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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
 
Location: Wild Wonderful | I need the Tail Light Housings for both sides of the 1957-1958 DeSoto.
A total of four pieces, (the lens housings and the back plates).
I tried to get mine replated, and the people told me that they were
too deeply pitted to get plated.
I did not send the ones in the picture, because they were damaged.
Edited by 58DeSoDodge59 2016-07-27 9:16 AM
 (ydesoto5.jpg)
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 ydesoto5.jpg (65KB - 97 downloads)
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Location: Under the X in Texas | It is a true problem for '57-58 DeSoto owners. There have been multiple repro projects over the years but apparently all failed. I'm hoping someone with a good sized 3D printer will create new housings very SOON.
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8443
Location: Perth Australia | Look up muggy weld and have a go at repairing them, nothing to loose except the cost of materials and some time?
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | Okay. I ordered some Muggy Weld. I will let ya'all know how it does.
I never heard of it before. It sounds pretty easy.
http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=62053&...
Edited by 58DeSoDodge59 2016-07-27 9:27 PM
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8443
Location: Perth Australia | I think the hard part is not loosing the shape, but if you do it a bit at a time?
I havnt used it yet, its one of those "I will get around to it" things
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | The good thing is that the plating shop already has these things stripped down to bare metal. |
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | I bought 5 sets before finally buying NOS ones on ebay a while back . Getting the surrounds cast is not problem and the guy says he can cast the bodies , but its the detail around the the base of each lens and where the lenses sits in plus the stud threads that worry me for low cost casting . Hence why I gace away trying to do them . And as for the muggy weld , well these tail lights get pitting and broken pieces all the way across them and also get pitting at the base of each lens and I think the linishing down would be extremely time consuming . I just had new "Firedome " emblems made (50 of them ) , and they did a lousy job of dremelying the flashing off after casting and then chromed them anyway , so I said I didn't want them ! Repro is hard with these cars unless you have total control |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | If you have any old, pitted ones that you don't want, just let me know. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | Wanted 1957-58 DeSota tail lite housings.
My DeSota has no tail lites. |
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | The problem is the amount tail lights owe me by the time they freighted to me and bought in US dollars to Australia even for bad ones you would vomit at the price , so its not worth for you to buy from me unless an item is ready to go . Average ones turn up on ebay quite often . I have one at a chrome shop in Australia that they finished and doubled the quoted cost on , so I told them to keep it !
Was $560 to rechrome only one main housing and I already had paid to have it stripped and hydro cleaned elsewhere and bought from the US , so being over here we just pour money down the drain , so its a painful process to restore a Desoto in this country ! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | You're right.
Try not to pour any more money down the drain.
Good luck with your adventures, or should I say Adventurers.
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Location: Parts Unknown | These poor things just scream to be damaged. If the crappy chrome-directly-over
-pot metal did not doom them to pitting, then the general size and location doomed
them to getting crunched. I came from the land of eternal rains, and pitting was awful
on anything that was driven and used. Worse on cars that sat outside. All it took was
the slightest pressure on the bumper to shove it forward and break the lower body on
these.
I had a near perfect set saved for my car and installed them just nine months before
being rearended by a crackhead driving a stolen car. I cannot express how pleased I
am over that experience.
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Expert
Posts: 3887
Location: Northen Virginia | I think some guys went for the chrome painting with good results.. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8443
Location: Perth Australia | To follow on with Denis's thought, could they be recast in plastic (resin) then chromed with that ultra chrome stuff?
Or my favorite thing "3D print it" job done
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | George Laurie did them and they turned out a bit unsuccessful I believe. I think Ed has a pair of these on his 57 .
But the problem with resin cast is the harsh pressing in of the globe holders , and the thread holes with overtightening etc , I wouldn't be happy with them . The surround I can get cast no problem . But if you had plenty of money I would get a the housing machined from a billet . That would be good . |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | Give us your tired, your poor, your pitted tail lights.
 (tailsoto.jpg)
Attachments
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tailsoto.jpg (54KB - 102 downloads)
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Have you done the muggy weld thing yet ?
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1112
Location: Wild Wonderful | No, not yet. I just ordered it a few days ago, so it has not arrived yet. |
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Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028
Location: Melbourne, Australia | ok look forward to seeing how you go . I think mastering the soldering wont be the problem , it will be filling a million pits with the solder and linishing it down nicely in nasty areas will be really time consuming and tedious .
Edited by The Adventurer 2016-08-02 9:16 PM
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57-58 DeSoto Tail light Housings
