New grille for the 84...

[trwp72]

I was cruisin E-Bay the other night, and came across an ad for a 1984 LTD (baby LTD) grille... NEW in the box.... I clicked on it, and the buyer said he had three, with a "Buy it now" price of something like $8.88... I was thinking yah right, new for $8.88... But I clicked on it and bought the last one he had... $ 8.88 plus $14.00 shipping.. for a grand total of $22.88... since the one in the picture did look better than the one I had... I had planned on carefully painting all of the inside surfaces of the little openings on mine, then polishing up the chrome... So I figured if it was a little better than mine... it would be worth it.. So anyway.. I got it today...

And it WAS brand new, still in the Ford box, and Ford bubble wrap... with the ford inventory tag still wired to the grille! So, it will go into the closet until after the paint job... trying to find some new tailights, turn signals, door handles, and other trim parts for it... so I can slap all of it on the car after the repaint! I am thinking of sending all of the trim pieces off to have them powder coated chrome, with clear powder coating over the top of the color... The new chrome powder coating looks just like chrome.. and lasts alot longer than buffing the trim pieces... in a few years, it would look the same.... Cloudy and crummy looking...

So as soon as I can get some quotes on the chrome powder coating... I think I will start sending the trim pieces off, a little at a time...

Tom...

[Grand Marquis GT]

NOS parts rock, i've been getting a couple here and there for my vic.

[86VickyLX]

NOS parts rock, i've been getting a couple here and there for my vic.

Like that clear turn signal lense mang?

[1987cp]

Great deal! Looks dashed good, too.

What's this about chrome powdercoating? Any chance of further elucidation?

[trwp72]

As soon as i find a source, i'll pass it along....

[91LTDProject]

Know its nowhere near you, but for an idea of what it looks like

http://www.centurypowder.co.nr/

[trwp72]

Here is one shot I found of a set of valve covers done in the chrome powder coat... I have seen some even more of a chrome look than this... but this is still better looking than the trim on my car... Maybe these are not clear coated, or different type of the chrome powder coating, since they are going to be near high heat?
here is some more... this is actually from Eastwood Products....

Both of these are the "reflective chrome" product...

[1987cp]

:jawdrop: VERY nice!!!! Now I know what I may try on my next bumper project ...... (current one has too much plastic filler in it to stand the curing process)

[P72Ford]

My Dad had a set of Buick Riviera wheels powdercoated chrome. It is very nice stuff. he got a good deal on it from a company that does alot of stuff for local aerospace manufacturers. I think he paid 40/ wheel to be plasted and coated.

He also had a Y block intake done with chrome jet hot coating, and that came out really nice too.

It doesn't look just like chrome (even the real good stuff; its a little cloudy), but the finish is appealing nonetheless.

And BTW: NOS parts FTW. I had a NOS grille for an '88-'91, and I lost it...

[interceptor1985]

Very cool

[LTDMan83]

I got a NOS 79-81 LTD grill for my '87, off of eBay, $25 shipped in the original Ford box, directly from the Ford dealership it had been sitting in since 1980. Still had the original tag w/ date on it.

I couldn't resist putting it on before the paintjob, looks amazingly mint.

[gadget73]

NOS stuff is nice, sometimes you even get it for a good price. Seems like there is a lot more NOS Ford than NOS Lincoln though. I think I saw like one box of NOS Lincoln parts at Carslile, and all that was in there was a power steering hose for a 64 Continental.

[79lincolnlover]

Yeah, NOS Lincoln parts are harder to come by..."Lincoln Land" is a good source for parts though.

[P72Ford]

Heres the Riviera wheels my Dad had done. They are dirty, but you get the idea...



And a sample of the Y block intake (much more "chromey")... but still dirty.