Now here is the "one more story" to tell. I was told by one of the old timer mechanics that I deal with that he knows of a current Mitsubishi parts dealer that used to have Chally parts. So I went and checked him out on Monday and lo and behold, he had a brand new front grill
I almost flipped when I saw it as mine got broke in front where the silver lip is under the grill and was contemplating on repairing it. But with this find, I went for it and will repair the other and keep as a spare. He let it go for $400, which is not bad at all. He also promised to search all his store for any Chally parts still there and will let me know. Already he confirmed having one of the headlight frames (aluminum) and I need 2. He thinks he can give me a whole set of switches (headlight, wiper etc..) and has a new Mopar outer door handle. So will keep fingers crossed for more goodies
One little snag, see second photo, that grill was wrongly assembled and the "Dodge" is in the opposite corner to where it should be
So I will check my options on the easiest way to correct that !
Last night after striping and repainting a couple of interior under dash plastic panels, I cleaned the grill and painted the black part in silver granulated paint as was on mine. By the way, the paint is great from Eastwood and really looks like the original one. However, I do not think all the granules will stay unless I protect the paint with a clear coat, as when I rubbed my fingers on it this morning, some paint flakes off. I will buy some clear today and spray it on, but boy is that paint messy !!! I mean the silver granules just fly all over the place...major cleaning job afterwards
See attached photos. I purposely left the close up photo larger in order to see the granules.
