My car went in today to get a new paint job. Some may remember I roughed it up four years ago, spinning backwards through a barbed wire fence.......................I actually didn't do a lot of damage, but enough to warrant the 42 year old paint to be redone. Right Rocker Molding, right front marker are the only parts I need to buy. While I'm at it, I'll replace all the weather stripping, and the front grills. I'm going to re chrome the bumpers even though they look pretty good, and the exhaust and license plate bezels. I'm going to strip it down to the bare surface, give it a real nice paint job. I want the rest of the car to look new. Have any of you ever re chromed the license/exhaust bezels? They have a fairly rough surface. A new GM authorized license bezel is 279.00. OUCH. The exhaust bezels are 79.00 a pair. I've seen people bragging on their bumpers being "triple chromed". Does it look that much better than a good chrome job?(Does a good chrome job feel good?) Would any of you try to retain the molding marks, or, would a smooth car be preferable? I want it sleek as can be. How badly would a NCRS or Bloomington judge be on me for that? I will maintain a stock look inside and out. The car still has less than 15,000 miles on it, and, the interior looks almost new. Under the hood looks pretty good also. I replaced all the hoses, sparkplug wires, belts, etc, with GM date coded parts. Probably this question is for a different forum, but, today I noticed a small star like crack in the door panel below the arm rest.(vinyl crack) Probably an age crack, but, I'm curious about how to fix it. The rest of the door panel looks new. Any advice on my little project is appreciated. I know a gad of you have been through this yourselves.

My experience is that OEM parts used production chrome. A good chromer will send back a part that puts the OEM part to shame.

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Now you have a dilemma...make it purdy, or make it Judging friendly?
9 times out of 10 you WILL get dinged for having chrome(or anything else) that is better than factory...and it WILL be obvious. Factory chrome is not that good to begin with....it was done cheaply, and was NOT meant to survive 10 years, let alone 35-40! Judges will look for aftermarket chrome....it is so much smoother, and better than original. They check exhaust bezels carefully for the correct configuration, as well as surface defects and such. If yours are nice and shiny, have no stamp marks, or the welds have been ground down, they'll take points for originality/configuration. May not be much, but one point(overall) can make the difference between Top Flight and Second Flight(NCRS)....

Now...what do you do....what do you DO?





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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

And the answer is, The chrome and the body/paint are going to be better than new. I really like modified cars, and, if I had this car when I was in my 20's instead of my 40's and 50's(and hopefully my 90's) it probably would have been like everything else I have ever had. Souped up, jacked up, and so on. I like original now, so, that's the route I take. I guess it will look good on cruise night, whether judges like it or not.

 

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"