'64 Interior Trim

[Tgrshrk99]

I just received a replacement grab bar insert from a supplier that shall remain nameless. (Previous parts from this outfit were fine.) The interior is dark blue. The grab bar insert color wasn't even close (too light), and the part looked cheap. It even had a (large) blemish that made it look like it was broken off a strip from a plastic model kit.

Any suggestions on a quality source for this kind of piece?

[Fred Oliva]

Re: '64 Interior Trim

I had the exact same problem with the blue insert on my 64. Ended up repairing the cracked original. I used epoxy & a thin piece of reinforcing metal behind the crack & then filled the crack with a dark resin. Finished up by sanding with progressively finer sandpaper, then using a plastic polishing compound & a soft buff on my Dremel tool. Not perfect but pretty darned good.

Did this several years ago & the repair has held up well. If I had to do it again I would use a clear casting resin & mix blue & black dyes to get the resin the exact color. This stuff is available in any art supply store -- including the dye. Using resin dyed to the same color as the original I'll bet you can make a perfect repair. Don't skip the reinforcing metal strip behind the crack or it'll crack again when you screw it in.

Hope this helps.

Fred Oliva