So I work at a bronze foundry and I'm planning on casting my headlight bezels in bronze. If anyone is interested in getting some for their rig I can cast sets. And any other difficult to source or fragile pieces you want cast send me a message
Cast bronze headlight bezels (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Iszzyfj60
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- Thread starter
- #4
I'll know for sure once I get the first set cast, the foundry charges by weight
Gonna follow this. I used to help a guy with sand casting bronze many many years ago and really liked the process. And my headlight bezels suck...
Ohh ok - no you’re right. The outer “bezels” are plastic. I was initially thinking you were talking about the mounting dishes behind the headlamp that hold it in place.
cps432
SILVER Star
This is an awesome project! I bet a grill would cost an arm and a leg… but boy would it be stout!
Im continuously in wonder of all the imaginative and quite frankly ingenious innovations proposed by members on this forum. in My wildest scatter shooting imagination I never thought I’d be placing CAST BRONZE headlite bezels at the top of my list. Although the part falls somewhere in the midrange of replacement necessity, I’m going to assume the costly and limited lifetime OEM replacements will soon be NLA and any NOS will be difficult to locate. The current aftermarket REPLACEMENTS are really of lessor quality.
Two quick questions: (1.) Are you considering both FJ60 & FJ62 bezel castings, and (2.) Ever consider casting the the plastic “badging” found on both models?
Again, thanx for your innovative approach and hoping your announcement generates further inquiry.
Two quick questions: (1.) Are you considering both FJ60 & FJ62 bezel castings, and (2.) Ever consider casting the the plastic “badging” found on both models?
Again, thanx for your innovative approach and hoping your announcement generates further inquiry.
FJ60Seth
SILVER Star
I’m Interested.
Badges: front grille, side fenders, and the tailgate 4wd
D-pillar and fender vents
I could see these being prohibitively expensive but with the cost of the OE plastics rising there might not be much of a difference.
D-pillar and fender vents
I could see these being prohibitively expensive but with the cost of the OE plastics rising there might not be much of a difference.
- Thread starter
- #14
So very rough estimate on cost is 40$ per pound cast bronze, this is subject to change since the price of copper isn't as stable these days as it has been. The foundry uses a lost wax casting process so once the wax is poured the wax mold can be trimmed and altered to reduce the overall weight and thus reduce the end price. I'm expecting the first set will be finished in bronze by Thanksgiving. I'll look Into making some molds of the badges, grill and vents as well. I'd love to make some headlight molds for the 62 guys, and they'll probably end up being a little cheaper than the 60's since there's less surface to cast. My original interest came about due to the fragility of the plastic bezels as well as wanting the ability to patina them, I'm not fond of the chrome look and would like something more durable that matches the color of my truck (my cruiser is brown). With the patina colors we have a huge range from a polished bronze to blue, red and even purple. The possibilities are pretty endless, if we can mold it, we can cast it. The foundry has a history of casting many discontinued parts for classic cars and even locomotives. The founder worked for Ford In the 60's developing molds for cast iron blocks and transferred that knowledge over to cast bronze sculptures. So the means are available, but it is a time consuming process. Once we have latex/plaster molds it will be faster.
This sounds awesome— I've been blacking out the chrome on my copper brown 84 since I don't like the way the chrome looks, but bronze patina will be tons better. I'd love to run a set of prototypes and mess with forced patina or oxides; I did an Ospho patina on the raw steel bumpers and sliders on my 80 series, pretty polarizing but I love the look.
@Iszzyfj60 I realize it’s only been a month but any more info? I’m interested
4runner2FJ60
SILVER Star
Great idea! I know there is a big EFI trend, but what about a bronze choke knob, and other shifters?
I'd also be curious what they look like, I love the chrome on my OEM ones, but it is slowly chipping away and like someone else said, the aftermarket ones are terrible quality
This will be epic.
