#1  
Old 05-01-2021, 12:49 AM
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unruhjonny unruhjonny is offline
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Default reproduction tail lamp chrome

I was looking through tail lamp parts, and got to thinking that I would probably be buying reproduction tail lamp chromes.

After I more or less decided this, I was told that the OER parts that my cousin bought were tapped for metric hardware on one side, and SAE on the other side.

I was told this pair came in OER boxes, so I assumed they were CI parts - CI seems to be the only guys who advertize OER parts, although I noticed that you can buy OER parts directly(?)... that was surprising;
The last time I was in the CI California showroom they had a large display area of just OER parts, and by all accounts they are great parts, so hearing of the metric & and imperial hardware has had me curious.

Does more than one company make these?

I saw that the Ames catalog says something to the effect of spotty chrome plating, but neither the CI or YO listings make any such mentions.

Lately I typically am intentional to plan my orders with Ames... but I also haven't bought too much reproduction stuff in the last while.

If anyone can comment, I'd appreciate any info shared.

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1970 Formula 400
Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior
A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car.
Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left.


1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing)
2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs)
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Old 05-01-2021, 08:00 AM
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If they were good enough for this car, they are good enough for ANY '70-'73..

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob View Post

While I was at it, I also replaced the taillight bezels. I purchased repops from OER and was pretty pleased with the quality. They claim to be triple chrome plated and seemed to be as heavy as the originals, but the casting quality on the back side was not as nice as you might expect. The chrome finish was probably a 9 out of 10. There was one big problem though in that the holes for the studs were metric instead of SAE. You have to remove the studs from the old bezels and reuse them, so this presented a problem. It was possible to re-tap the holes to the proper size, but it seems like a big oversight and they will hear about it. Here's a bunch of pictures....


















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Old 05-01-2021, 02:06 PM
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Just say NO.....to metric bolts...

My pet peeve...is 10 mm bleeder screws on reman calipers and chinese wheel cylinders

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Old 05-01-2021, 06:07 PM
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I was really hoping someone might be able to comment on if there was mutiple sources for these parts;
The metric and imperial hardware sucks, but if the chrome looks great, that's the key point right there.

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1970 Formula 400
Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior
A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car.
Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left.


1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing)
2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs)
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Old 05-01-2021, 06:40 PM
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About 5-6 years ago i installed a pair on my SD. I did not have any issue with the mounting studs threading into the bezels. The OEM lenses fit nice and snug. Only thing I had to deal with was.... I had to lightly massaged a couple of the tailpanel holes for them to fit.

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Old 05-02-2021, 01:45 AM
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There is only 1 source, and its on a Island off the coast of China that is getting oppressed by the Government.
Get Em while you can....

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Old 05-04-2021, 08:53 PM
FunctionalShaker FunctionalShaker is offline
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Problem I found with the OER bezels is that they ground the inside corners square. They should be round to match the lenses.

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Old 05-05-2021, 11:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FunctionalShaker View Post
Problem I found with the OER bezels is that they ground the inside corners square. They should be round to match the lenses.
could you possibly elaborate on this point, or share a picture to show it?

I am wondering if between the metric and SAE thread, and this, if I should consider getting a pair (or three) plated...

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1970 Formula 400
Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior
A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car.
Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left.


1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing)
2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs)
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Old 05-05-2021, 10:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by unruhjonny View Post
could you possibly elaborate on this point, or share a picture to show it?

I am wondering if between the metric and SAE thread, and this, if I should consider getting a pair (or three) plated...
If you have a source for getting pot metal stuff plated with quality for less than crazy money... do tell!

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Old 05-06-2021, 08:47 AM
Bandit400 Bandit400 is offline
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I used a pair. They fit great, no issues with hardware fitting. My only complaint was I got pits in the chrome after 3 years or so. The parts have never seen rain/salt and the car is garage kept.

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Old 05-06-2021, 09:52 AM
FunctionalShaker FunctionalShaker is offline
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All of this was posted before, see the bumped thread.

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Old 05-06-2021, 10:08 AM
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Thanks for bumping that other thread;
I did look but didn't seem to find anything.

those pictures really do help.

I wonder if any of the difficiencies have been addressed.

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1970 Formula 400
Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior
A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car.
Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left.


1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing)
2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs)
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Old 05-09-2021, 02:05 PM
eaglesan13 eaglesan13 is offline
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Are the reproduction bezels all chrome, or do they have black paint on them? A friend has a car which I think has the reproduction bezels on it, and they're all chrome, there is no black paint on them (pictures 1 and 2). I have a set of NOS bezels and they have black paint on them. Did some models have black paint on them, while other models were all chrome?
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Old 05-09-2021, 03:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eaglesan13 View Post
Are the reproduction bezels all chrome, or do they have black paint on them? A friend has a car which I think has the reproduction bezels on it, and they're all chrome, there is no black paint on them (pictures 1 and 2). I have a set of NOS bezels and they have black paint on them. Did some models have black paint on them, while other models were all chrome?
The repops I got have the black paint.

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Current Pontiacs -

1973 Formula SD455 - #'s auto orig paint
1972 Trans Am - 4 speed orig paint
1974 Formula 400 - Ram Air automatic
1966 2+2 convertible - 421 4bbl automatic
1967 Grand Prix - 4 speed orig paint
1967 GTO - 4 speed orig paint 35k orig miles
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Old 05-10-2021, 09:26 AM
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so then there is either more than one source of these, or there have been changes happening between batches?

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1970 Formula 400
Carousel Red paint on Black standard interior
A no-engine, no-transmission, no-wheel option car.
Quite likely one of few '70 Muncie three speed Formula 400's left.


1991 Grand Am: 14.4 @ 93.7mph (DA corrected) (retired DD, stock appearing)
2009 Cobalt SS: 13.9 @ 103mph (current DD; makes something north of 300hp & 350ft/lbs)
  #16  
Old 05-10-2021, 10:23 PM
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The repros I bought 20-ish years ago had black paint on them.

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70 Trans Am RA III / T400 / Lucerne Blue / Bright Blue
70 Trans Am RA III / M20 / Lucerne Blue / Sandalwood
70 Formula RA III / M21 / Lucerne Blue / Bright Blue
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Old 05-11-2021, 09:50 AM
'ol Pinion head 'ol Pinion head is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keith k View Post
The repros I bought 20-ish years ago had black paint on them.
Same here, bought a pair in the very late 90's when first released as a reproduction.
Believe this was one of the first OER branded items for a 2nd Gen Bird.

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