I had to remove the water pump on my '61 for rebuild, and I'm cleaning up the bolts, most of which have some rust. It looks like they had painted shafts. Is this done by the factory to reduce corrosion from the inevitable contact with coolant, or is it simply the result of a prior owner's efforts at detailing the engine, where the entire bolt got sprayed? If the former, I'm inclined to spray the shafts with some rust preventative paint instead of the normal Cadillac blue engine paint that is on the bolt heads.
What color were they if engine blue yes that was probably an owner.
The bolt shafts would not have paint on them from Cadillac. The engines are assembled at the factory before they are painted. Someone has had them out and painted them.
Paint the shafts with a rust preventive paint and then coat the shafts with anti-seize compound and the threads, if they go into water, with a Permatex non-hardening sealer, like my old can of Permatex 400. If they don't go into water, put anti-seize on the threads.
Torque all the bolts to specs.
It looks like the bolts were painted engine blue, and the bolt heads have definitely been repainted, so it would appear that someone just sprayed the entire bolt. I think I'll put a think coat of some kind of rust resistant pant on the shafts and leave it at that.