Topic: 1966 Fastback Sail Panel louver castings

[Alaric]

This was the first community I thought of when I found myself needing to ask this question.
Does anyone know any details about the casting process that was used for creating the sail panel louver shells?

Specifically, I'm curious to know any details around answering whether the transitions between the louver vanes were cast solid then trimmed back in postprocess or were they somehow pulled directly from the moulds with the vent openings made directly into the casting?

Thanks for any information.

[CharlesTurner]

The die-cast louvers look to be cast as 1 piece and then put through a flash chrome process.

[Alaric]

Thank you for your reply. But I think I need to clarify. The portion of the louvers that I'm referring to are the castings for the louver shells (painted body color) not the individual chrome vent inserts.

The area that I'm specifically referring to is how did Ford get the openings between the louver vanes worked into the shells? Did they cut them out after the casting or were the open vane transitions somehow crafted directly into the mould?

[J_Speegle]

Believe that like the headlight opening in the cast headlight rings the louvers were cast with the vent holes open. There likely was a quality control process where extra flashing if produced in the casting process it was removed and needed and cleaned up by a worker assigned to that process when it happened. Cutting them out individually would ahve cost allot of money and time - not what Ford or a contractor would want or choose

[Alaric]

Believe that like the headlight opening in the cast headlight rings the louvers were cast with the vent holes open. There likely was a quality control process where extra flashing if produced in the casting process it was removed and needed and cleaned up by a worker assigned to that process when it happened. Cutting them out individually would ahve cost allot of money and time - not what Ford or a contractor would want or choose

That was my thought too (about the expense of trimming the louvers being a nonstarter to Ford)

If you were attempting to do a green sand casting (yes, I'm aware Ford would not have done a green sand casting of a production part) how would you go about getting molten metal to flow into the right spots while keeping the vent openings open in the casting? I just can't quite wrap my brain around how to get the metal to flow to the right spots.

Does anyone have any information at all on the dies that were used to cast the originals?

[jwc66k]

Those are die cast, just like a 1/18 scale model car. Detail that are part of a model car would be easy for a larger item.
Jim