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Auto Detailing and AppearanceShare tips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something tasteful looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
Finally got around to waxing the IROC for the first time this year, and a couple things are bugging me. First, is there any GOOD repro side mouldings out there?
Also, who still has this door edge piece on their car? Pulled this off just to see what it looked like underneath. 30 years of wax residue?! With a lot of elbow grease and compound, actually cleaned up pretty nice. Question is do I put the protector back on? Car looks much cleaner without it!
The only repops I know of are made by Hawks. But they are the post 86 style. No one that I know of makes the 82-86 style. Some NOS parts pop up now and again. They are always very expensive. I have a random assortment of pieces that are from Junkyards. Best thing to do is just pick them up when you see them. http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/mold...ding-6-pc-kit/
I still have the door edge moldings on my car. Actually took them off of a 83 Daytona car this guy was parting. Got them for free, and they cleaned up really nice. You can buy any random ebay molding for these. Its like $20. The OEM thirdgen ones are nicer due to how they are curved with the door. They came in metal and rubber.
I do plan on keeping the edge protectors, just not sure if wanna put them back on. Whenever I drive the car I park far away from other vehicles. But occasionally the wife takes it to work, and that parking lot is pretty crowded. Maybe I'll put the drivers side back on for every day use and just take it off at car shows, lol...
Id keep it on all the time. I have a 2 car garage so my car is always next to a wall or the daily. They help alot. Besides, the way I see it, just like the louvers and Overhead console flashlight its just one of those 80s things that make these cars cool.
I have yet to see anything that suggests the edge guards are factory. However, used to be able to buy the stuff at any auto parts store. I had them on something at some point, but have long since removed them, just like mud flaps... Most of that protective accessory stuff causes it's own issues.
The moldings should accept paint. Last time I needed a set of the early moldings, the door piece was still available in the color I needed. Ordered enough to do the doors and cut the pieces I needed for the body. Sold em with the car, still NOS... Kind of wonder what happened to them now...
I have yet to see anything that suggests the edge guards are factory. However, used to be able to buy the stuff at any auto parts store. I had them on something at some point, but have long since removed them, just like mud flaps... Most of that protective accessory stuff causes it's own issues.
The moldings should accept paint. Last time I needed a set of the early moldings, the door piece was still available in the color I needed. Ordered enough to do the doors and cut the pieces I needed for the body. Sold em with the car, still NOS... Kind of wonder what happened to them now...
Funny you mention the mud guards... With 90,000 miles on the car was obviously driven over the years, and has chips on the rockers and ground effects to prove it. Kinda wondered if i should try and find some old school IROC mud flaps for it. Put them on my first car way back in the day. Hated the way they looked, but they definitely keep everything looking nice. And I didn't think about just painting the mouldings. Maybe I'll look into that next summer. Not really a priority this year.
I was able to get a Nos set for all 4 wheels not too long ago. They are not era correct but they will do. There is a NOS Thirdgen "Trans Am" set on ebay for like $250 IIRC. Its crazy. I was able to get a NOS Z28 set. Gonna put them my Iroc.
Most of the logo mudflaps aren't even GM parts. Sure GM carried them as accessory parts over the parts counter, but they're still just cheap aftermarket parts. We had those "Trans Am" mudflaps on the shelf of the auto parts store I worked for $4.99 a pair, that was in about 2003. Check small town mom-pop parts stores, probably tons of them still out there.
Mud flaps collect sand, dirt, road salt, etc. Trapped between the flap and the fender lip, the trash abrades the paint... Kind of pointless.
My job has me moving around a lot, gonna start looking thanks for the tip.
I picked up this set for $20 a month ago. Hopefully I will find a NOS set for cheaper than $295.
I'd buy a sheet of flexible plastic and have the logos printed before spending that kind of money on NOS parts that lose their value the second you open the package.
My job has me moving around a lot, gonna start looking thanks for the tip.
I picked up this set for $20 a month ago. Hopefully I will find a NOS set for cheaper than $295.
I have yet to see anything that suggests the edge guards are factory. However, used to be able to buy the stuff at any auto parts store. I had them on something at some point, but have long since removed them, just like mud flaps... Most of that protective accessory stuff causes it's own issues.
The moldings should accept paint. Last time I needed a set of the early moldings, the door piece was still available in the color I needed. Ordered enough to do the doors and cut the pieces I needed for the body. Sold em with the car, still NOS... Kind of wonder what happened to them now...
Drew,look in your Parts and Illustration catalog,the door guards were a production part from 82-90,it lists the P/N as 99741.section 21.445A,Molding Pkg.Door Edge Guard
I just came inside from the garage and I was working on these splash guards I made out of Camaro mud flaps. I also pulled the old door guards off and found replacements that really cleaned up the appearance of the doors. I spent a couple afternoons removing poorly repaired or touched-up stone chips, so now that the doors are back to where they should be, no way will I go "naked" without these guards to protect the doors from those Gators!
I'm planning on using 4th Gen Firebird side moulding (molding?). The section that goes on the door is the same length as the 3rd gen. If I remember right, the sections that go on the front and rear quarter panels are a little bit longer on the 93-97 Firebirds and look better.
Like other 4th gen Interior and Exterior parts that can swap over, it's seems weird that they fit the 3rd Gen Model so well and sometimes better than 4th Gen.
My job has me moving around a lot, gonna start looking thanks for the tip.
I picked up this set for $20 a month ago. Hopefully I will find a NOS set for cheaper than $295.