Took delivery of my most recent eBay purchase yesterday, some new lower chrome seat hinge covers.
These things usually get pretty beat up over the years just simply due to their location, and mine were no exception. Not surprisingly, the drivers side was the worst with a crack radiating out from one of the screw holes, and the almost prerequisite peeling chrome.
The lineage of these covers is a little unknown, the seller claims that these are NOS pieces, but I was half expecting them to turn out to be cheap aftermarket knockoffs. As it turns out, they may be neither. All the part numbers and stamping marks on the backsides check out as being OEM, and after several consultations with 69HurstOlds, he figures they might actually be rechromed pieces. Either way, the quality is very good, and the finish on the outsides is beautiful.
Ran into one minor hiccup though, instead of selling me a left and right for each seat (all 4 pieces are different part numbers), I instead received a left and right for the passenger side, and another passenger side left for the driver’s side. The right hand cover for the drivers side was correct.
What’s the difference you ask? The outer covers on each side need to have a notch in them to accommodate the recline levers. It figures that the one piece I was in most desperate need of was the one I didn’t get. Not to fear however, I let the primal hotrodder instinct take over, and modded that bish!
Made a template of the notch in masking tape from the original, and laid it on the new one where the width matched up:
Then used a blade style attachment in my soldering iron to cut/melt through the plastic a bit back from the final edge:
Then I slowly snuck up to the line with a 60 grit disc on the 90 degree die grinder, and radiused the corners just like OEM. This can be a little tricky to do as the chrome loves to peel from a disturbed edge, but this chrome appears to be adhered extremely well. Another indication that these might have been rechromed.
Anyways, the end result turned out very good, I think anyone not looking for the modification would be hard pressed to tell:
The seats had to be unbolted and tipped on their sides to access the screws holding the inner covers on, but this was only a 5-10 minute job per side. Overall, I’m very happy having the original scratched, cracked and peeling covers replaced with these new ones.
One more small detail to add to the general “wow” factor when the doors are opened!
D.
These things usually get pretty beat up over the years just simply due to their location, and mine were no exception. Not surprisingly, the drivers side was the worst with a crack radiating out from one of the screw holes, and the almost prerequisite peeling chrome.
The lineage of these covers is a little unknown, the seller claims that these are NOS pieces, but I was half expecting them to turn out to be cheap aftermarket knockoffs. As it turns out, they may be neither. All the part numbers and stamping marks on the backsides check out as being OEM, and after several consultations with 69HurstOlds, he figures they might actually be rechromed pieces. Either way, the quality is very good, and the finish on the outsides is beautiful.
Ran into one minor hiccup though, instead of selling me a left and right for each seat (all 4 pieces are different part numbers), I instead received a left and right for the passenger side, and another passenger side left for the driver’s side. The right hand cover for the drivers side was correct.
What’s the difference you ask? The outer covers on each side need to have a notch in them to accommodate the recline levers. It figures that the one piece I was in most desperate need of was the one I didn’t get. Not to fear however, I let the primal hotrodder instinct take over, and modded that bish!
Made a template of the notch in masking tape from the original, and laid it on the new one where the width matched up:
Then used a blade style attachment in my soldering iron to cut/melt through the plastic a bit back from the final edge:
Then I slowly snuck up to the line with a 60 grit disc on the 90 degree die grinder, and radiused the corners just like OEM. This can be a little tricky to do as the chrome loves to peel from a disturbed edge, but this chrome appears to be adhered extremely well. Another indication that these might have been rechromed.
Anyways, the end result turned out very good, I think anyone not looking for the modification would be hard pressed to tell:
The seats had to be unbolted and tipped on their sides to access the screws holding the inner covers on, but this was only a 5-10 minute job per side. Overall, I’m very happy having the original scratched, cracked and peeling covers replaced with these new ones.
One more small detail to add to the general “wow” factor when the doors are opened!
D.
