My unsuccessful search for rear quarter panel chrome strips/trims/moldings for my 63 Falcon 2-door sedan has led me to wonder if it might be quicker, easier and cheaper to just buy some stainless steel strips and make some on a milling machine. I work in a machine shop so have machinery access, but am interested to know what techniques people have adopted in doing this. The bed is shorter than the length of the trim strips. So I was thinking using a round nosed carbide cutter to match the profile, and screwing stops in the T slots to clamp them in the same position in the Y axis to provide repeatability. Then mill along the length of the strips as far a possible in the X axis, stop, move the bed back over, unbolt and slide the trims along, then re-clamp it and machine along the X axis again. But I still fear I'll get a pronounced step where I've stopped and restarted!! Or am I thinking along the wrong lines entirely and there's another method I've overlooked?
I've seen videos where guys have 'reproduced' missing trim with a bead roller, you may need a custom die set with the right profile, but if you have access to machine tools that shouldn't be too hard. Metal Shaping: Stainless Steel Trim in the Bead Roller with a Urethane Wheel - YouTube Another choice is use more-available 4-dr trim (assuming you're working with a 2-dr) and piece it together with silver solder or TIG welding to get the lengths you're after.
Being you are across the pond did you try some of the yards in usa Ford made a crap house full of falcons im sure there rotting somewhere over here. eBay also.
Yeah, emailed a few. Two big issues is trying to search for them in a search engine (do you call them a trim, molding, strip, chrome.......?), and if I do actually find someone with a pair they want extortionate money for them (plus shipping and duty!!), and that's assuming they ship internationally at all. Cost wise, making my own seems the cheapest route.
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