedia, Triumph TR4 — Gives TR4 production as 18 July 1961 to 6 January 1965 at Canley, Coventry with the 2138 cc engine, and says the TR4A superseded it in 1965 without giving the TR4A an end date
community: Wikipedia, Triumph TR5 — Names the TR4A as the TR5's predecessor and dates TR5 production from August 1967, which is where this record's 1967 end comes from; the same entry also states that TR4A production ended in July 1964, which cannot be reconciled with the TR4A starting in 1965
retailer: Rimmer Bros, Engine Enamel Paint Black Aerosol 400ml, part RX4097 — Catalogued by a Triumph specialist under Triumph accessories, primers and engine paints; a 1K ceramic-resin enamel rated to 250 C. A general black, not colour-matched to any Triumph reference, and the page cites no factory document

History

2026-09-05 · Draft researched from public sources; unverified
2026-09-17 · Amazon UK offer added for the E-TECH black engine enamel aerosol (ASIN B07VC99WQ7), verified on amazon.co.uk
2026-09-20 · Reviewed against its sources; satin and gloss engine blacks added as matches; published

Suggest a correction to this record

What the factory did

This engine did not start out as a sports car engine. It was designed for the Standard Vanguard and for the Ferguson TE20 tractor, and Standard tuned it for the TR2 in 1953. It stayed with the TR line, at 1991 cc and then 2138 cc, until the TR4A gave way to the six-cylinder TR5 in 1967.

No factory paint specification for it was found. The Vintage Triumph Register's concours guidelines, the only judging standard published openly, cover seven pages of procedure and deductions without naming an engine colour for any Triumph. Most of the surviving discussion of this engine sits on forums that are closed to anyone but members.

What owners say is black. An owner who bought a TR4 new in 1964 remembers semi-gloss black engines. Others give semi-gloss black for the TR3 and TR4. The strongest version of the claim comes from a concours-winning TR3 owner on the Triumph Register of America forum, who says he has never seen an original unrestored TR with anything but a black block, and that Triumph assembled the engines for all its car models on one line and painted the lot black. Nobody offers a document, so this is still a grade C record.

The more useful thing these owners agree on is not a colour at all. TR3 and TR4 blocks left the line with the model designation hand-painted on the side, in letters of roughly an inch and a half, so that the right engine went into the right car. Accounts differ on whether the paint was orange or red, and one owner places the letters on the manifold side. A published collector's guide is said to show them as though stencilled; everyone who has actually found them describes brushwork, in one case looking finger-painted. One owner scribed round the faint outlines on his own block before repainting, so he could put them back exactly where they had been.

That marking, not the black, is the best originality evidence this engine offers, and it is why a careless degrease can destroy more information than it reveals.

What changed, and when

The TR2 ran from 1953 to 1955 at 1991 cc, the TR3 from 1955 to 1957, and the TR3A from 1957 to 1962, with a 2138 cc option from 1959. The TR3B followed in 1962. The TR4 ran from July 1961 to January 1965 on 2138 cc, and the TR4A from 1965 until the TR5 replaced it.

Across those fourteen years nothing read for this page records a change of engine colour, and nothing distinguishes the 1991 cc from the 2138 cc engines in finish.

The TR4A's own end date is not recorded here. The encyclopaedia entries consulted contradict each other, one giving the TR4A no end date and another putting the end of its production in July 1964, two years before the model existed. The 1967 shown is derived from the start of TR5 production in August 1967. It is a boundary, not a record of when the last TR4A was built.

Common mistakes

Grey. It arrives from two directions. The same basic engine ran the Ferguson TE20, and Ferguson tractors were grey, as an owner points out in one of the threads read here. Separately, SAH and its successor TriumphTune finished their stage-tuned engines in battleship grey. Neither is a factory finish on a TR.

Degreasing before recording. A commercial decarbonising dip strips paint as well as grime, and on this engine it takes the hand-painted model letters with it.

Reading a tin as a document. The black engine enamel catalogued for these cars by a Triumph specialist is a general black filed under the marque, not a colour matched to any Triumph reference.

What to buy

Black engine enamel, and the only decision is the sheen. Semi-gloss is the finish owners cite most often for Triumph engines, so a satin black is the closest thing sold to the weight of the evidence. Gloss has its supporters too, including an owner who found it on original material, so neither choice is wrong on what is known today. Both are listed on the record above.

Nothing sold as "Triumph engine black" is matched to anything. It is a general black filed under the marque, and it is none the worse for that, because black has no shade to get wrong. Choose on heat rating and on the finish you want. Engine enamel explains the ratings, and you can compare the black engine enamels in the shop.

Most of the result comes from preparation. The preparation guide covers degreasing a cast iron block so the paint stays on.

What is disputed

The sheen, as everywhere on this marque. Semi-gloss is given by the owner who bought a TR4 new and by others for the TR3 and TR4. Satin is given by another. A non-gloss black is argued on the grounds that a duller surface sheds heat faster off the block, with the added claim that it makes leaks harder to spot on an inspection. Gloss is asserted by the poster who describes the red model markings. One participant offers the reconciliation that would make most of them agree: a 1960s gloss black was a duller thing than a modern gloss, and sits close to what would now be called semi-gloss. Semi-gloss is recorded as the most-supported answer, and the flag stays set.

Red, which has the best evidence of any non-black claim on this page. An owner assembling an early TR3 that is original down to its mouse-chewed interior cleaned the engine and found it about one third red and two thirds black, with a red TR2 designation in the correct place on the block. Another member of the same forum says he has heard of red TR3B engines and blue ones elsewhere, and of unconfirmed talk that particular colours went on factory rebuilt units. The most likely explanation, offered in the thread itself, is that somebody once painted the easy side red and stopped. That is probably right. It is not certain, and the red is recorded here rather than tidied away.

Green, which is a different and thinner problem. In one thread an owner asks whether the block is not supposed to be green, and says his own TR4A is. Nobody in that thread answers him. Nothing else found here supports green on any TR.

It would be easy to dismiss him, and this page does not. Two things make green less absurd than it sounds. The same engine wore grey in a tractor, so a Standard four in a colour other than black is not unthinkable. And one poster reports that Triumphs of 1949, well before this engine reached a TR, were offered with engines in black, champagne, grey and a Lumina Green. Neither of those is evidence for a green TR4A. They are reasons to go and look rather than to assume he had somebody's repaint. An unfaded original TR4A block would settle it in an afternoon.

Finding original paint on your own engine

Photograph the block before you touch it, and look for lettering on the side before you look for colour. Faded orange or red characters, an inch and a half tall, are the single best sign that what you are looking at has not been repainted since it left Coventry. Once a wire brush or a dip tank has been over it, that evidence is gone permanently.

For colour, work where paint was sheltered rather than where it looks thickest: under a bracket or clamp, on the underside of a mounting face, on the shielded flank of a boss. Cut back gently through the layers in one small protected patch and count them.

If what you find is green, this page would like to hear about it, with a photograph and the engine number. One owner's TR4A is currently the whole of the case, and one more sighting would change the record. The same goes for red on anything other than the letters.

Every record above has a correction link. Applied corrections are logged on the record and on the changelog with their source and date.