Cost to re-chrome 65 GTO rear tail panel and the tail light bezels????
 

Hi guys,

Looking for an idea of how much it would cost to re-chrome the center rear ribbed tail panel and the tail light bezels on a 65 GTO?

Mine are not horrible but do have some pitting, not bad for an east coast car.

Also if you know anyone who does a good job at redoing these pieces.

I was going to send to Paul's Chrome because they are all I know of from watching My Classic Car.

Thanks for your help,
Mark

I looked into doing a 63 GP tail panel.The pitting had to be drilled,silver soldered filed flat and then the copper nickle chrome would be performed.It was thousands at the time.FWIW.Tom

Repo taillight bezel are $381.00 so unless your going for concourse numbers car
probably not worth sending them out. tried to see if Ames sells them but could not get on site. Not sure if anybody repo's the tail panel
https://pgclassic.com/gto65-216-gm-1...llight-bezels/

Yep, the price to restore an original tail panel is very high. Understandable as it's alot of tedious labor. From what I understand some detail will be lost in the process. The solution is a high quality reproduction tail panel equal to the bezels.

I don't know about '65, but the repro tail panel for the '64 is very good. I have one on my wife's car and it is much better in every way than the original on my car that was rechromed. I bought it for $850 about six months before the repro version was released.

Thanks for the all the responses.

If "THE PARTS PLACE" is the only supplier selling the repo 65 tail panel and it is not good, what other choices do I have but to pay the price and get mine redone.

I looked at the PG Classics website for the tail light bezels and they look really good, plus the positive comments from people who already purchased them. So I think that will be my go to option for the bezels.

Why is it so hard to reproduce that tail panel? They should have reproduce the tail panel and bezels at the same time. Even with no tooling to make the tail panel, why not use a factory original and make a mold?

Thanks again,
Mark

I would think demand for the part is some of it. Rechroming potmetal is labor and plating intensive.

Is the repop actually out yet?

"The Parts Place" has a few left, but comments on it have been on the negative, but do not know what is negative about it. Is it appearance, is it lining up of the ribs with the tail light bezels, do the mounting studs not line up with the holes in the sheet metal.

Nobody seems to be saying anything other than they knew someone who purchased it and wasn't happy with it.

I may just bite the bullet and purchase from "The Parts Place" and live with whatever is wrong with it. My car is not concourse, I am just looking for something that has decent chrome, no pits, and the black white paint looks good.

Thanks,
Mark

Mine was not perfect. Some pitting but not too much. I had Dallas Plating in GA chrome it. Sanded/filled/painted the black parts myself. It came out good, not perfect if you look close, you can see imperfections. But good enough for a driver.

No pits is a lot to ask for!Tom

Thanks for the info.

What am I looking at price wise for a tail panel rechrome?

I would think it is over $1,000, but are closer to $1,000 or closer to $2,000?

Thanks,
Mark

So much depends on the shop,if they do copper nickel chrome on top of the repairs it will be a lot.Drilling the pits out and silver soldering them and filing smooth again is what kicks up the labor.Need to get it to a shop and get a bid.Tom

That is what I thought.

I think I will live with it for a couple more years as whatever is wrong with the shipping system right now, I don't want my parts floating around the worlds for weeks or months until someone gets them.

Thanks for the info Tom,

Mark

Mark, did you ever find someone to do your tail panel? I'm in the same boat with my 65.

This goes back some years, but there was a high end chrome shop in the Chicago area called The Finishing Touch. A prominent GTO restorer told me at the time that this is who he used for all his plating. He said even ten years ago a tail panel restore was in the $1500 to $2000 range.

I see they are still around: https://www.thefinishingtouchinc.com/

I don’t know much about this part but I can make a suggestion , chrome vinyl wrap can work really well on many fairly flat pieces. It may be worth looking at as an option. Chrome has gotten outrageous my expensive . This may be an option for some I’ve used it when wrapping airplanes and it looks just like real chrome .

I have not had these pieces refinished, just way too expensive.

Mark

I spoke with the rep from Ogden Chrome this week at Hot August Nights - they are still doing pot metal plating/restoration. They have a good reputation in the west, but I haven't used them personally for pot metal.

Contact Tom Rubinate, he has a few nice tail panels.
Phone: 480 390 9058
Email: azvintagewheels@yahoo.com

I am having my rear panel and tail lamp bezels done at The Finishing Touch. $3,500 for all 3 parts. Absurd amount of money but you will pay at least $1,500 - $2,000 at a crappy chromer and get a crappy job. For the extra money at The Finishing Touch ( one of the best chrome shops in the country) you will get perfectly platted pieces and they also do the satin black on the rear panel and tail lamp bezels.