hi
i'm lookin buy set of original convertible header moldings. if anyone is selling a set in any condition, please contact me at miketoocool2@aol.com

thanks
mike

hi
i'm lookin buy set of original convertible header moldings. if anyone is selling a set in any condition, please contact me at miketoocool2@aol.com

thanks
mike
Good luck! I spent some time trying to track some down... but had to go with repros... and they kinda fit, and not near as good as the origs...but you might hit it lucky and get some origs in decent shape.

capt

Here is a discussion of the header moldings. What year is your car? I have a very early 69 car, and it has the dull finish over almost the entire molding. Earlier (68?) cars apparently had moldings with approximately half of the surface dulled down. I have yet to find anyone who can duplicate the original factory finish. Rumor has it that even the NOS over-the-counter moldings from GM were painted rather than blasted, acid-etched, or whatever dang-blasted elusive, top-secret method that they used back then. I saw a set of moldings advertised as NOS sell for $725 a few weeks ago.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=126065

Here is a discussion of the header moldings. What year is your car? I have a very early 69 car, and it has the dull finish over almost the entire molding. Earlier (68?) cars apparently had moldings with approximately half of the surface dulled down. I have yet to find anyone who can duplicate the original factory finish. Rumor has it that even the NOS over-the-counter moldings from GM were painted rather than blasted, acid-etched, or whatever dang-blasted elusive, top-secret method that they used back then. I saw a set of moldings advertised as NOS sell for $725 a few weeks ago.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=126065

67 and 68s should be polished chrome, If you find NOS 69s, just use mild paint removal to take the agent off to be 68s.

Factory 69 headers were just roughed up (glass beads or sand blast) and not polished before chroming (except for the end downward leg). I have a set of originals and NOS (1982). The NOS ones have the paint, originals don't. :)

Hi Kevin,

Actually, the changeover was made sometime during the '68 model year. Apparently, early 68 cars had chrome, then at some point they went to the half chrome / half dull moldings. I don't know if any of the '68's had the ones that almost totally dull like the '69's. My 69 is a very early Sept of 68 build, and it has the full dull moldings on it.

In regards to the way the finish was done, I talked to a highly regarded chrome shop in the Pennsylvania area, and the owner there said that they had tried several things, including blasting with glass beads and other media, and were not able to duplicate the finish. I suspect that GM may have used some type of acid etching process, but no one seems to know. I wish I could figure it out, because I think there would be a market for it.

I'm sorry to hear that even the GM NOS moldings were painted. I guess if you have a set from 1982, they would have to be GM parts, since there wasn't much of an aftermarket for the cars that long ago. If that is the case, I will save my money and not bother purchasing the NOS ones. I might as well just sand my originals down and repaint them with some epoxy enamel - it will probably hold up just as well, and I won't have to bother pulling them off the car!

I see a lot of new Federal safety rules that were effective on 1-1-68. I could not find the specific one for dash glare, but I would think you are right about the partial rule for later 68 models.

I worked at a Camaro business from 1983-1997. The GMPD service replacement convertible header moldings were awful. They were painted but since they did not fit what does it matter? Many of our customers patched the originals and had them re-chromed.

I would be very careful buying "NOS" ...

Thanks for the heads-up, William. I'll probably just fix mine up to look decent until a good set of originals show up.

Rob Lesser in lake Elsinore california has some convertible stuff for 1st gen He might be able to help you out lesser@coastinet.com