Ohio Mustang to the Rescue!

[Austin Vert]

Hi to all,

Just wanted to give a head's up to Forum members in regards the stainless steel windscreen molds on the 123 Convertibles. Included in this is a special thanks and a plug to Don who runs Ohio Mustang, one of our Forum site vendors.

Basically, a few months ago, i wanted to purchase an extra set of stainless steel windscreen molds for my '73 Convertible, in case the original ones came to grief for any reason. Reproduction windscreen molds are not made for the Verts at this stage, so finding original ones in good condition can be tricky.

I approached Don from Ohio Mustang, and he had an original set in fairly nice condition. The set consists of two horizontal top molds, and two vertical side molds, one for each side of the screen. On receiving them from Don, i noticed that all molds had some degree of fairly mild surface scratching on them. My assessment of them was that they could be professionally polished, and would come up just about brand new. That's where i got into trouble.

I took all the molds to a professional local chrome and polishing company to get them polished up. The result came as a surprise and a disappointment as well. Would you believe the top horizontal molds polished up to a treat, and looked fantastic, but the side molds looked not so good. What had happened was the company gave the side molds a heavy cut and polish with their machinery, and that then revealed hundreds of very tiny poc holes all over the surface. The tradgedy is, that once these tiny poc holes show themselves, you can't get rid of them, as the more you try and polish them out, the more and more the tiny holes keep appearing on the surface.

I was told by the company that chroming these molds was not an option, because the metal is so thin to start off with, and the chrome finish would not last on the metal. Sadly, that was that. I realized that by getting stuck into these side molds with the aggressive polishing, it had ruined the finish and could not be rectified or turned around to look good anymore.

I was not happy as you can imagine. So then, it was a case of Don to the rescue for me, as i rang him and explained what had happened. Much to my relief, Don had another set of side molds in stock that were in very good condition, and he was happy to sell them to me. On that basis, i would praise Don, and thank him for being there when i needed a hard to get part.

If in fact, you have to find hard to get parts for your 123 Mustang, Don should be on your shopping list to try and find these items as he has an extensive range of bits and pieces at his disposal. He is one of the great vendors on the Forum site. The new set of side molds that i got off Don, should only require a light buff up to make them look great again.

So, the lesson i learn't here was not to over aggressively polish these side molds. If you do, you will certainly end up ruining them for good. Hope that helps.

Thanks,

Greg.

 

[will e]

That is very helpful. When I did the exterior on my mustang about 20 years ago I had every part chromed, polished or replaced EXCEPT the wind screen molding because I couldn't figure out how to remove it. When it is time to freshen up again I will take care with the sides.

(The Don part was helpful too but I already knew that he was a go to guy)

 

[72HCODE]

Don helped me numerous times over the last 10 years.

Thanks again to don over at Ohio mustang.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Thanks Greg for posting this.

Great Kudos to Don. He has been very honest and fair with me too. A couple of times I was all set on buying something from him and when I told him what I was doing he provided me the pro and cons for the parts available. VERY VALUABLE INFO!! Not many parts suppliers will do that...

And he has taken apart and put back together many Mustangs - more great knowledge.

I am very satisfied with all my purchases from Don at Ohio Mustang Supply.

Ray

 

[Mister 4x4]

Yup - I think Don's provided at least 60% of the things I needed to get mine back together, without any of the drama or hassle experienced some of the other niche vendors (on occasion).

OMS may not always have absolutely everything you need, but one of the most valuable aspects I've found over the years is that if he doesn't have it, he'll let you know. None of this "order online only to find out it's been back-ordered."

Fortunately, I've been noticing with his new products coming out that there are some more items I'll be needing to order from him as well - I like going through OMS because you know what you're getting, when you'll get it, without hassle, and on top of it all, Don's a helluva nice guy. ::thumb::

 

[imusa76]

I have always had GREAT luck purchasing from Don @ OMS

 

[goodnigh]

Don pretty much owns my car from bumper to bumper

including the bumpers. And then is this little gem...

mike

 

[4Vforever]

Yeah Greg that seems to be pretty much the usual thing over here with "professional" restorers, see a problem that may take a bit of extra time to do it properly, but instead rip into it with extra force or speed up machines, etc, then blame the part. Seen this situation way too many times over the years. I use to know a guy that use to repair trims and mouldings and was absolutely brilliant at it as well, make them look as good if not better than new. Unfortunately he's now passed away, about 10 year ago. A real old time tradesman, with a great eye for detail and hands of a magician when it came time to do this sort of stuff. He'd tell us how people (even back then) had no idea and were only worried about money and when they buggered something up, blame the product. I'd seen first hand stuff he repaired and had looking like new from stuff that looked like it belonged in the bin.

As for Don at OMS, nothing but the highest praise for him. He's actually helping me with a problem with my vert now, that I discovered when changing over the exhaust. When I saw it I was pretty ticked off, so I sent him an email asking him for prices for parts. When I described it to him in my email where the problem lay, he informed me that I needed something totally different (probably should've looked at location closer) most other places I've dealt with would have just sold the parts I originally wanted pricing on. So he informs me he has the part I need, sends me a few pics of the part and gives a detailed description of the part including any minor faults. I'm more than happy to purchase it from him and I am very greatful for all of his help and direction he has given me on this matter. Anyone else looking for parts for your baby, I highly recommend him and will use him for anything he can supply me for my vert.

 

[DK73]

Wow Greg that's a good example of an good wendor with a aut standing help!:-D Those who are there to help out with respect for the parts he has in the store ;-) That's a great guy and he has my respect for this reason Greg! ;-) Regards Lars DK73

 

[Don65Stang]

Thanks for posting this. Don is without a doubt a stand up guy and great asset to the Mustang community and this site.

 

[Luke]

Ok so I haven't brought anything from Don at OMS. I tried too and he told me that I could get a better deal from a competitor because of the shipping costs involved. Now that is an honest vendor and I should of gave him rep points for that alone and Outstanding service in itself

 

[jhawk635]

Great info Greg...I polished mine up with no problems luckily. I need to keep that in mind for future reference though. Oh yes, and Don, I think most of us have a piece of him in our cars...