[eedave]

Steve, I have a set of 72' grills that you can have if you can't find a small piece to repair yours.

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by eedave

Steve, I have a set of 72' grills that you can have if you can't find a small piece to repair yours.

Are they broken? I dont want to cut up a good grill just for a 1/2 piece of plastic.

[njsteve]

I ended up repairing the broken section of grill. I first filed the edges so it was a clean area. I then hunted around the house and finally found an old broken plastic wiring harness retainer from, of all things, my old long-gone 1971 Hemicuda Convertible! (So now there's some Mopar donor material in this Pontiac...) It was made of the same type of heavy plastic as the grill and almost the exact same age, give or take six months.

I cut a small section off and filed it to the correct width but left it with an extra amount of material 3/8" long so I could handle more easily while fitting it into the grill space. I also pre-scored a line before the 3/8" tab so I could break it off once it was glued in and set.

[njsteve]

I used a two-part epoxy called "Plastic Weld" and mixed it as directed. (It sets very quickly and dries hard so you gotta move fast!) I set the piece in place and smoothed over the repair. You only have about 45 seconds to do this as it is hardening. It goes from clear to white as it sets. Once it dries in about 15 minutes, you can sand it and reapply it if you need to refill a spot.

Front view and rear view:

[njsteve]

Once it is set and hardened. I snapped off the 3/8" tab and sanded the repair. For sanding the inside areas of the honeycomb I used a plastic knife from Wendy's (they're much better than the cheap McDonalds plastic kinives) and wrapped it in sandpaper. It fit perfectly and was able to flex to fit the interior areas. Here is the finished repair:

Front view and rear view:

[crc]

You do good work Steve! Really enjoy the play by play. Please keep it coming.