chrome door trim

[BLU74]

Does any one know where to find the chrome trim that goes on the door window frames?

 

[2badrotties]

I have seen a few pieces listed on e-bay now and then. Watch out buying though. That trim is VERY hard to get off straight. It curls when you remove it. I take some wierd stuff apart at work every day and I'll tell you now, I can't figure out how to get that stuff off in nice shape

 

[BLU74]

yeah, I'm trying to take off the old ones now, and its not pretty.

 

[weps]

i had trouble with it too. got the first two pieces off in excellent condtion, but messed up the third. haven't tried the other door yet. for that i'm planning on extreme patience and slow progress.

 

[BLU74]

How are you taking it off? I'm trying to keep it in good shape because a neighbor wants them. I noticed alot of Broncos don't have these, what models came with them?

 

[2badrotties]

That is from the Sport model. I'm not going to have it on mine anymore either

 

[weps]

my doors were from a 74 explorer. not sure what other packages may have them. i seem to remember "blue71" is pretty good with the packages and options. he may have a difinitive answer.

when i removed mine, i started with the vertical piece first, horizontal, diagonal (vent mirror piece). i somewhat straightened the tabs with a screwdriver then started doing the same with the crimp on the outside edge. i think i just put a thin screwdriver in there and pryed lightly. moved to the next area and did the same. took quite a while to do it carefully. once that is done, the piece can be pulled away from the door and the bottom edge will pop off.

the key for me seemed to be not ever applying enough force at any step to deform the metal. the prying had to be very gradual. and when pulling it away from the door, if pulled too far it will bend. might want to also tap with a rubber mallet in an inward direction to help remove the bottom crimp.

patience and slow careful progress was the key for me. only when i tried to rush things on that third piece did i do damage. let me know if that helps. it would be nice to hear that you got everything off looking good.

btw, if you are going to give them to your neighbor. maybe he should come over and take them off. ;D

 

[Blue71]

Hey, As far as the Packages go.....the Sport and Ranger Packages were the only ones that originally had the chrome trim on the door frames. And it is a pain to get off asyou have found.They had an Explorer/Sport Package that I only saw in '72 that had it also . Weps...are those the original doors on your '74 Explorer that have the door frame trim? Let me know...Normally the only chrome /aluminum trim on the Explorers anywhere was the beltline trim only. There may have been a few Explorers that were ordered somehow with it. With Ford..you never know. On my Sport...I got mine off by prying it with a 3" putty knife. It was still a pain. After re-installing it..I got a rubber mallot and tapped it backdown around the inner edges. Looks descent, but not perfect.

Blue71

 

[Blue71]

Weps,

Can you e-mail me a few pics of your '74? agouge@chartertn.net Just wanna see what you have as far as chrome on the Explorer Package. Also...do you have the original interior, seats, door panels, etc.. Let me know, and shoot me a pic of it too if it is original. I love trying to figure out all these Package things. Seems like some Packages got combined over the years a little too.

Thanks Much,

Blue71

 

[BLU74]

Blue71- mine is a 74 Wagon according to the VIN (if I did the decoding properly), and the doors are the originals. Was the chrome trim possibly an added option for the wagons that year, or did I misread the VIN?

 

[weps]

not sure what i was thinking. its not an explorer i had, but a ranger. sorry about that.

btw, it had the brown herringbone interior.