61iwon

The tail light chrome on my '61 is pitted and looks bad. Is there a place that refinishes these anywhere?

I see that the mid year tail lights are much cheaper.

The only other option is reproduction parts. They vary in price by about $25 between vendors ($75-100). And i read something about the quality not being the best some where. Do they all come from GM restoration parts and the others just repackage them? I bought the front motor mount from Corvette Central last week and it was labeled GM Restoration parts on a sticker. You think they would at least take the label off.

Where do you find GM Restoration parts? Do they have their own website?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Dave

Solid327

Any good chroming shop that does pot metal can rechrome them. The pits have to be repaired before they can be rechromed. It can get expensive if they are badly pitted. Repro is the easier and cheaper way to go.

JohnZ

GM Restoration Parts doesn't manufacture anything - they're strictly a marketing organization that sells the same GM-licensed reproduction parts you can buy from most of the vendors.

chris ritchie

GM Restoration Parts is at:

http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/PartsAcc...ationParts.jsp

I think you can order this stuff from your GM dealer. Not sure, though. Reason I mention this is that if you can order from your friendly local GM dealer, you might be able to get a discount.

I believe these tail lights are made by one company whose name I forget now.

Paragon puts them on sale every Christmas. It's cheaper to buy them in pairs or as a set.

It's cheaper to buy the repro ones than it is to rechrome the old ones.

Don't buy EBay ones. Quality is terrible. No returns. If you get a bad one from a vendore, you can return it.

GCD1962

It will cost you far more to repair the pitted ones than to buy repros. If someone quotees you a cheap price to do them, I guarantee you will not be pleased with the results. It's labor intensive and time-taking to get rid of the pits PROPERLY. Anything less than this and you wind up with a worse looking piece than the repro

65ZR1

I had a set re-chromed before. They turned out great but they removed the little tabs that hold the lens on and lost them. Luckily someone had a broken set they gave me. For all the trouble repops would have been easier.

Marks69BB

The key is to make sure TrimParts makes them; they look and fit as good as the originals. Try Dick Barron at VA Vettes (757 565-1972). He usually beats others prices; got my set of midyear tail/backup lights complete for $195 ~18 months ago.

Dick Horzen

I took my oval in to be chromed, and the guy told me $300-$400 because it was pot metal; otherwise, about $120. Something he said about pot metal being labor intensive.

aztlanco

I took my tail light assemblies to my local plater and he wanted more for re-plating them, than a new set of reproduction assemblies.
I bought the reproduction set from a "quality" vendor and they are not only expensive at $550.00 a set for 56 or 57, but they do NOT fit like originals (they look great in your hand, before installation too).
Ernie

Pat Balch

I bought a set from Mary Jo last spring and the quality was great. Fit like a dream and looks fantastic. I kept the old set in case someone someday wanted to have an original set, but I don't think I will ever have them re-chromed.
This is also one of the only projects I was able to complete without screwing something up.