The GTX (1969 Plymouth GTX)

[Rich H.]

De-rusted the bumper brackets in the dip tank, welded on a couple MIA weld nuts, painted epoxy/summit single stage black/my go-to general chassis black. Applied some wax to the backside instead of painting the backside like alot of folks do.

The long pins work with a ratchet strap to help me install the part solo. The idea Doesn't work 100% on the bumper because a pinch weld interferes, but helps get it about 80% in place.

The OE bumper fit the car really poorly, it fought me 30 years ago, and this reproduction rear bumper fought me quite a bit harder, and it took several tries to find the magic shim combination
to fit acceptably well. That and some of the trim did not want to do what I needed it to do. There were a few headaches and I did have to take a step back more than once. Have to admit a few parts on this thing did kick my butt for a minute.
I'll probably still try to round up another solid OE bumper just to have in the corner in case of future need.

 

[Rich H.]

My current situation starts now.

I saved the original tail light lenses with sanding/polishing. This seems to be fairly common knowledge but I'll explain to anyone looking to try it.

The reproduction bezels have the problems that everyone says/they don't fit exactly right.
But they sure look like they belong there, and I was surprised to find them at a discount so I can't complain much.
After I got them I realized part of the discount might have been, all the studs inside the package from pg classic were the wrong size, and way too small. I had to pull the original 10-24 studs out of the old bezels and use those instead. Situation normal.

The GTX emblem is the one that's been on the car as long as I've owned it, the only one I own, and might be original... it's not perfect but fine for now. The plymouth emblem is from a swap meet.
I spent some time cleaning and refinishing those. Pretty easy project to paint and solvent wipe the face.

 

[Rich H.]

A shot to show the improvement....I lived with the pitted originals for a few decades. Time to try to do better.
The original lenses look right at home.

 

[Rich H.]

A couple of the small parts in the dip tank. It's 6 gallons of vinegar and a handful of salt in the tank. Works pretty well but is a little slow. I can move on, go do other things, and come back to these later, hopefully finding them rust free or nearly so.

I know these are available new, but really don't see a reason to replace them if they'll clean up.

The reverse light housings and lenses cleaned up pretty nice, did not get a picture yet.

That's about all I've got for now. Thanks for following and checking out this mess!