What are you guys doing for hood ornaments these days?

[elagache]

Dear fans of 1965 Buick A-bodies,

There was another desperate seeker of a hood ornament on V-8 Buick recently and clearly this is one item that is desperately in short supply.  Last year a used hood ornament went for over $400 on eBay.  I have a contact at OPGI and I tried to nudge them to consider coming out with a reproduction, but my nudge clearly wasn't enough.

I did some searching of this forum and the question seems to come up around once a year and the news seems to get worse with the passing of time.  I did locate this thread were someone had managed to get their hood ornament rechromed and I assume then painted it:

http://65gs.com/board/index.php?topic=1242.msg7106#msg7106

Is that what most guys are trying to do these days, get hold of a decent used one and repair it?

On that other thread I mentioned that Poston was marketing a reproduction and my nudge to OPGI was to attempt to get their hands on the molds Poston used.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of those reproductions that nobody had put into service, so I have some pictures with an original Buick ornament for comparison.  Here is the front:



here is the back:



As you can see it is a little bit smaller than the original and isn't as ornate as the original Buick ornaments.  I don't know if it would pass at say a Buick Club of America show for originality. 

So my question to you all is: If anybody could find this mold and reproduce it, would guys on this forum buy them or not?

Curious minds would like to know!

Cheers, Edouard

P.S. As it turns out I had to partially repaint my Poston reproduction because of a silly accident that occurred when I tried to have it ornament opti-coated.  If you've never heard of this product here is the website:

http://www.opti-coat.com/

Opti-coat is a kind of clear ceramic coating that is more like glass than paint.  As such, it provides better protection from things like abrasive dust.  It is intended to be applied to the exterior of cars, but it can be applied to individual parts like a hood ornament.  Sadly the stuff is outrageously expensive and I believe you have to go to a authorized detail shop to have it applied.  Still for a small thing like a hood ornament the cost is modest.  I thought I would mention this especially if you end up having a hood ornament rechromed and paint it by hand.  After all that painstaking work, you want that ornament to last as - L O N G - as possible!!

[Loren At 65GS]

Edouard ,

As you noted, there is a bit of difference. Much of the detail has been lost.
Personally, that is why I didn't buy one when they were available many years ago.

It is hard to say as to weather it would slip by at a judged show. If a judge is paying attention, it should be caught and deducted for.

  Loren

[Mark Ascher]

I know Tony took an original and restored it. I hope he chimes in with details and some pics.
I have one of those old Poston repros on my car.
Mitch Romanowski was going repro those about 15-20 years ago, but never did. Tony contacted him again last year about revisiting that project, and he wasn't interested. Maybe if the demand gets there he could make it feasible...?

Mark

[dsags]

Is it possible to remove the 'foil' from the hood ornament ? If so, just reproducing the foil would be a lot less effort than doing the whole thing.

Dan

[35chevcoupe]

Did all 65 GS cars have hood ornaments ?
If so i suppose the hood on my car is off a skylark as there is no hole for an ornament . 

[Mark Ascher]

John,

All the Skylarks had hood ornaments. If yours doesn't have the holes, it either was filled or it's
a hood from a Special. Specials didn't have the ornament.

Mark

[elagache]

Dear Loren, Mark, Dan, John, and fans of 1965 Buick A-bodies,

As you noted, there is a bit of difference. Much of the detail has been lost.
Personally, that is why I didn't buy one when they were available many years ago.

Point well taken.  One of my main reasons for starting this thread was to see if there was a alternative scheme to get this part.  Before buying the Poston reproduction, I bought as good a used ornament as I could find with the intentions of restoring the chrome as best I could and then painting.  I tried using this hobby-grade chrome electro-plating tool:

http://www.micromark.com/plug-n-plate-copy-chrome-plating-kit,8327.html

I had some success with this tool on other dashboard chrome, but I couldn't get the hood ornament to come back.  I wasn't sure how you could send out this piece to be rechromed without having the regions that need to be painted not getting chrome.  So this whole project looked impossible to me.

Is there a better way to restore a original hood ornament?

Mitch Romanowski was going repro those about 15-20 years ago, but never did. Tony contacted him again last year about revisiting that project, and he wasn't interested. Maybe if the demand gets there he could make it feasible...?

Is there any chance someone could find out what sort of a minimum order would be needed to make manufacturing a batch worthwhile?

All the Skylarks had hood ornaments. If yours doesn't have the holes, it either was filled or it's
a hood from a Special. Specials didn't have the ornament.

That's not true.   The Specials had a hood ornament just like the Skylark.  Here is a picture of our 1965 Special wagon taken in 1979 just after her first engine rebuild:



You can make out the hood ornament.

Cheers, Edouard

P.S. There is another hood ornament on FleaBay right now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Buick-Skylark-Gran-Sport-Wagon-Tri-Shield-Hood-Ornament-65-GS-/131493994386?hash=item1e9da71f92&vxp=mtr

It sure looks like the Poston reproduction to me.  If this seller succeeds in getting over $300 for it, I think we'll have a good idea of how desperate folks are to get their hands on an ornament.

[Loren At 65GS]

That's because your Special was most likely ordered with the Deluxe trim option for the Special model.
Notice the full Skylark side trim. Options do make for exceptions to the norm.

A Special in it's normal trim package would not have had a hood ornament.

  Loren

[elagache]

Dear Loren and mid-60s Buick fans,

A Special in it's normal trim package would not have had a hood ornament.

Well, there is a collection of images of a 1965 Buick sales brochure online:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Buick/1965_Buick/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure

The page describing the base model Special has a picture:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Buick/1965_Buick/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-36-37

That picture clearly shows that even the base model Specials had a hood ornament.

Honestly, that is what we should have expected.  Buick would not have manufactured any car that didn't have the corporate logo displayed somewhere on the exterior.

Edouard

[2x4 gransport]

Edouard
  The ad with the golf club on the seat, shows three car on the right, the yellow one has no hood emblem or side body trim. Can't see the other two's hoods 
Harle

[Rollaround]

I have an 100% original, unmolested (until I got it) 65 Special Deluxe, it has never had a hood ornament. I have heard that manufactures would often embellish vehicles in their brochures and TV advertising. I am not a very experienced Buick guy but I have never seen a 65 Special with the hood ornament.
Having said that, it is well known that some strange things took place on assembly lines in the 60s and 70s.
However, I am looking for a nice hood ornament for my GS       

[Loren At 65GS]

Rollaround,

 :thumbsup:Nice looking Special.  I see it has the Deluxe side trim option.

Any interior pictures?

Best of luck on the hood ornament hunt. The one on ebay looks to be a very nice piece. I'm surprised it has no bids.


 Loren

[65GS]

Looking into this now. Have some contacts as to mfg. + chroming. will keep all advised.
Al

[Rollaround]

Rollaround,

 :thumbsup:Nice looking Special.  I see it has the Deluxe side trim option.

Any interior pictures?

 Loren

Thanks Loren, I'll find some and post them in the other Buick section. Thanks for looking Al!

[Loren At 65GS]

 

It's always good to see a sweet Buick, no matter the model.

  Loren