plonka

Does anyone know if the rear chrome strip on our hoods is the same for the Malibu of the same era. I can't find one for my 76, but there is one on Ebay from a Malibu. I want a direct fit without any modification. Thanks.

Paladin31

When I get home tonight I will look up the p# and check with the interchange book and post it for you.
Brett

plonka

Cheers Brett!

Paladin31

Well all I could find was Group 8.055 pn 552773 used on numerous Olds A bodies and variants 76-77....but no other marque crossed over that I could find. Sorry

Brett

crimsoncolby

I own a '75 Laguna S-3 (Malibu body) and seriously doubt that trim molding fits anything but a Malibu or El Camino. There are some Cutlass parts cars around me that I'm sure would have one if interested. Can't even venture a guess as to what I'd have to charge; depends on what the yard would charge. Also, not quite sure how to ship something like this without the likelihood of it getting bent in transit. If they are reasonably straight (not much of an arc), I've used pvc pipe to protect moldings.

76olds

The 76 -77 buick century and regal rear hood chrome strip would fit . I have a spare one but the plastic coating has alot of spider web cracking on it. Along with lifting in the corners.
Hope this helps
Eric

plonka

The reason I wanted a new one was because mine (which is plastic) had turned yellow over the years and was an eye sore. I spent about an hour or so yesterday scrubbing it with a Mr. Clean magic eraser and some purple power degreaser. It turned out great for being 38 years old.

crimsoncolby

Good to hear you were able to save it. I'm surprised Olds (and, apparently Buick) went to the cheaper plastic when Chevy stuck with the more preferable stainless. You'd have thought it would have been the other way around.

Keegan

Not trying to hijack your thread here, but I had a few questions about this generation as well. Does anyone know just how uncommon a continental style trunk is on these cars? My Uncle's '74 Supreme has one, and we're curious. Also, we're getting a '77 Supreme soon, and we're surprised it doesn't have a vinyl or even half vinyl top. Is that uncommon??

crimsoncolby

I've never seen or heard of a continental trunk kit being available on any '73-'77 GM "A" body from the factory. That had to have been added later...unless your uncle is the original owner and knows differently.

A car from that generation without the vinyl or Landau top is not all that uncommon...although, I'd guess at least 80% of them did come with a fabric top of some sort. Vinyl/Landau tops were very popular back then and considered an upgrade to the appearance of these cars by most owners. Consider yourself lucky you found one without the vinyl. Won't have the usual rust issues hiding underneath that most suffered.

crimsoncolby

I know you've cleaned your hood molding and moved on, but just wanted to share this bit of information for anyone else who might also be looking for this hood trim.

I was out at one of my favorite salvage yards that has a number of '73-'77 Cutlasses and Chevelles/Malibus. Remembered this thread and curiosity got the better of me. I pulled a molding off a Cutlass and a Malibu to compare. They ARE an exact match.

The other thing that puzzled me on this thread were the postings of plastic moldings. I looked at a number of these cars right up to at least '76 and they were all stainless metal. Wondering if those plastic ones were after-market?

plonka

I'm not sure what year it was, but the upper hood trim piece and the opera window trim came from the factory in plastic. I also looked at the hood trim from a 76 Malibu, and although the contour and length were the same, the angle of which the ends were cut was far off.

Oldsguy

Wow, that would be a sight. I never much cared for the continental style rear trunk on anything except the Continental they were designed for. I even saw some on V.W. bugs back in the day, Yuck!

aretubj

The plastic hood molding starting appearing mid year 1976 in an effort to save money.
The quarter window molding was also in plastic from 73 on. My 73 with the factory vinyl roof has the stainless.
With the stainless hood mold being very common, why install cheap plastic.
just my 2 cents
joe

crimsoncolby

Not sure what to think of your finding the end contours "far off". I removed a molding from a '74 H/O and a '75 El Camino (same hood as Chevelle/Malibu) and layed one on top of the other and compared length, contour and the ends. They were a dead-on match. Didn't pay any more attention to the ends on any other Cutlass models I looked at. Perhaps they were different on some models?

As for switching to plastic...GM went to plastic opera window moldings in '74 on all "A" bodies. Chevy never did go to plastic hood moldings (I own a '75 Laguna (Malibu body) and a '77 Monte Carlo). I've pulled moldings off Grand Prixs/Grand Ams/Lemans and they were all stainless, too. That's why I'm surprised to hear Olds may have done it. Seems more info needs to be gathered regarding the Cutlasses since we have two different findings. I'll investigate further next time I'm out there and will bring my camera and take notes.

Keegan

LPoLpI1.jpg
He's not the original owner, but has known the owner for a long time. As far as we know, the car is completely original.

76olds

The molding on my 76 which is original... is aluminium with the plastic coating as well as the opera windows.

crimsoncolby

Scratchin' my head on that Continental kit. I'd be looking for a Build Sheet. Any other unusual options on that car? Maybe a factory display car to be shown with the new models that year at car shows?