PG Classic strikes again -- reproduction '68 tail light bezels!

[bull]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-Mopar-NEW-Charger-Taillight-Bezel-Set_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ140741QQihZ002QQitemZ120045117101QQrdZ1

They still can't spell but they sure are cranking out the '68 Charger goodies lately. And for that I am quite thankful.

[Rocky]

WOW! That is cool.  The aftermarket has been coming up with some great new products lately.

[Recharger]

I just saw those too.  If only my budget could keep up.   

[triple_green]

Cheaper and easier than re-chroming.

[BigBlockSam]

nice! but out of my budget too. Rene

[Manfred318]

I'd buy some if I had the $$$ 

[OttawaCharger]

All they need now is the stainless piece under the trunk and the long piece under that and they have all the chrome for the rear panel. 

[charge-it]

Now, if they would only repop the housing that those bolt to, maybe they are next. I just might push the button on this part though.

[Troy]

Now, if they would only repop the housing that those bolt to, maybe they are next. I just might push the button on this part though.

In the past, when discussing the housings with vendors it seems that there are a lot of good, existing ones to use. The bezels however are almost always pitted too bad to repair. Since the housings are bigger the tooling costs more which could price new ones higher than what it costs to rechrome the old ones. Of course, it may become feasible at some point but I'm happy to have the difficult items first.

Troy

[gtx6970]

So who here is gonna pull the trigger and buy a set to see if they fit

[bull]

So who here is gonna pull the trigger and buy a set to see if they fit

The one thing about PG Classic I wish were better (besides their webmaster's spelling and grammer ) is their product descriptions. I'm the kind of person who likes to know a lot about reproduction products before I buy them. What are they made of? How does their chroming process work? Are the ridges cast or milled? Are they clear-coated? Etc. They sure look like very nice parts though.

EDIT** One thing I might add here is that I think these bezels cost a good $100 more than they ought to. But if they can sell them at that price I guess that's what the market dictates.

[Silver R/T]

looks like nice repro, but bit too expensive. Maybe when I retire

[Sinister68]

Now, if they would only repop the housing that those bolt to, maybe they are next. I just might push the button on this part though.

DITTO!  I could really use those tail light housings too! 

[8WHEELER]

So who here is gonna pull the trigger and buy a set to see if they fit

TRIGGER PULLED.............  I will report in. It cost me less than this to chrome a set 7yrs ago
at a good small shop that had the best price., But the EPA took them down after years of dumping
things illegally    that's why there prices were great.

Dan

[41husk]

what does it cost???

[bull]

what does it cost???

The set is $235 plus shipping on Ebay but, as we learned with the top plates, some items are cheaper when you order through their website. However I don't see these bezels on their website yet.

[41husk]

That is not terrible compared to having them rechromed.

[Charger_Fan]

I don't have to worry about those.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

So who here is gonna pull the trigger and buy a set to see if they fit

TRIGGER PULLED.............  I will report in. It cost me less than this to chrome a set 7yrs ago
at a good small shop that had the best price., But the EPA took them down after years of dumping
things illegally    that's why there prices were great.

Dan

Thanks... I will wait to hear your report...

XS

[bull]

I don't have to worry about those.

Too bad for you, sucka!

[8WHEELER]

what does it cost???

Hi
If you are asking ''me'' how much my tail lights cost to chrome, they were $200.00 for the pair.
They chromed all 4 of the bezels and the two large housings, 7yrs ago, those were the days. They also
chargered me $350.00 to polish all of the stainless on the charger, including the vinyl top and
the grille, but they did not coat or plate the grill pieces so they need to be done again 

Here are the lights I had re-chromed 7yrs ago for $200.00, you can see the leading edge is rolled over
a bit, so its not as good as new, but better than most.

Dan

[charge-it]

What color black did you use on the housings? Was it a spray can ,or did you get the housings and tail panel painted all at the same time using a spray gun?

[8WHEELER]

What color black did you use on the housings? Was it a spray can ,or did you get the housings and tail panel painted all at the same time using a spray gun?

I had to paint both, I just used a satin black spray can on the tail light housings. The hard part is painting inside that ring area,
its only about 1/4in wide, but it gets painted as well. They had chromed and polished the entire large housing, so we had
to scuff most of it up for the paint to stick well. I told them several times that only the outside ring of the large housing
needs to be chromed, but does anybody listen to me     oh well.  Then you paint the ribbed parts of the small
housings a flat white color. I have seen some do it gray, but a white color is correct.

Dan

[69chargerboy]

What about for 69?

[gtx6970]

Dan,
Neat picture of just the lamp assy. I need some better pics of the car btw

[gtx6970]

Ok, I'm thinking out loud rught now and it may be a litte pre-mature .
But is there an interest in a group buy on these ?

I have no idea on costs or anything at this time and was just wondering. I MIGHT be able to set it up

[bull]

Ok, I'm thinking out loud rught now and it may be a litte pre-mature .
But is there an interest in a group buy on these ?

I have no idea on costs or anything at this time and was just wondering. I MIGHT be able to set it up

Not a bad idea. PG Classic has a lot of stuff that would probably sell pretty well with a group buy, especially their repop bezels if they would let us do more than one year. I have a feeling that the '68 4spd top plates might not do that well here because it's such a specialized part but I'd love to get a discount on one.

[Troy]

Ok, I'm thinking out loud rught now and it may be a litte pre-mature .
But is there an interest in a group buy on these ?

I have no idea on costs or anything at this time and was just wondering. I MIGHT be able to set it up

Like before - I'll take two.

FYI - I have to point out that Gunslinger already started on the tooling for these and asked P&G over the summer if they were going to make them and they said "no". It's certainly sweet of them to jump the gun and beat him to market.

Troy

[Blusmbl]

I bought a set too, we'll see how they look when they arrive in about a week. 

[charge-it]

Put me in for one set on the group buy.

[Steve P.]

Just tell me why DODGE didn't use these tail lights on that (RETRO), thing with the Charger tag??

[bull]

Just tell me why DODGE didn't use these tail lights on that (RETRO), thing with the Charger tag??

Because the designers and engineers were specifically told to "keep it ugly" when the '06 was in its planning stages. Well, I don't know that for sure but it certainly seems to be the case.

[Lennard]

So...A couple guys bought these in 2006 and said they would get back here with quality and fitment information.
I'm trying to decide if I should re chrome my originals or buy these new ones. Any information 10 years later?

[Richard Cranium]

If your originals aren't badly pitted, rechrome them.

[Lennard]

Mine are slightly pitted but re chroming is most likely going to cost more than the new ones cost. They are $240 from Classic Industries so with their 30% discount it's an attractive option. Unless they don't fit right of course.

[Daytona R/T SE]

Mine are slightly pitted but re chroming is most likely going to cost more than the new ones cost. They are $240 from Classic Industries so with their 30% discount it's an attractive option. Unless they don't fit right of course.

If the '68 tail light parts are anything like the '69 tail light parts I got from Classic Industries...

RUN AWAY !



Here's a little light reading on my experience:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,116275.msg1440579.html#msg1440579

[Lennard]

That's why I'd like to hear the opinion from somebody that actually bought them and mounted them on their car.

[bull]

That's why I'd like to hear the opinion from somebody that actually bought them and mounded them on their car.

I got a set quite a while ago and I had to modify them to get them to fit. At least one side of the notches at the bottom of each bezel had to be hogged out so they would go over the bottom of the housings. I can't recall if it had to do with the orientation of the mounting screws or what but it wasn't a huge deal. For the price, yeah, they should have been plug and play but after I modified them you can't tell anything is screwy. And they do look really nice as far as the grooves looking right, and the chrome looks good.

They would probably be fine if you bought the whole shebang but I mated these bezels to my original housings.

[Lennard]

Thanks for your review Curtis.  The whole shebang would cost about $1000 so that's a bit to much in my opinion.

[bull]

Thanks for your review Curtis.  The whole shebang would cost about $1000 so that's a bit to much in my opinion.

Like Dick Hea...er, Richard Cranium said above, if yours aren't pitted too bad you might have them rechromed. My problem with that though is it's a tricky job because only the outer ring is supposed to be smooth chrome. The ribbed part is argent silver and then there's the black stripe. That's why I didn't get mine rechromed. I wasn't going to pay all that $$$ only to have them look wrong. Honestly I think grinding the PG Classic bezels down is the better option.

[Lennard]

Thanks for your advice.  I'll think it over for a bit.

[charge69]

What about for 69?

  Yep, they are available as I bought both the lenses and chrome trim from Dante's Parts for mine. He even installed the chrome trim for me before he shipped them.
Better hang on to your wallet though as it was $750.00 for the lenses and chrome trim together.

[Lennard]

Thanks for your review Curtis.  The whole shebang would cost about $1000 so that's a bit to much in my opinion.

Like Dick Hea...er, Richard Cranium said above, if yours aren't pitted too bad you might have them rechromed. My problem with that though is it's a tricky job because only the outer ring is supposed to be smooth chrome. The ribbed part is argent silver and then there's the black stripe. That's why I didn't get mine rechromed. I wasn't going to pay all that $$$ only to have them look wrong. Honestly I think grinding the PG Classic bezels down is the better option.

Don't you damage/break open the chrome when you grind the bezels down?

[Charger_Dart]

I bought a set from them in November of 2006 and they still look good on the car today. The chrome has held up very well and the fit was decent on my set so no modifications were needed. FWIW I would recommend them.

[PlainfieldCharger]

I bought a set from them in November of 2006 and they still look good on the car today. The chrome has held up very well and the fit was decent on my set so no modifications were needed. FWIW I would recommend them.

I bought mine 3 years ago. Was ready to grind them to fit if necessary. Fit was good enough to not have to grind I couldn't bring myself to paint the sides silver. Still look great today...only 3 years...

[Lennard]

Okay,  thank you guys for the feedback. 

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Mine are still great 10,000 miles later..bought them in 2009??

[Lennard]

Did you had to grind them down to make them fit?  My "worry" is more about the fitment.  I don't want to spend $250 and then damage the chrome by grinding them down to make them fit.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

No AMD metal PG parts lol

[Lennard]

No AMD metal PG parts lol

I'm asking cause Bull/ Curtis had to grind his PG bezels down to make them fit.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Not that I recall

[Lennard]

Okay,  thanks for the info.

[bull]

Thanks for your review Curtis.  The whole shebang would cost about $1000 so that's a bit to much in my opinion.

Like Dick Hea...er, Richard Cranium said above, if yours aren't pitted too bad you might have them rechromed. My problem with that though is it's a tricky job because only the outer ring is supposed to be smooth chrome. The ribbed part is argent silver and then there's the black stripe. That's why I didn't get mine rechromed. I wasn't going to pay all that $$$ only to have them look wrong. Honestly I think grinding the PG Classic bezels down is the better option.

Don't you damage/break open the chrome when you grind the bezels down?

No, because the chrome is only on the front edge of the bezels. The part I had to grind was on the back edge of the bezels where the notches are cut out to fit over the housings. That area is just ribbed pot metal that's painted argent silver.

[Lennard]

Got it, thanks again for the explanation. 

[bull]

After looking over some previous comments I'm thinking I should have sent my bezels back. Apparently I'm alone in having to grind mine down. I tried to get them to fit every way I could think of before grinding on them but they just wouldn't go.