I took the parts to the body shop to let him have a look. He looked at
them and could feel the waviness with his fingers and said "send'em
back". He also found a weak spot on one of the front fender side light
housings and he put his fingernail through it. They ground a hole in it.
In the ribbed section on the side of the front fender side light
housings, it looks like the rust pits were never touched. They're not
even pits. Still raised, sharp and bubbled up.
There are still pits in the parts. I had assumed the rust would be
etched out or sand blasted out -- something along those lines. The body
shop said the pits will rust very soon.
What a botched job.
Live and learn I guess.
If anyone knows where I can get some new (used) tail light housings and
front fender side light housings for a TR250 or TR4/TR4A, let me know.
Bad day... :-(
Don Malling
=====================================
Several of you have asked me to post the vendors name.
The vendor has offered to attempt to fix the parts, so I hesitate for
that reason and some other reasons. If there is no resolution to the
problem, I will post the name.
I even drove 8 hours to this place to deliver the parts to them in
person and to talk to them. I specifically asked about the light
housings. He held them in his hand and said they were in pretty good
shape and should be fine -- no problem.
I also asked to see some of their other work. He showed me a rectangular
trailer hitch bar and it looked great. Anything flat and smooth seemed
to turn out pretty good.
Don Malling
================================
I just experience my first big disappointment of my TR250 restoration.
I received my rechromed parts in the mail, and I am very disappointed.
The tail light housings and the front fender side marker light housings
are especially bad. It appears that the vendor buffed flat spots in the
housings in an attempt to remove the rust pits. I guess the best way to
describe the affect it leaves is if you could imagine a smooth chrome
sphere with lots of flat spots on it. When you hold the parts in your
hand, and rotate them, the shiny surface appears very wavy and
irregular. You can even feel some of the waviness and flat spots as you
run your fingers over them. The front fender side light housings are
especially bad.
I've seen these parts used for about $100.00 each at the TRF summer
party. In addition to the four housing from the car, I had a spare set
of each that I had picked up years ago. I had all eight of them done --
stupid me. Now I have $800.00 of what seem to me to be ruined parts.
I had assumed that these parts would be smooth and "straight" not wavy.
The bumpers are the similar but not as bad. I can feel the buffer marks
and ridges in them. However, when I lay them on the floor and look at
them from a stationary position they don't look too bad.
I called the vendor, and he offered to try to fix them if I was
dissatisfied. When I mentioned that I thought they were ruined, and I
would have to buy replacements, and he seem surprised.
It almost looks like they had a new guy there and they told him to go
buff the parts, and he just kept pushing on them until the pits were
gone regardless of flat spots he was making in the pot metal. Looks very
amateurish.
I am expecting too much?
Not sure what to do.
Don Malling
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