my block is orange?

[Barnum]

Interesting indeed, as they have it listed as a 52. Also possible the engine just got painted blue somewhere along the way. Or the engine is from another car. Hard to say where it all went wrong

[joefrazer]

Complicating matters is the fact that Sears painted their remanufactured engines blue. The plot thickens...

[Barnum]

I had thought it was sears that did that...but wasn't sure,,,,,,what did Wards do ?

[rialto]

I think Wards painted their engines gold or possibly silver.

[MarkH]

Having an Aero that's pretty much assembled from leftovers, I wouldn't be surprised at anything, even a domestic car with an "export" engine.

I think I saw an export ad once saying the '54 hubcaps with the red pinstripe around the "W" were export hubcaps.

A couple years ago a crusty Aero with a 4 cylinder turned up either on craigslist or ebay. I think it was in Missouri.

[Gordie]

The Eagles came with those deluxe wheel covers and they were also used on the later Jeep Surreys in different colors.  I have a blue set as well as the red on my Eagle.

[joefrazer]

Another wrinkle, my '54 Aero Eagle Custom was delivered with small caps and trim rings.

[Aeroman]

As far as I can tell from the parts manuals and supplements for the Aero, trim rings for the wheels were never an accessory. Full wheel discs were optional in 1952-1954 and standard on the 1955's (except exports: according to the registry, they all came with the 1954 dog dish).

According to the registry and corroborated by the parts manuals:
1952's just had the corporate embossed "W" and no color on both the hub cap and the full covers.
1953's were like the 1952's except they had the "W" (unpainted) in a circle of red on both the hub cap and full covers.
1954's were like the 1953's except they added a single red ring around the red circle on the hubcaps. Full wheel covers had two rings and some were green or blue instead of red, depending on body color. I have never seen green or blue on the hubcaps, but I found a pic on the internet of a black Ace Deluxe with black instead of red on it's hubcaps - I think that was owner induced.
1955's looked exactly like the 1954-55 Kaiser full wheel discs except it had a "W" instead of a "K."

I'll post pics later if y'all want.

[joefrazer]

Rick, come to think of it, you are correct. I do recall the seller telling me that he pulled the trim rings off his trade in, a 49 Ford. Interesting because it's been said that the Aero's design was lifted from that of the 49 Ford...

[Barnum]

 Having owned both a 49 Ford and an Aero the similarities are evident.And I think the Aero had a little more flair :)I still can't decide if I want the small caps and trim rings...or the full disc.

[Terry T]

During restoration of my Darrin, I bought the "correct" engine paint from good-old Fred Walker.
I had him ship the paint directly to my mechanic.
Here is the result!!

Looks like good-old Fred got me again, and again, and again!

[mbflemingkf]

Posts attacking deceased club members serve no purpose.  Lets let these guys rest in peace.

Few, if any of us, live in glass houses. 

Just my opinion.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The Aero's design was a Clyde Paton original.  The 1949 Ford Connection is that prior to picking Paton's design, Willys-Overland looked at a freelance submission by Bob Kyoto who worked for ford.  Bob thought that he had the deal sown up in 1947 only to find out different.  He then took it to ford and the rest as they say......

[nikkelectrik]

Wow y'all are very knowledgeable thank you very much  for the information

[Aeroman]

I read a quote from Art Kibiger, designer at W-O. He said the outside contour of the Aero door was lifted directly from the '49 Ford. He did not say who actually did the lifting.
Clyde Paton was the engineer and driving force behind the Aero. The styling of the car was initially by Phil Wright with upgrades and assistance from Bill Mitchell (later at AMC - not the one from GM or the one from Ionia Body) and Ceasar Testaguzza, clay modeler. 1955 styling upgrades were by Buzz Grissenger and Herb Weisinger (check the spellings on those names).