Interior Door Panel/Armrests for Country Squires

I am having the hardest time finding these.

Apparently the polymer to make the arm rest mold was too brittle, or the way the armrest was attached to the panel was not right; but whatever the case, all of them are broken, cracked or splitting.

Am i better off continuing to hope beyond hope that a minty set of arm rests/panels drops into my lap, OR should i just go ahead and fiberglass up a custom set of panels that look nothing like the originals?

P.S. the only set i did come across that was near mint -- had crank windows, not power...

 

Don't give up hope. I saw a simular thread awhile back, searched E-bay, and panels show up now and then. You also might try repairing with epoxy or fiberglass from the rear, filling the cracks, and redying with auto grade interior dye by SMS. Good luck. MPJ

 

Look around to see if some armrests from a different vehicle might fit.....
Perhaps a later model that there's more of them around.

 

I had to opt for a later model arm rest for the Ranch Wagon,,slightly bigger but I believe they will work in my case. HRP

 

I actually put the armrests together with a bunch of saran wrap and duct tape today. Going to use them to make a female mold, and then use the female mold to make a fiberglass copy. Wudda hassle. I have been scouring 4-door lincoln continentals also, without luck

 

I was about to say, find yourself a fresh into the junkyard out of grandma's garage 75-79 Lincoln with the same color interior that some ungrateful brat scrapped after inheriting it and not understanding that after 13 years unused it JUST MIGHT need some fresh fuel and a battery, and swap over all 4 door panels.

It pains me to see cars in the junkyard with bits in BETTER shape than my car. It pains me more when I don't have the cash to strip the interior bare. This year may be better for me on that account...too bad the Lincoln I speak of was white leather inside with butterscotch trim. But that was 2-3 years ago and I'm sure it's a pallet of can openers by now.

 

i dont even care about color -- i can bleach and dye an interior to match...

I am looking forward to fabbing the whole thing myself, it will be a fun experience. I'll post pics when done.

 

I was at Vic's Classic car parts in Chesnee SC this morning and noticed they have quite a few 1970's Fords in stock. There were at least 4 73-78 Country Squires,along with LTD sedans. Here is their phone # 1-864-461-9071. Might be worth a shot...

 

I called and talked to Cecil. He says "they ain't got that" when i asked him if he could take some pictures and email them to me of some specific parts. I don't know if he meant that they don't got picture-taking-gizmos, or if they ain't got the internetz.

It's a 3.5-hour drive from my house to get there. I'd hate to take the trip only to find out that the doors are all manual windows and not power...that would be a waste of 7 hours of driving. Cecil didn't want to take a look for me; this is clearly a self-service yard.

How often do you get out to that yard? Perhaps you could be convinced to use some of that new-fangled 21st century tech-now-low-djee to get me some info?

Since they are only open until noon on Saturday, and until 5:00pm weekdays -- it already means either taking a day off from work or leaving my house at 6:30am on a Saturday on a potential wild goose-chase.

 

He probably doesn't have the internet at that place. It is a self service yard but he also has a couple of employees that can pull stuff off. There are at least 2000 vehicles there if not more. There was around a 76-78 Country Squire with power windows that had 2 righthand door panels (green). The lefthand doors had been sold off already. There's 3 more (at least)73-78 Country Squires,and a few LTD 4 doors, most of these cars have been off the road for 20+ years. I could try going back down there in the next couple off weeks and scout it out again. Many of these cars are overgrown in briars etc. I'll see what I can do....

 

I went down there this morning and did some scouting around, I think you'll find what your looking for. I noticed that the center sections between the Ford and Mercurys appear to interchange. Also if the cars where equipped with powerlocks and manual windows the piece appears the same, it looks like you can switch out the panel that holds the switches. These appear to be quite usable once they are cleaned and dyed, a couple would require some minor epoxy work. Cecil doesn't have internet or a computer, just about all his business is word-of-mouth. I get a feeling you might have a day trip in your future....

 

Yes, those parts look fricking perfect. Saturday I will be over there to snag those parts. You are the MAN! It's a 4 hour drive, but this will be the result of 6 months of searching. Well worth a full day in the car...just need to make sure i have my tools, energy drinks, and enough music to last for a full day.

Thank you again! You are:

 

Bring something to trim back briars with and you should be fine. I looked up the weather and it might be a little rainy. If you get time walk around in there, there is alot to see.

 

Sounds like a junk yard adventure. Wish I could go. Hope he takes pictures like you did. That was nice of you to check it out. From experience color doesn't really matter. Sadly we can sometimes buy an entire parts car as cheap as a few panels.

 

What level of trimming is required? Chainsaw, weedwacker, or hedgeclippers? I was thinking about leaving Canton, GA at about 5:00am. I should get there around 9:00am that'll leave me 3 hours to landscape around the cars and get the parts i need. Any idea how much they charge there?