53 Ford grille molding

blucar

Well-known member
I have a question for anyone that can speak with some degree of authority regarding the upper bright metal trim for the grille on the '53 cars.
I have a friend that has a '53 station wagon he is restoring.. The upper bright metal molding on his grille is chromed steel.. It was badly rusted away which it appears is typical of the '53 Ford.
Every time my friend finds a replacement molding for his car the molding turns out to be un-repairable due to rust-out.
I recently encountered a set of moldings that the seller claims is stainless steel.. My friend has been told that the '52's/54's are SS, but that the '53's are chrome.
Did some of the '53's have stainless grille moldings? Or were/are replacement moldings available that are stainless?
I know that during the Koren War automotive chrome became an item that was of very poor quality because the US government restricted it's use.. The '51-53 GM cars are well known to have chrome plating issues do to what people refer to a 'Koren Chrome'..
 
When I restored my 53 Customline my upper grille molding was rusted. I bought a SS one on ebay. Add said it came off a 53 Crestline.
 
Some were chrome plated and some were stainless. My neighbor replaced his rusty chrome ones with stainless. The stainless is a little difficult to find , but they are out there.
 
Thank you guys for the response...
I figured that in spite of the possibly limited info my friend had about the molding, there could be variations from model to model with-in the same year and/or OEM vendors, especially since the chrome supply was limited during the Korean War years..
 
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