I believe that main reason S&M engines and even the cars through ‘69 were painted with Ford paint is that they had so much of it. When the team requested paint from Ford back in 1964, they were sent a truckload from Michigan. It was part of their sponsorship agreement. They had enough paint to last for years even though the sponsorship was over a few months after it started. That is the story I got from a former S&M team member.