I painted the block about a week or so ago and I thought it turned out alright. The paint definitely could have been a lighter shade of purple but that's okay.
Yesterday I was at our shop and noticed it was sunny out. I pulled the short-block out of the corner and rolled it into the light. Again, not exactly what I was wanting but it'll do.
There isn't enough metallic flake for my tastes, but the paint it also to blame for being so damn dark. I'm thinking it'll look fine though. I would post a current picture of the car's engine bay but after a winter of not cleaning it and a trip down a few minimum maintenance roads has got it looking...well, it has seen it's fair share of better days.