66 side pipe covers

[Gary D.]

Does anyone know of a reputable firm who restore side pipe covers?? I can't find anyone restoring the covers but have found numerous reproductions. Does anyone have experience with the reproduction units in flight judging?? Any advice would be appreciated!

[Ralph E.]

Re: 66 side pipe covers

Does anyone know of a reputable firm who restore side pipe covers?? I can't find anyone restoring the covers but have found numerous reproductions. Does anyone have experience with the reproduction units in flight judging?? Any advice would be appreciated!

Sent mine to a motorcycle shop in PA about 5-6 years ago. Came back looking brand new.

[Larry M.]

Re: 66 side pipe covers

Gary:

Exactly what needs to be done to the covers? Anodize? Repairs? Other?

I do not know of anyone who specifically does sidepipe cover restoration, but recently Hemmings has a couple of ads for aluminum trim restoration and anodizing that look promising. One is Iverson Automotive, 14704 Karyl Dr. Minnetonka, MN 55345. 800-325-0480 or www.iversonautomotive.com. Claim forty years of aluminum trim repair.

The second one is MCB Performance Center, 14500 Foley Road, Capac, Michigan 48014. 810-543-0088 or www.tuffwheelrestoration.com. Claim thirty years of aluminum restoration experience.

Probably worth a few calls. Keep us posted if you decide to use, and the results.

Larry

[Gary D.]

Re: 66 side pipe covers

Larry
Thanks for your reply. The polished S.S. portion of the covers are begining to look dull & one cover has some small dings from rubbing up against something?? The curved portion directly behind the front tires are slightly rough to the touch. I'm guessing to repair properly would require stripping the anodizing material off to repair the dings, repaint the grove & polish the S.S. raised ribs. Looks to me like it would be a major chore but have no experience to know if this is the case.
Gary

[John H.]

Re: 66 side pipe covers

The polished S.S. portion of the covers are begining to look dull

Gary -

There's no stainless on the covers - they're extruded, polished, and clear-anodized aluminum.

[Gary D.]

Re: 66 side pipe covers

John
I realized my mistake after typing but couldn't figure out how to revise once posted! Any guidance on who has the best reproductions. Eckler tells me their covers come from GM but would guess the tooling is different from the orginal??
Gary

[John H.]

Re: 66 side pipe covers

As far as I know, Eckler's is the only GM-licensed manufacturer of the covers, and the tooling is very old - lots of complaints from recent buyers of defects, particularly in the curved area at the front.