If you have any pics of front or rear bumper covers without the rub strips 83-86, will you post them?
Thanks
when you say rub strips do you mean stripes?! im confused, im sure other people would know. (if you mean the trim, on my bird the trim on the bumpers are molded on, might be different for the cougar, if thats what you mean)
I believe the rub strips are molded into the bumper covers. They are for sure on 87-88 models, and I'm quite sure it's the same way on 83-86 ones too.
they are molded on my 83
yes they are molded into the bumper and unremovable
The chrome piece (or red/charcoal piece on a Turbo Coupe) is removable. The main grey molding is part of the bumper cover and cannot be removed. Some people have shaved those down on the sides, and blended them into the fenders. It works...cumbersome but effective.
Otherwise you'd be looking at fiberglass bumper pieces, which most (if not all) have had the molding shaved at the sides:
http://www.hairyglass.com/thunderbird.html
Thanks for the responses.
I'm asking about the charcoal w/red stripe piece that goes all around the car. They're removable on the doors and fenders, I just assumed they were removable on the front and rear as well.
I'm getting close enough to the point where I'm planning bodywork. One of the fenders doesn't have a rub strip, and I got to wondering what the car would look like without them. Not practical for a car that sees parking lot duty of course.
you could always make a mold of the original use fiberglass to make the new bumper and then mold it where thats not on there (thought about it myself before i decided to just restore my car)
That site is really something. I had no idea anyone was making fibreglass reproductions for our cars. On a related note I was considering taking those eggshell blue rims off my front and rear bumpers since they don't really seem to match anything. The rear one started falling off on its own a while back, I stuck it back on with Permatex.
im ganna shave the rub strips between the wheel wells but as for infront and back of them im ganna leave the trim to match the bumper. you could theoretically shave the ruber down to match the fenders flush, but you'd have to repair it as well. my dad proposed that but seemed like too much work.
as for the missing rub strips on the fenders, i found 2 good ones at a junk yard on a rather naked car. try the pull-a-parts for those pieces, but good luck.