John_Mc Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I'm strongly considering purchasing this '69 Country Squire but the problem is that this front left "rail" piece is broken. IF I could ever find a piece like this, it would be the "Kings Ransom". Then the thought came to me, is this not fixable via 3-D printing? The left side is an exact mirror image. Anyone know who might be able to tackle this job? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Yes, I would expect an orig. near impossible to find. 3D is certainly the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Smolinski Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 There are FB groups for the Country Squire. Maybe they can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 I'm sure it could be done as you describe but I doubt the material/color/finish will be anything close to the adjacent original piece. No doubt a used piece would be rare but I wouldn't classify it a unobtanium. I suspect you might have to buy the whole fender that it's attached to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Is the broken piece plastic or a cast metal? On the Ford pickups, that is known as a racetrack molding. 😄 Is that just one piece broken, or is there a joint in the upper horizontal run and two pieces are broken? Was this 1969 racetrack trim originally wood grain? I know the later ones were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 I bet there are more of those trim pieces around than one thinks. The Country Squire was a strong seller for a Ford wagon that year, and that corner of the car was/is an area of many a collision in the day when they were popular. I bet bodyshops and the dealer's own body shops placed lots of orders for corner trim pieces, including this particular piece. Check out all the older medium-sized town dealer's parts departments. I'll bet there must be at least ONE laying on a shelf somewhere!! Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 3D printing requires the dimensions of a good original. In any case, you'll be amazed at how many parts like that are still out there. Find the original Ford part numbers and do Google and Ebay searches - you'll likely find that NOS parts are out there (though at a price). Join groups dedicated to that model and search the classifieds. Meet other aficionados and get the word out that you need those parts. Find cars being parted out. Go to swap meets. Check FB Marketplace. Learn how to write a narrowly targeted search string. The "hunt" for parts like this is a part of the old car hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 By the way, those faux woodgrain trim parts are fiberglass. It's probably easier to carve foam patterns, make simple molds, and lay up your own reproductions than to find and pay for 3D printing. Also the fiberglass will be stronger. I see that you've already found the FB group for country squires. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 11 hours ago, Frank DuVal said: Is the broken piece plastic or a cast metal? On the Ford pickups, that is known as a racetrack molding. 😄 Is that just one piece broken, or is there a joint in the upper horizontal run and two pieces are broken? Was this 1969 racetrack trim originally wood grain? I know the later ones were. Frank, these rails are made of fiberglass, and then a very subtle silkscreen pattern was applied. There is a company in CA than can reproduce the exact pattern on the rails, but of course they need the pieces to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 Great tips from everyone, thanks. If I could find the original, I'd probably buy the car. The rest of the body is beautiful. Thanks again to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 That piece could be built up fairly easily using fiberglass impregnated plastic resin (tiger hair) and finished with bondo, Simply make templates that you slide along the wet bondo for the finished shape. Not hard, but time consuming. Use a method similar to this, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 (edited) You might also want to try stationwagonforums.com It's an active forum and someone may have what you need. Edited August 31, 2020 by Harold (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Go ahead and buy the car. The part will turn up if you look. If it doesn't, take the car to a few shows, I guarantee someone will come along who has one or knows someone who has. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Great responses from everyone, thank you so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Rusty is right. When you take a car to an event with an obvious part missing or damaged, helpful folks will start helping you to find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 22 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said: Go ahead and buy the car. The part will turn up if you look. If it doesn't, take the car to a few shows, I guarantee someone will come along who has one or knows someone who has. Yep, I’m going for it, thanks Rusty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 On 8/31/2020 at 10:26 PM, Rusty_OToole said: Go ahead and buy the car. The part will turn up if you look. If it doesn't, take the car to a few shows, I guarantee someone will come along who has one or knows someone who has. Rusty, I bought the car this morning! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADEBYMANMADE Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 (edited) Greetings, I reproduced a carburetor heat control choke plate in 3D for a 1927 Buick. The object will be 3D printed. 3D printing and designing is my hobby for more than 6 years now. I'm able to reproduce various missing or broken parts. It always helps if there is an example part which can be measured by caliper to be copied into 3D. Personally I like to copy by caliper and ruler. For smaller parts I can use a 3D scanner. Reproduction can also be achieved from a minimum of 3 photo's (top view, front view, side view,) but the more views the better plus general size of object i.e. HxWxDepth. Sometimes reverse engineering can produce parts too Let me know if I can be of any help. Regards, Matt Edited September 4, 2020 by MADEBYMANMADE (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 On 9/3/2020 at 8:49 PM, MADEBYMANMADE said: Greetings, I reproduced a carburetor heat control choke plate in 3D for a 1927 Buick. The object will be 3D printed. 3D printing and designing is my hobby for more than 6 years now. I'm able to reproduce various missing or broken parts. It always helps if there is an example part which can be measured by caliper to be copied into 3D. Personally I like to copy by caliper and ruler. For smaller parts I can use a 3D scanner. Reproduction can also be achieved from a minimum of 3 photo's (top view, front view, side view,) but the more views the better plus general size of object i.e. HxWxDepth. Sometimes reverse engineering can produce parts too Let me know if I can be of any help. Regards, Matt Matt, great info and while I might come to you in a bit, I have come across a parts car that looks like it has just what the doctor ordered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KURTRUK Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 If the subject car has the corresponding part on the right side, one would be able to use that when doing computer modeling. Just change one of your x/y/z coordinates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Buy the car and leisurely look for the part. The broken piece of trim makes an easy focal point for the nitpickers. They will zero in and bring it to your attention with heartfelt sadness and wonder. Once they get past sharing their deep concern they will move along, overlooking any other flaws in the car and satisfied they did their duty. I always leave some obvious item like that unaddressed. It saves them time looking. And sometimes I set things up to distract attention. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 I was looking for the similar part on my 76 El Camino and somebody asked me if I wanted to buy a parts car for $100. I now have plenty of parts to keep me going for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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