At some point this year i will have to replace the rear bumper as it has split right hand side where it bolts on. It looks like the car has reversed into something. The rear valance has a slight dent too so i was thinking of replacing that too.
So, as I am going concourse i need to know the quality of the reproduction bumpers and fixings/brackets as a quality replacement? Is the chrome that's applied to the reproduction bumpers as thick as originals? If the quality isn't available i will go down the re-chrome route
I will also be looking to replace all other chrome items on the exterior of the car along with the front grille and attachments. Are the reproduction items available good enough for a concourse restoration?
I got my parts rechromed by AIH in Dubuque Iowa. These guys do amazing things with original parts. They can straighten bumpers, repair rusted bumpers, repair pitted pot metal parts - you name it. I have seen them take a bumper corner off of a '57 Chevy that had rusted through from the inside due to the exhaust pipe running through the bumper. You could not tell where the repair was done from the inside or the outside.
Their work is guaranteed for life, and the warranty is transferable to a new owner. I had them do every plated part on the car - bumpers, door handles, window cranks, turn signal lever, ignition switch, trunk letters, Mustang script, center stack bezel, dash switch mount hardware, gas cap, bumper guards, hood trim, eyebrows, convertible top body trim, remote mirror knob and bezel, convertible header pieces, visor mounts - anything and everything that was plated and not plastic. This way all of the plated pieces match in terms of tone. The work is outstanding.
Most of their restoration work is on high end prewar cars - the stuff you see in Monterrey and Pebble Beach. They keep the lights on by providing plating services for Victory motorcycles, and they do the plating on Aston Martin keys, as they were the only plater that would guarantee a specific, consistent plating thickness so the keys would fit in the dash socket.
They are not cheap. They tell you up front, you are not paying for the plating, you are paying for the prep. Everything is stripped, straightened, repaired, polished and replated, with each replating layer polished. Pot metal defects are drilled out and filled with silver solder before polishing and replating. They are also not particularly fast. I want to say the bill for everything was around $5k.