So, 1st off, I know this is in the customs forum, and IMHO, a '63 Dart wagon is pretty fuckin far from a traditional custom. But, it has to go somewhere, and it's even further from being a hot rod. That said, I have a pretty clean Dart wagon that I bought in San Diego (and chronicled in a thread the 1200 odd mile drive back to western Canada) 6 years ago. Since my '57 Poncho is finally nearing completion, my intention is to run the wagon in the garage and paint it during the summer, before I embark on my channeled rpu project. One of my conundrums is headlight bezels. The bloody things are rare as hen's teeth, and absolutely BEAT ones are getting 3-500 bucks on fleabay, which is approximately 3 bajillion Canadian pesos. Given the fact that the entire car will be worth $5000 AFTER paint, and I'm cheap, and broke, and would prefer to spend the $$ on the hot rod, I've been considering other options. I have a set of F1 bezels lying around. Yeah, no. Then, it struck me, I have a spare for the Pontiac. I hung it on there to eyeball. The fit is decent, probably nearly as well as the OE Dart ring from a "flush" standpoint. The screw holes line up. And Poncho ones are cheap, I can likely score a 2nd one for under $50. I think it looks kinda neat. A buddy suggested that it'd look better molded in, and I agree, but then I have to do the molding, plus the mods necessary to change the headlight. My repaint is intended to be a fairly quick project (I said summer, and it ain't long here), so that isn't really a consideration, plus, it's not reversible. I value so many opinions here, so what say the masses?
Why not... although to do it right, you should do something 'matching' at the taillights. Might I suggest frenching in a set of '52-55 ford taillight housings, and extend that vestigial 'fin' out onto the new housing. Lots of choices for a lens, say maybe a repo '50 Pontiac?
I have at least one headlight bezel, maybe two and a bunch of other spare parts for a dart, most of it wagon stuff. I believe I have all the side trim, push button shifter assembly, windshield gasket, wiring harness, etc... Let me know what you need and I'll dig thru the shop attic. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I didn't vote the poll because of mixed feelings about the options. The Pontiac rings solve the issue but look super funky. (See photo attached) But I feel ya, paying almost 10% of what the car will be worth is a bitter pill to swallow. Get with coolbreeze1340 above and beg/buy/trade/steal the Dart pieces if he has them.
I like them! I can't believe they mate up that well.... I do think that if you're going to use them they should be molded. Are you planning any other custom mods or just replacing the headlight bezels?
This is precisely what I'm trying to avoid, cuz yeah, these things can snowball FAST I'll send you a PM It's just gonna get the trim holes filled, the thing's just a beater/parts chaser, so I REALLY don't want this to turn into a splattered all over the garage multi-year project. Long term it'll get some custom type attention, but for now I just want to get it all one color.
I say use them then. Just bolt them on...... If you don't mold them, you can always change them later. I think they look cool. Still can't believe how well they line up!
I know, it's bizarre, they line up as well as the OE ones. And agreed, if I bolt 'em on, and decide it does in fact look like this I can unbolt 'em
The Poncho bezel looks pretty droopy compared to the style of the rest of the car Sent from my Nexus 5X using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Big time droopy. Search out some used but decent originals. I think others are too quick to say go for it cause they don't have to look at it again everyday.
Coolbreeze might have me hooked up on a stock ring. Nonetheless, I think I'll get another Pontiac one as well and paint em with the car. I can throw them on now and then when I want it to look even weirder than it does stock. The ol girl aint exactly the height of of automotive styling anyway. She's no jag xke Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
What he said. They take away from the appearance of the car. Lose 'em. EDIT: They might work if you lay them back so that the top line of the fender is straight across the top of the bezels.
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