The Centurions new clothes

Then the project stalled. I was so happy driving the car every free moment that not much changed.

I continued polishing the stainless trim but I was slow about putting it on the car. I was always hesitant to drill holes in that beautiful paint.

I finally kicked myself in the butt and pulled out the drill to install the wheel well trim. These were some of the final peices and they had me spooked.

I jacked the car up, pulled the tire and clamped the trim in place with every clamp I could find. Then with trembling hands I took a deep breath and drilled holes. I'm New England born and raised. Rust around the rear quarters is a constant fact. Here I was drilling through perfectly lovely paint right in the most vulnerable spot. ray:

I used stainless screws and dipped each one in Goop before sending it home.

It went well and the results were breathtaking. The extra sparkle from the polished stainless added extra depth to the paint.

When I was finished all but 1 peice of trim was in place. That 1 final peice had gone missing. After all this time and work I felt reasonably lucky that one peice of trim was all that was missing.

I began searching for the part but I expected it to take time. Hunting for parts for a 36 year old car is a hobby of patience.

On a whim I went to 2 of my favorite salvage yards last weekend. Way in back in the second yard I found an Impala with a peice of trim that would suffice. The shape was the same but it was an inch longer than stock. It was close enough and you can't tell the difference without a ruler.

That Impala fought me tooth and nail, but I emerged triumphant!

A quick pass through my polishing wheels and it was ready to be installed. I knew I had the right fasteners, I just had to figure out what "safe place" I had hidden them.

The last peice of trim was the bump strip just above the Centurion logo.

 

The trim looks a bit crooked, but every Centurion I've seen has this mismatch in the trim. But, it's only on the passenger side. It's fine on the drivers side.

 

Then it hit me. I've owned this car for about 20 years. In all that time this was the first time all of the trim was on the car! For one reason or another there was always a peice or two missing. Now, it was all there, at the same time!

I've got to take some proper pictures, but here are a few quick cell phone snaps.

 

I can't say enough about the paint work from Sean at Paintworks Unlimited. There isn't a single flaw in the paint caused by his work. The car has accumulated an inevitable knick or two but the paint has held up magnficently.

Any paintjob will look good when it's fresh. Quality shows in how it holds up over time. Based on that I'd say Sean is first class all the way.

It still catches me when I go out and see the car. It's complete and the polished stainless just sparkles against the black cherry paint.

I chose a Cadillac black cherry color. Here are 3 pictures that give you an idea of how much this paint changes based on the light.