hi guys, i see photos of showcars around. all of them has got perfect trims, mouldings etc. i have 55,56 vickies in turkey and very hard to find parts in here... i wonder that how could they get these parts? are they repro parts or only maintained and rechromed? if they aren't repros, how could a bad- perforated surface moulding becomes in show condition? (like an out of production door handle or back glass trim, especially for fords...) thanks
Sometimes they are reproduction parts. On true show cars they are often restored at great expense by a specialty shop like Paul's Chrome. However, another great source is NOS ("New Old Stock," which refers to a part that was made when the cars were new but is still in the box and was never actually installed on a car) parts that show up at swap meets and on eBay. My father restored a '56 Ford in 1985 and was actually able to buy some brand new parts from a local Ford dealer! That no longer happens, but some of the parts are still out there. I bought NOS 1960 Studebaker bumper guards on eBay last year. The ONLY problem with NOS parts is that sometimes the ones that went on the dealer shelves as replacement parts were not quite as nice as the ones they put on cars. My bumper guards, for example, look like new but do not look as nice as restored ones from a chrome shop would. The chrome has some waves and grooves in it. They were probably boxed up back in 1960 because they were not first-rate quality. The only other source is the occasional really, really mint part off of an original car. Most of the stainless steel on my '53 Chevy was absolutely like new, even though the car had been sitting in a field for 20 years. I pulled a steering wheel out of a 1966 Chevy in a junkyard a couple years ago that is absolutely like new. It is pretty hard to find original chrome trim parts, though, that don't have at least some pitting. I have no idea what it's like trying to find parts in Turkey, but eBay is a good source. You will probably have to spend a lot of time e-mailing sellers to convince them to allow bidding from Turkey (most of my auctions are U.S. and Canada only), and the shipping you pay will be pretty steep. But I have sold parts to buyers all over the world who sent me an e-mail asking before they bid. You will need to set up a PayPal account so that you can pay instantly via the internet, eliminating risk for the sellers.
The side trim and window trim for your -56 is in stainless steel. With a lot of careful work almost most any stainless trim can be restored to perfect condition. Other 56 Ford parts are made of chromed steel or chromed "potmetal". In most cases those parts can be rechromed, but some parts are harder to restore. If it is a cast chrome part with fine details and the metal has a lot of pitting it might be close to impossible. If you keep the restored parts clean they will last very long, "forever" if the work is first class (never use any chrome polish on a rechromed part!). Though, stainless steel can be polished to be better and better. And of course,I know that there are people that restores vintage cars even in Turkey, so I am sure you can get help with that in your country. 56 Ford Victoria is a popular car to restore and there are many parts that are made as reproductions. The outside door handles are available from Dennis Carpenter http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/pdf/52-56_2008.pdf And for hard to find parts, as "Atomickustom" said: E-Bay is a good alternative. Many parts are hard to find in Sweden too... Though I think the reason for the "wavy" NOS parts is that we have been used to look at first class restored parts that sometimes are better than they were when new. I've been looking at many unrestored cars that have been kindly treated since new, and I can see that the chrome (and paint!) seldom is 100%. Ford made no show cars in their factories. So the quality of the found NOS part might just represent the average quality of the parts that the factory did put on the car (it is hard to imagine that 2nd class parts were sorted out to be replacement parts, car manufacturers throw such parts in the scrap bin...).
I don't know what it was like then, but now, hardly anything gets scrapped. I have heard Henry Ford was a tight wad.....so, I doubt much got scrapped then either.
I agree, RPW, that we are used to seeing show-quality stuff, but I grew up around a few people who worked in auto factories and THEY told ME that the "seconds" were boxed up as replacement/repair parts. I've seen plenty of flashing on the edges of NOS emblems and I've never seen an emblem on a car that had any. I also had a 100% original 1954 Pontiac that had been stored most of its life and although the chrome did not have the depth of modern "triple plate" show chrome, it was all perfectly smooth and straight as glass. Parts only got thrown away if they were truly messed up. Those that were just "okay" were sent to dealership shelves for collision repair and replacement.
Hi Guven, About 8 years ago i came across three 55/56 Fords in Turkey. A very nice one in the city of Izmir and another one way out in the hills above Izmir. Also a dumped wreck in an alley in Izmir.
Dave: For sure, that do make sense. But poor parts as replacement can also be due to that replacement parts were made as last runs. Then the dies had got worn out. I even seen early -58 Dodge fenders and have been able to compare them with fenders made 10 months later, and the later one had not as sharp lines as the early one. Another thing that is interesting is that some guys sells old unused aftermarket parts as NOS-parts. I recently brought some Buick-side trim and one of the old pieces was not made by the same manufacturer as the other ones, (of course I understand that Buick might have used several suppliers) but it was lacking the quality that the original Buick trim had and looked very different so I relly dont think that was an "Buick approved" piece of trim. BTW The same goes with many NOS wheel covers that I've seen. Flipper: I agree concering Henry but after being employed 23 years in the automotive industry (I travel all around the world in my work) I know a lot about how parts are scrapped, or recycled as is more political correct to call it today... 34 GAZ: I was in Holland last week! Visiting Zwolle and Meppel... theunforguven: Good luck with your Ford (I hope you dont think that I've high-jacked your post...). There are more 56 Fords Victorias in Turkey, here is one: http://intoko.kijiji.com.tr/c-ViewA...ji.ebayimg.com/i13/06/k/000/7d/ea/53a2_18.JPG
yes we have some fords in turkey. but since keeping a chevy rolling is cheaper than fords, everybody heads for chevy. even old restorers... here, sheet metal shaping is good but potmetal. it appears, i have to keep an eye on ebay for potmetal parts. for the others, we have to make our best work to make them shiny again... thank you all for infos. guven (@rpw: i don't think that you've high-jacked)
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