VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 41 Skirt Trim on Ebay

There was a recent posting on eBay advertising a set of hand made, 41-style, fender skirt, trim pieces. The starting price was listed as $650...and there were NO BIDS. About a month or two ago there was another hand made set that sold for $1,625. These trim pieces are hard to find, and the company in CA that used to sell reproduction sets no longer offers them. So, I am a bit curious as to why there were no bids on the recent set. In my case, I thought $650 was way to high for the quality shown in the photos. I thought they looked home made...but I would be interested in hearing how others perceived them. I have a friend who is thinking about making them for sale, and I would like to give him some advice.

Thanks

From what I've read, it's a psychological thing...bidders don't like being told that they must start at a reasonable price, even though there's a hidden minimum that the seller has set.

If the seller had started at zero, bidders like that game of slowly upping the numbers until the "Reserve Not Met" goes away.

People will be watching this one carefully, and hoping the seller changes his requirements.

The reason in the disparity between the two sets is that the higher proved set was made from quality rocker moldings. They are close in manufacture to the original onesThe lower priced set is, to the best of my knowledge, aluminum. The aluminum ones do not have the splice at the curve. The originals do. Accordingly,
the aluminum ones look a little better owing the the better flow of the curves.

The idiot who bought the big buck ones does not regret his purchase. He was able to buy the spacers from the same source also.

To me the aluminum ones are fine and are as good a buy at the price as the molding ones.

I know the idiot quite well.

Charlie

You see him daily eh?

if i can put a bit more color on this subject, over the years i have owned a handful of 41 cars, some with skirts, and I have seen 2 different styles of the skirt trim,
1) the more common to most with the "splice" this style has been made from the "dual layer trim" tin backing over stainless

2)one more style, "no splice" but with a smaller change in the curve. this style was made from the single layer trim

both were originals , and not a home made item

i had thought that there were two styles of the stainless trims also.

Gene assured me that there was only one style. Accordingly, I have since assumed that the no-splice ones were the aluminum kind.

We need more information on this. Maybe.

There is a re-manufactured set on Ebay now for a little over a K staring.

Can anyone square us away on the skirt moldings. I dropped a bunch of bucks trying to get the original type.

Thanks,
Charlie

Charlie...

I think the trim on eBay now (over a $K) is the same set that did not sell last week. I got a chuckle out of that. Here I am trying to find out why folks were not interested in bidding on a set starting at $650 and they seller turns around and re-posts them for sale over $1,000. I have been looking for a set for my car, but I was not interested in paying that much for what I thought was (is) a poor re-make effort.

Like you, I would like to know more about the originals, but I can add a little info about reproductions. There is a company in CA called (I think) the Fender Skirt Depot that makes repros for a lot of different cars. I bought skirts for my 41 from them. At the time I got them the company web site pictured the one-piece trim on the skirts, but when I indicated I wanted to buy a set the owner told me the guy who had made them had passed away and they were no longer available. I was under the impression at the time that those repos were all stainless, but I could be wrong about that. My guess is that there are a lot of skirts out there adorned with the one-piece trim that was made for the Skirt Depot. Whether or not those repros were true to the original design, I do not know. I have been under the impression that the originals were all seamed, but that impression came from looking at old photos.

Does anyone know if the trim made from aluminum was solid stock or moulded sheet metal???

fender skirt depot trim, did they look like the trim from a an old VCCA member that passed away,,,,,,,,,
i do remember he made some of casted aluminum like a flat bar, that need to be shaped to fit the original skirts.
think he also made some for 37/38 skirt trim too

the 2 GM styles that i have owned were both stainless steel.
you could tell they were made, but not garage shade tree made.

TTT for a old topic, haven't been on here for a while but came a cross this topic. On one of the sets of shirt trims seen on Ebay that went for a K, they were made by a friend of mine. He works at a high tec fab place. he told me they make some parts for the space shuttle.

He's working a 41 rag and we were talking about the skirt trims and how other people were making out of the rocker trim and casting them .

He said he could probably make a die and form them but he needs a trim to go by. Well have only one , a little dented but good enough for him to get measurements off of. So I sent it to him and forgot all about it till a good year later he call me and said he made them (no way ) Then he sent me a picture of them and wow. So he sent me the old one back plus the new set and I got to say they are in the upper 90% in original in looks.

They are all in new stainless with the bend curve .















the top trim is the OG and the bottom is the new one

Looks like he did a fantastic job.

Charlie

Charlie Don't you think fender skirts on a '41 Chevy is kind of like a Fulton Sunvisor? Just asking JIM

Very nice...

there were two types of factory stainless mouldings made for the 41 fender skirts, the one piece was the first type made, then the two piece replaced the one piece a few months later, and had a better curve to it. you could also adjust these skirts if there was a gap between the fender and the skirt, there is a lock nut and a adjusting nut to make this adjustment located on the locking lever. Hope this helps you Charlie dlz

Jim, No!

diz, I thought I had seen an uncut trim in the past. I asked the question about it and was told here on chatter that there was only the cut and welded ones. Thus I thought I was confusing the reproduction aluminum ones. Hmmm.

Did you see the question about the "Parade (or March) of the Chevroleteers?"
Someone in the Discussions Forum wanted to know what that was all about.

Best,
Charlie

Hi Charlie, saw your post and will dig out what info I have on it and will post it in that area. dLz.