1977 Lincoln Town Coupe door molding

[gselke1]

I'm trying to locate a passenger door molding for my Lincoln. The vehicle is in mint condition (36k miles and never driven in the rain) and the trim piece itself is fine. It's the rubber insert that has damage. Salvage yard moldings are not in the best shape. I've been searching for a while and purchased a couple but they were not in very good shape. Anyone have any ideas?

[old_master]

Did you try the dealer? If they can't get the part, have them at least give you the part number. If they tell you it's too old and they can't get the part number, go to an older Ford dealer and see if they can look it up on micro film, (before computers they all used micro film). Then enter the part number in a search on Google, Amazon, Ebay, etc. Somebody somewhere will have the part.

[gselke1]

Thanks
I do have the part # but never thought of searching for it that way.

[old_master]

Cool! Let us know what you find out.

[gselke1]

I searched for the part # on Google and Bing and got nothing. I tried the whole part number and just the base #. Did I input it incorrectly? I was told that one option may be to join a Lincoln club so I could use their resources.

[old_master]

What is the entire Ford part number, including prefix and siffix?

[gselke1]

I have 2 part #'s with a few suffixs they are:
D7VY-602878-AA, (-BB, -AF, -AV,-AP,-AR, -AD, -BP,-AW)
D8VY-602878-AB, (-BU, -AU, -AU,-BT,-AF, -AR)

From what I've found out the suffixs are the colors of the rubber insert in the molding.
Thanks for the help!

[old_master]

The prefix tells what year and model the part fits. The 602878 is the basic part number, (body side molding etc). As far as the suffix, you're correct, it usually designates color, and in some cases, left or right side of the vehicle. Did you get those numbers from a dealer? The prefix's D7VY & D8VY are numbers taken from the actual part itself, (if I remember correctly) and not the actual Ford part number. Typically the "Y" is dropped and a "Z" is added in place of it to arrive at the actual part number however, I checked several different sites and came up with a big fat zero!

[gselke1]

Went to the Ford dealer and had them look it up. I got a hit on one from Lincoln land but they want $195 for it. I got one before from Lincoln Farm and the rubber insert had some damage. Got that one for $90. I'm really after the rubber mine got damaged, so I was hoping to just replace the insert and have it dyed to match. Any info on Lincon Land? Trust worthy?

[old_master]

Checked out their website but to be honest, I never heard of them before. Kinda makes sense to have a Lincoln specialty shop in Florida though It seems like there would be a Lincoln graveyard around here, being so close to the Motor City, maybe something around Dearborn???

[gselke1]

I work for Ford in Dearborn and nothing out there for Town Coupes. Lots of Town Cars.

[old_master]

Did you try calling LKQ auto parts? They're a major player in used auto parts, and they're local! Sweet talk 'em and offer a little "incentive" if they can find what you need. '77 Town Coupe... I agree, not near as many of them were built. I worked as a tech in a Ford dealer when they were new... nice car! Ain't nothin' compares to the ride of those babies! 400 or 460 engine? Got any pictures of her that you could post?

[gselke1]

It's got a 460 4 barrel. I'm the original owner. Bought it 2 yrs after high school. It has ~36k miles and I never drove it in the rain, always garage kept. The wife calls it a land yacht. I have a photo of just the driver's side I took to show the molding I was looking for, but I've been waiting to get the molding repaired before I take some photos. Had a small fire under the vehicle that pealed some of the clear coat on the rocker and when the cover caught fire it melted about 1 inch of the molding insert. Minor damage that can be repainted. Long story. I'll try LKQ. Thanks for all the help.