hddennis Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 One of my favorite parts of the old car hobby was always the beautiful hood ornaments. I've always noticed how much of the original beauty is lost in re-chroming. I think I have finally found the worst example. I can't believe they actually think this horrendous piece is actually New Old Stock!! Howard Dennis http://www.ebay.com/itm/401101343864?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Wow, that's BAD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Made in Toledo, that could give you the Willys. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Well it is not hard to see why they were never able to sell it and remained on the shelf all theses years until they closed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) This is one of the biggest problems in this hobby: people assuming that old means crappy, as if the guys building cars in the 1930s and 1940s just couldn't do a very good job. As a result, they accept crappiness as "that's just how they were," and most old cars are running around with junk like this hood ornament on them, loose suspensions, rough-running engines, and vague steering, all owned by idiots who think that crappiness was standard equipment back then. There are so many cars out there with owners who genuinely think they have good examples and they really have dangerous, badly-repaired, and downright scary examples, simply because they don't know any better. What a shame. Edited April 13, 2016 by Matt Harwood (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danleblanc Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) I wouldn't even put that on my 2004 deVille if I was looking to cheese it up. And I hate that car to boot! Out of the nearly 40 cars I've owned since 1996, it is truly the one and only car I regret buying. The guys on American Pickers go nuts for old Motometers and pay big $ for them and state they sell them for big $. This seller is likely a victim of "I saw it on TV, so let's flip it and make big $ like the TV guys." Instead, he bought a really ugly paperweight. Something so badly restored, half melted away, it's likely good for the recycling bin. Edited April 13, 2016 by danleblanc (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 It looks like the prepping for re-plating was with a sand blaster and 80 grit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Winged Goddess? It looks more like a winged goat. Oy Vey....................Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 One thing I have learned from experience OEM replacement parts, especially trim pieces can be a much lower quality (seconds) that production line installed parts. Not as bad as that radiator cap, but pretty bad. When I painted my '64 Riviera in 1980 there were still boxed NOS parts available from Buick. I bought a horn bar, which was nice. I bought two NOS RIVIERA fender scripts and, boy, were they crap. They looked like they had been lightly sandblasted and plated. I ended up reusing the originals that were near 20 years old and much better finished. Over the years I have paid attention to boxed NOS stuff for sale and found lesser quality quite common. Quality control must have inspected and put grade A in a bin for production, lesser for replacement stock, and scrapped the junk. I live near Rochester, of carburetor and DELCO fame. There used to be stories of the three levels of door lock grading, A's for the driver door, stickies for the passenger door, and scarp. Who ever used a key to unlock a passenger door? Corporate thinking. BTW, both plants are closed. So, even though some old stuff wasn't as bad as the winged goat, I have seen some shoddy stuff tagged as new. Oh, I sold those disappointing scripts on Ebay a few years ago; NIB. They weren't nice enough to make a belt buckle. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hddennis Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 2 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: One thing I have learned from experience OEM replacement parts, especially trim pieces can be a much lower quality (seconds) that production line installed parts. Not as bad as that radiator cap, but pretty bad. When I painted my '64 Riviera in 1980 there were still boxed NOS parts available from Buick. I bought a horn bar, which was nice. I bought two NOS RIVIERA fender scripts and, boy, were they crap. They looked like they had been lightly sandblasted and plated. I ended up reusing the originals that were near 20 years old and much better finished. Over the years I have paid attention to boxed NOS stuff for sale and found lesser quality quite common. Quality control must have inspected and put grade A in a bin for production, lesser for replacement stock, and scrapped the junk. I live near Rochester, of carburetor and DELCO fame. There used to be stories of the three levels of door lock grading, A's for the driver door, stickies for the passenger door, and scarp. Who ever used a key to unlock a passenger door? Corporate thinking. BTW, both plants are closed. So, even though some old stuff wasn't as bad as the winged goat, I have seen some shoddy stuff tagged as new. Oh, I sold those disappointing scripts on Ebay a few years ago; NIB. They weren't nice enough to make a belt buckle. Bernie Thirty years ago I restored a 1965 Shelby GT350 that had been abused for years on the drag strip. I bought a lot of N.O.S. FoMoCo parts and had a lot of trouble getting them to fit my car. A local body shop owner told me that when a car was first put into production that any parts that gave the slightest trouble on the assembly line were pulled and marked as replacement parts figuring the aftermarket had more time for "fitting" than the factory did. Considering all the trouble I had I believe it to be gospel! Howard Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Man, that's the worst piece of stuff I've ever seen (almost). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dix40 Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 I've been after the correct "lady" for my 31 Ply PA for a while. The gentleman that sold me one commented on how many are destroyed during the plating process. i will see my plater this week and ask him how they are damaged so badly. I will guess it is acid dipped to remove the existing chrome. Pot metal doesn't stand up to acid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) 2 hours ago, hddennis said: Thirty years ago I restored a 1965 Shelby GT350 that had been abused for years on the drag strip. I bought a lot of N.O.S. FoMoCo parts and had a lot of trouble getting them to fit my car. A local body shop owner told me that when a car was first put into production that any parts that gave the slightest trouble on the assembly line were pulled and marked as replacement parts figuring the aftermarket had more time for "fitting" than the factory did. Considering all the trouble I had I believe it to be gospel! Howard Dennis 1 hour ago, dix40 said: I've been after the correct "lady" for my 31 Ply PA for a while. The gentleman that sold me one commented on how many are destroyed during the plating process. i will see my plater this week and ask him how they are damaged so badly. I will guess it is acid dipped to remove the existing chrome. Pot metal doesn't stand up to acid. This is true that the parts that go to factory service are sometimes not to specification. But that is generally parts that gave the automated assembly machines a difficult time placing the part in the home position. But ok to by used with manual assembly. I would also never buy a part from an after market supplier that had an auto manufacturers stamp on it as you may have issues with it. Edited April 14, 2016 by Joe in Canada (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFranklin Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 (edited) Parts being plated, if needing it, sees a bit of the "Wheel". Detail get lost in the equation unless there is full understanding about the job. Edited April 15, 2016 by JFranklin (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hddennis Posted April 17, 2016 Author Share Posted April 17, 2016 Just thought I'd update you all, the cap sold for $325!! What was it that PT Barnum used to say? Howard Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Well hddennis.........you know how some guys are about shiny things....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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