Seeking Restoration Advise

[M3This]

Hi Guys,

 

Today I started going through my bin of parts and was making a pile of things to send off for plating and had a couple of questions that came up while looking at stuff. 
 

1. Roundie Bulb Housings

 

How are you guys restoring these. I have two sets but based on how the electrical connections are on the back and non removable it doesn’t look like you could plate them. 
 

 

2. Headlight housings

 

are you guys sending these to be plated or just painting them? I was planning on playing but on looks mount it has the original paint on it. 

3. Steering Column. 
 

I was able to get this taken down but it appears there is no way to remove the silver metal box that hold the ignition switch. Is there a trick to remove this? Or are you just just painting everything?

 

 

4. Lastly any recommendations of companies that refurbish switches? 
 

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Son of Marty]

For the tail lights clean them up and paint the reflector surfaces in chrome or gloss white, the headlight buckets take them apart and they can be plated, for the ignition switch you need to drill the 2 bolts and use a ez out to get them out new bolts will have a head that breaks off when fully tightened.

[danco_]

Plate what you can plate, paint what you can paint, vapor hone what you can vapor hone

 

[M3This]

Thanks guys. 

[Mike Self]

2 hours ago, M3This said:

I was able to get this taken down but it appears there is no way to remove the silver metal box that hold the ignition switch. Is there a trick to remove this? Or are you just just painting everything?

It's installed by the factory with break-off bolts and is more trouble than it's worth to remove just for repainting the steering column.  Leave this alone and mask it off (aluminum foil works well to mask off oddly shaped things).  

 

2 hours ago, M3This said:

Lastly any recommendations of companies that refurbish switches? 

Check the switch functions with an ohmeter; bet you'll find they all work properly--even the turn signal if you clean up the innards a bit with some brake clean or carb cleaner.   The paper label on the light switch is meant for older cars that have separate wires leading to each terminal vs a multi-prong plug.   The only switch that might give you trouble is the portion of the light  switch that dims the dash lights.  Check that with an ohmeter to make sure it functions smoothly.  

 

BTW, headlight buckets were either galvanized or cad plated--any paint you find on 'em was overspray from a repaint that wasn't done quite correctly.

 

mike

[Conserv]

The headlight buckets — all originally plated as @Mike Selfnotes — respond extremely well to replating.

 

The last two photos show this pair before replating.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Mike Self]

Hope you marked those buckets before removing; lefts and rights are different and are difficult to tell apart...

 

mike

[M3This]

13 minutes ago, Mike Self said:

It's installed by the factory with break-off bolts and is more trouble than it's worth to remove just for repainting the steering column.  Leave this alone and mask it off (aluminum foil works well to mask off oddly shaped things).  

 

Check the switch functions with an ohmeter; bet you'll find they all work properly--even the turn signal if you clean up the innards a bit with some brake clean or carb cleaner.   The paper label on the light switch is meant for older cars that have separate wires leading to each terminal vs a multi-prong plug.   The only switch that might give you trouble is the portion of the light  switch that dims the dash lights.  Check that with an ohmeter to make sure it functions smoothly.  

 

BTW, headlight buckets were either galvanized or cad plated--any paint you find on 'em was overspray from a repaint that wasn't done quite correctly.

 

mike

Great info. Thank you 🙏🏻 

[M3This]

1 minute ago, Mike Self said:

Hope you marked those buckets before removing; lefts and rights are different and are difficult to tell apart...

 

mike

Unfortunately not 🤦🏻‍♂️

[M3This]

Two other follow up questions. 
 

Headlight rings are chrome correct?

 

Is the metal structure around the wing windows polished or chrome?

Edited February 27, 2023 by M3This
Autocorrect

[Conserv]

The headlight retaining rings might have been chrome on the earliest cars, but, certainly by 1970-ish, they’re plated with something less than chrome, possibly white cadmium or clear zinc (first photo below). Square taillight retaining rings were powdercoated black — yes, powdercoating was around since after WWII.

 

If you have a U.S.-spec round taillight after VIN 2580165 (2532130 for 2002A’s, and 2760504 for tii’s), your car’s headlights ended with the retaining rings. And your car originally had shallow grilles. But all other ‘02’s — including every ‘02 outside the U.S. — received deep grilles, so there was an asymmetric filler ring, often missing today, to fill the unattractive gap between retaining ring and the forward nose of the headlight bezels (part of the grilles). The second photo below shows one of these asymmetric filler rings, foreground, and its original retaining ring in the background.

 

Again, perhaps some of the very earliest asymmetric filler rings might have been chrome but every one I’ve seen was anodized aluminum, very flimsy anodized aluminum, as here, with a feather-edged gasket to seal its connection to the inside of the headlight bezel.

 

The front vent windows might have had a similar trajectory, starting out as chromed steel but later becoming anodized aluminum. I believe all the square taillights, at least, are not chrome. Others here ( @Mike Self!) certainly know more on this topic.

 

Have you mentioned what year your car is?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[M3This]

Hi Steve.

 

This is fantastic information. 👏🏻. Thanks!

[Mike Self]

2 hours ago, Conserv said:

The front vent windows might have had a similar trajectory, starting out as chromed steel but later becoming anodized aluminum. I believe all the square taillights, at least, are not chrome.

AFAIK all the vent window frames (the part that bolts to the door) were extruded aluminum;  the frames that retained the glass are also extruded aluminum, at least on all the cars I've really looked at.  The only chrome plated parts on the entire vent window assembly are the little upper window pivots, and a small filler piece that's placed in the narrow V where the angled forward edge of the frame meets the horizontal piece that parallels the door's upper edge.  Both are chrome-plated pot metal.

 

As for headlight retainer rims,  there are three variants.  Expanding on what Steve said above:

 

1.  Asymmetric (lefts and rights) used on "deep grille" roundies built prior to mid-1972.  All the ones I've seen are thin, chrome plated steel (I checked my '69's and they're magnetic).  Originally a small lip on the back side of these rims held a grey rubber/vinyl filler strip--most are long gone (see Steve's picture above).  I think the sweep for a bathroom shower door would make a good replacement.

 

2.  Symmetric chrome plated brass rims used on shallow grille roundies--mide-72 and all 73s. 

 

3. Symmetric black powder coated brass rims used on all plastic grille squarelights.  They're identical to the chrome ones from 72-73 except for the finish and are easier to find.  So if you need a chrome one, take a black one and have it plated. 

 

Hope this helps

 

mike

[M3This]

Hi Mike. Thanks for the info. My car is a 70, the grill that came on it was trashed so I had to buy another early model grill so will have to look at it. 

[popovm]

IE has Alpina style wheels. I thought they were Rotas but the product page doesn't say. 

Alpina Style Wheel – 4×100 – Ireland Engineering | Racing & Performance Parts for BMW & MINI

WWW.IEMOTORSPORT.COM

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