Advice on buying parts for your own use in Europe?

Kaim

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"Help the man on the hill", Finnish folk saying.

I would like to purchase a 1970 Chrysler 300 right front fender wheel opening molding and a good condition rear bumper (no dents and rust). How should we proceed here? I can't find those on eBay, and if I can, the parts are damn expensive. Any tips?

Air freight is very expensive to Europe, shipping by ship is cheaper. My buddy lives in Lake Worth Beach, Florida and can ship them.

In Finland, the base work (correcting dents and depressions) and chrome plating of the rear bumper of a full-size car costs about $1000. Isn't it cheap :).
 
Getting ANY kind of wheel opening molding shipped can be tricky! Sometimes, getting them from the OEM in dealership shipments was tricky, too. For your situation, over there, even putting the molding in a "case made of sturdy wood" might be good, but heavy.

I concur with the possibilities of MoparShop in Germany. You might also reach out to the www.bbtr.de people, too, for possibly enlarging your network over there.

In the USA, many atmospheric environmental standards have made it more costly for chromers to be in business unless they are pretty large. Basically, the old "body shop oriented" re-chrome bumper industry has vanished, mainly due to the use of soft bumper covers on new cars, since the late 1970s. Many smaller chrome shops, which usually catered to the motorcycle owners, have vanished, too.

Take care,
CBODY67
 
Getting ANY kind of wheel opening molding shipped can be tricky! Sometimes, getting them from the OEM in dealership shipments was tricky, too. For your situation, over there, even putting the molding in a "case made of sturdy wood" might be good, but heavy.

I concur with the possibilities of MoparShop in Germany. You might also reach out to the www.bbtr.de people, too, for possibly enlarging your network over there.

In the USA, many atmospheric environmental standards have made it more costly for chromers to be in business unless they are pretty large. Basically, the old "body shop oriented" re-chrome bumper industry has vanished, mainly due to the use of soft bumper covers on new cars, since the late 1970s. Many smaller chrome shops, which usually catered to the motorcycle owners, have vanished, too.

Take care,
CBODY67
Interesting, thanks CBODY67. There are still chrome workshops in Finland and Sweden, but they are decreasing. Recycling makes more sense than re-chroming, so I believe and hope some US state has a 300 or New Yorker rear bumper for my car.
 
Interestingly, there are many larger salvage yards in the US that are catering to older Chrysler Corp vehicles. Seems like there might be one in Georgia, USA? Plus some in the midwestern areas and the western states, too. Might also check the MANY C-body Facebook groups, too.

Take care,
CBODY67
 
if it makes you feel any better had the bumpers done last fall at Tri City Plating in Tennessee and they were $1000 each so your plater isn't exactly overcharging by US standards...I can't imagine what it would cost to ship something as large and heavy as a bumper to Finland
 
if it makes you feel any better had the bumpers done last fall at Tri City Plating in Tennessee and they were $1000 each so your plater isn't exactly overcharging by US standards...I can't imagine what it would cost to ship something as large and heavy as a bumper to Finland
I bought a bumper for Dodge in the spring. It was shipped from Florida to Finland in a sea container with other people's stuff. Freight forwarding and shipping cost about $150. Not terribly expensive. Sure, it's slow mode of transportation; shipping in late April and bumper at my house in early August.
 
I really don’t see any other option than try to find the bumper from US, and have it shipped to Finland via Lake Worth, FL. I’ve done that, cost was about what you mentioned. The bumper weighs in at least 25 kg, so it has to be wrapped up good, with many layers of cardboard.
There are several junkyards specializing in Mopars out there. Start going through them. Wildcat Wrecking in Oregon springs to mind.
 
I really don’t see any other option than try to find the bumper from US, and have it shipped to Finland via Lake Worth, FL. I’ve done that, cost was about what you mentioned. The bumper weighs in at least 25 kg, so it has to be wrapped up good, with many layers of cardboard.
There are several junkyards specializing in Mopars out there. Start going through them. Wildcat Wrecking in Oregon springs to mind.
Thanks 330dTA, I'll check this out. I have received quite a lot of "out of stock" responses to my inquiries. It can be concluded that availability is poor or I'm asking about the wrong places.
 
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