54-56 Headlight trim rings

[kencombs]

I plan to have the grille bars and parking light housings powder coated in a chrome-look.  The place I'm planning to use suggests that the product looks really good but nearby parts that are real chrome will make it apparent that coating is a chrome imposter.

 

Finally my question:  Were all of these headlight rings chrome or are there plain painted steel out there somewhere? Maybe a replacement from some other model?

 

Apparently the factory rings are really difficult to coat as the diecast is problematic.  And my chrome, while not perfect, is passable so I don't want to use them for this, just get plain ones and save these for later.

 

BTW, this is the shop I'm planning to use.  Lots of positive comments online about her work.https://phoenixspecialtycoatings.com/index.html

 

And her reply to my email query was excellent.

 

 

[B1B Keven]

Some of the Jeep turn signal/parking trim rings will interchange with the Dodge trucks.

Maybe some of the headlight rings will too?

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/nsearch/?q=headlight

Edited August 13, 2021 by B1B Keven

[kencombs]

42 minutes ago, B1B Keven said:

Some of the Jeep turn signal/parking trim rings will interchange with the Dodge trucks.

Maybe some of the headlight rings will too?

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/nsearch/?q=headlight

Thanks for the link.  They look the same, but no plain steel ones, all chrome.  But looking at other places it appears that  lot of early ones may work as they are retained my a flat hook it the top and one screw at the bottom.  And of course they all fit the same bulb.

 

Just need to find plain ones.

[The Oil Soup]

 I found that ‘60 to ‘70 Jeep headlight bezels would work on a B model truck, not sure of a C model and your not going to get your original bezels chrome plated any cheaper than new ones.

[kencombs]

2 hours ago, The Oil Soup said:

 I found that ‘60 to ‘70 Jeep headlight bezels would work on a B model truck, not sure of a C model and your not going to get your original bezels chrome plated any cheaper than new ones.

My bezels are pretty good and I won't be having them redone.  I am looking for plain steel, painted.  I want to strip the paint and have them powder coated to match the grille bars and parking light rings.  I'd like all the front end trim to match and chroming them is too expensive.

[bkahler]

I was thinking the headlight rims on my 51 were stainless.  Also when I was scavenging junkyards 30 years ago I seem to remember they all seemed to be stainless as well.  I guess I need to look closer at mine to see what they are really made of.

 

 

[ggdad1951]

1 hour ago, bkahler said:

I was thinking the headlight rims on my 51 were stainless.  Also when I was scavenging junkyards 30 years ago I seem to remember they all seemed to be stainless as well.  I guess I need to look closer at mine to see what they are really made of.

 

 

 

The majority of headlight rings I've run across are all plated pot metal.  Stainless rings by far are not as common.  The RETAINING ring is stainless in all that I've run across.

[bkahler]

42 minutes ago, ggdad1951 said:

 

The majority of headlight rings I've run across are all plated pot metal.  Stainless rings by far are not as common.  The RETAINING ring is stainless in all that I've run across.

 

Tonight I'll try and remember to do a survey of the trim rings that I have.  I knew the retaining rings are stainless.

[JBNeal]

On 8/13/2021 at 9:15 AM, kencombs said:

...Finally my question:  Were all of these headlight rings chrome or are there plain painted steel out there somewhere? Maybe a replacement from some other model?...

If there is a plain steel option out there, I'm not finding it...the Jeep suppliers have chrome or stainless, the blackout option has a different setup, Chevy suppliers look to have only chrome or stainless...the parts manual shows only one part number for the B-series and Route Vans, but in several of Bunn's books, there are photos of black headlight doors or rims or trim rings on larger B-series trucks and Route Vans.  Bunn also elaborated in his illustrated buyer's guide that Korean War supply restrictions started late in '51 into '52, where headlight doors and parking light bezels were painted black instead of chrome plated.  I have a pair of black ones that I sourced on eBay years ago, and they are heavily weathered, slightly pitted die cast.  For C-series trucks, I have not seen any painted headlight doors documented.  Years ago, I was looking for low cost replacement headlight doors that were used on older RVs and construction equipment, but found nothing any different than what was available from Roberts.  As far as I know, there is no plain steel headlight door available as chrome or stainless are the readily available options on the market.

[kencombs]

2 hours ago, JBNeal said:

If there is a plain steel option out there, I'm not finding it...the Jeep suppliers have chrome or stainless, the blackout option has a different setup, Chevy suppliers look to have only chrome or stainless...the parts manual shows only one part number for the B-series and Route Vans, but in several of Bunn's books, there are photos of black headlight doors or rims or trim rings on larger B-series trucks and Route Vans.  Bunn also elaborated in his illustrated buyer's guide that Korean War supply restrictions started late in '51 into '52, where headlight doors and parking light bezels were painted black instead of chrome plated.  I have a pair of black ones that I sourced on eBay years ago, and they are heavily weathered, slightly pitted die cast.  For C-series trucks, I have not seen any painted headlight doors documented.  Years ago, I was looking for low cost replacement headlight doors that were used on older RVs and construction equipment, but found nothing any different than what was available from Roberts.  As far as I know, there is no plain steel headlight door available as chrome or stainless are the readily available options on the market.

Well, that's not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the good information.