Replacement faux wood trim...

53ryder

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I looked at a K-body today. I know this is a FJM body forum. I hope someone may have a little experience with K-cars because I'm not having any luck with online searches. The K-body forum I checked into is just about dead. I looked at a 1982 Chrysler Town and Country station wagon today (K-body so I'm told). Needs a good cleaning inside and out. All the outside 'fake wood' trim parts are faded pretty badly. I can't seem to find if there are replacement kits online. Could be I'm not using the correct term in my searches. Could be there are no replacement kits around. Anyone have any experience with this? TIA!

Glenn
 
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Aspen500

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I would highly doubt there's a trim kit for a K-car. The wood on the sheetmetal can be had, whether you can find the original style grain is unknown though. As for "styles and rails" or whatever you'd call them, not sure. I assume they're a stamped metal piece with a woodgrain applique and could also be recovered.
I haven't seen a K-car (around here anyways) for at least 20 years.
 

53ryder

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there are some k groups on Facebook.you might check there for help

Already have. So far I've more response from this forum than from that one. I guess there's not much interest in K-bodies. At least not yet.

Glenn
 

volare 77

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Only options I see are paint them all the same color. Or Paint them and try and give a faux wood trim look. Or recover them with wood grain vinyl wrap or something like that. Or find NOS parts. Or leave them be. There is a guy on facebook that is covering his wood grain volare trim in vinyl and from the pics it looks very good. The problem with K cars is they probably will never get a large following and I doubt many of the NOS mopar parts guys held on to the stuff. If you can get the part numbers then it will help in your search.
 

volare 77

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Apparently the T&C is based off the Lebaron. I have a crash book with part numbers but I`m not sure whether they are correct. 4276012 4276013 fenders, 4276016 4276017 front doors, 4276020 4276021 rear doors, 4276024 4276025 rear quarters, 4276028 fuel door , 4276004 4276005 4319790 tailgate
 

volare 77

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Arizona parts and Brads NOS show a lot of those part numbers. You may want to touch base with them to ensure those are what you are looking for. Brads seems to have multiples of a lot of the part numbers so he may be willing to deal. I doubt they are hot sellers. Worth a call
 

old yellow 78

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In a 2017 issue of Hemmings Classic Cars there was an article about the restoration of a '79 Plymouth Horizon. I don't remember which issue it was specifically, but here is an EB listing for it:
1979 PLYMOUTH HORIZON RESTORATION 6 pg Color Article | eBay
It was interesting - and also unusual. This person completely restored the Horizon to factory specs. It was impressive. They also put new faux woodgrain on the sides, but one thing I remember is that they didn't match the woodgrain from panel to panel which I thought detracted from the overall effect unfortunately. You might be able to get some ideas from this article and possibly source the woodgrain. I seem to remember the article talking about how that was difficult for the person to find.
I think that the Horizon/Omni's and Reliant/Aries and the various offshoots were also interesting cars. I had a friend who bought a new Horizon America which was a great car until she drove it underneath the back of a trash truck. I once had an '87 Dodge Aries LE four door in dark gray with light gray interior. It was a very nice comfortable car. Dependable and good looking. The worst complaint I had about it was the tiny gas tank, which would only hold enough gas for 200 miles. Constantly stopping for gas. Sold it with well over 100k on it and it still looked and ran great.
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volare 77

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I was thinking he was asking about the trim around the wood grain not the wood grain overlay itself.
 

old yellow 78

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I was thinking he was asking about the trim around the wood grain not the wood grain overlay itself.
Oh, could be that too I guess. I read it differently. Either way, I'm sure the the trim could be removed and recovered if it is metal based. Bet it would be quite a job though. If it is the stuff that the M body T&C wagons used, I'm not so sure. That stuff seems to be a plastic of some sort and tends to warp. Looks like the owner of this wagon screwed it tight at the bottom.
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89.Fifth

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If it were me, I would redo it all in real wood, and at this point it might be easier than restoring the plastics.
 

53ryder

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Not a skilled enough wood guy to attempt using 'real' wood. Yes, I'm talking about the raised wood trim, not the panels themselves. The panels are actually okay from what I remember. Am thinking if I did buy this car was to clean off the trim. Mask it off, on the car, prime it, and then paint it to match the original as best I can. Then give it a clear coat. Anything would better than how it looks now.

Mulling it over....

Glenn
 
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old yellow 78

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On Hemmings Daily there is an '85 Chrysler T&C for sale (see pics below). Although it looks like it's in really nice shape, it is pricey @ $11,000 OBO, with 42K miles. But, as I looked at it, I started to think that the K's (Aries and Reliant) as well as the L's (Omni and Horizon) may actually become collectible in the not too distant future. The reasons for this prediction are:
1. They are actually nice little cars. I had an '87 Aries LE sedan, and I liked it. It was comfortable, fairly quick, nice looking, economical, and inexpensive. No problems with it.
2. They are little. They don't take up much garage space. Easier to store.
3. They are economical. As gas likely fades away in the coming decades, it will undoubtedly become more expensive. I wouldn't want a Hemi in 20 years.
4. They are not difficult to work on. I suspect plenty of parts are still around, although they are seldom seen in junkyards. My Aries was one of the last of my newer cars that I could still work on.
5. They have a huge variety of styles (wagons, sedans, hatchbacks, coupes, convertibles, pickup, limo - even the original minivan if you want to include that).
6. They made them in actual colors other than white, black and silver. Lots of color combos and options available. They could be quite cushy and optioned out.
7. They are fairly cheap and you can still find them if you look.
8. I'm sure that some will roll their eyes at this idea, but ten or twenty years ago who would have thought that a F, M, or J would have any kind of a following. I actually wouldn't mind having one. I'll take an '88 Aries LE wagon with a 5 speed in yellow and no faux wood.

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marty mopar

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the trim on the woodies...wagons and converts was riveted on and the holes are covered by plastic woodgrain plugs

the coverts and the wagons only share the front fenders for interchange on those parts
I have some of the side/tailgate moldings plus the fender moldings for the wagons
There have been posts regarding refinishing these

PM me if you need something
 
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