[njsteve]

I also used the welder to recreate the missing broken sections by gradually building up material until it replicated the original contours. This took about three hours today to get the rough shape of the broken sections.

Before:

[njsteve]

After:

[njsteve]

Before:

[njsteve]

And After:

[njsteve]

It's Thanksgiving so I'm hiding downstairs since my wife threw me out of the kitchen. Here are the reproduced sections after more welding, filing and sanding:

[njsteve]

And here's the last stage of the broken face bar's repair. The uneven area underneath is actually the factory clearance cut out for the mounting bolt:

[njsteve]

Here are the two edge sections. Both were heavily cracked due to the fact that factory molding process injected very little plastic on the ends of the panel. The main area of the valance is about 3/8" thick while the outer edges are only about 1/16" thick. I had to reproduce a missing section from one end as evidenced by the different color of the polyurethane material in the second photo. I also heavily back-filled the thin areas around the edge so now they're about 1/2" thick:

[njsteve]

As a final judge of the repair I trial-fitted the NOS front spoiler on the panel. (it's actually made of injection molded fiberglass -why they didn't also make the valance out of that is beyond me!) The spoiler just dropped in place and lined up perfectly.

[njsteve]

And here's the final view of the repair after all the sanding with 120 grit paper. I'll leave the rest of the prep for my paint guy.

[Norwood]

Steve I am a curious about that NOS front spoiler that you say is made of Fiberglass. I bought my first replacment spoiler in about 1975, at that time they came molded in body color and were made from the same materal as the wheel spoilers and thats how you ordered them. The last one that I ordered that was body color was in the early eighties and it was still made of the same material as the wheel spoilers. The last one that I got was in the late eighties and this one was painted blk. but under that it is still molded in blue. I have never seen a GM one that was not made from this material. Can you post some close up pics of your spoiler. Are the spoilers for the plastic Valance different than the ones for the metal one?

[njsteve]

I was only assuming it's fiberglas. I was using that as a catch-all term since it isn't polyethylene like the valance is. It is molded in color, too. You are correct, like your parts, it's definitely the same material as my wheel flares. Do you happen to know what the exact material is?

[Norwood]

No I don't know the exact material. I just thought that you might have something that I had never seen.

[Jim Rotella]

I always thought the NOS '70-'73 front spoilers were made of ABS plastic. I bought mine from GM in 1987 and it was molded in gray, just like the NOS wheel flares were at the time.

[njsteve]

The front sheet metal and other panels are at the shop in Pennsylvania. My body guy updates me with photos of the progress. Once the front clip is done I hope to bring the rest of the car to him to finish the job. It's been 2 years since I started this project in November, 2004 and I'd really love to get her on the road for next spring. Here are some shots of the trunk lid and passenger fender getting done. Both were rust-free so they were stripped, scuffed and primed. The fender had a small dent in the flare area and had to be massaged back into place.

[njsteve]

Here's the lastest in derusting technology that I found via this website: http://www.safestrustremover.com/
Though it takes a long time to work due to the current temperature here (around 45 degress) it is rather amazing. I bought a 5 gallon can of the derusting liquid and just followed the directions. I borrowed one of those curved water tanks that you check leaky tires with, wrapped the back of the car in a plastic tarp and fed it into the water tank. I then filled the tank with the liquid and used a small pump I bought at Home Depot, (they are sold for clearing the water from pool covers), hooked it to a garden sprayer with some hose and let it run.


Here is how I set up the contraption:

[njsteve]

Here is the before picture showing the light scale behind the rear valance:

[njsteve]

Here is the progress after 2 hours. You can see the shiny metal starting to reappear.

This is amazing stuff. It is not an acid, just some magical chemical compound accidentally discovered by the guy who owns the company. I stopped by his shop here in Jersey and bought the stuff directly from him. He said they originally were developing a non-toxic rust and scale cleaning process for use in the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels but it wasn't up to the Port Authority's specs so they didn't buy it. He had brought the excess liquid samples home and dumped them in a rusted barrel for disposal the next day. To his surprise, the next day the inside of the rusted barrel was completely shiny metal. And that's where he got the idea to use it on cars. Gotta love accidental discoveries. Isnt that how Silly Putty and plexiglass were both discovered: by accident.

I will let it run over night and update with more photos tomorrow!

[njsteve]

Here is the same spot after 24 hours of spraying. According to the manufacturer, it would go much faster if the ambient temperature was between 70 and 100 degrees. Since the stuff isn't flammable I think you could probably place an aquarium-type heater in the tank to warm the fluid up to 80 degrees or so and speed the chemical reaction up. Unfortunately I'd need to buy a lot more liquid to get it to a high enough level for the heater to work. So I guess I'll just let it spray as it is. It's kind of like those rock tumblers you had as a kid: you put the rocks and the polishing compound in the tumbler and let it spin for a month and then open it up and see the polished stones.

As you can see in the photo, more shiny metal is magically appearing with no paint/primer damage:

[blue71ta]

I have used this same product for many smaller items like brackets, pulleys, etc. & was very pleased with it - works great! Doesn't change the surface texture like media blasting would; leaves all primer, paint marks, etc. I highly recommend it myself.

[Jim Robertson]

Steve,
Great documentation on your early 72 car. Tremendous dedication and excellent work. A number of us on this forum are endebted to you for your efforts.
My 72 was largely disassembled and this photo documentation has helped me immensely.
You are the Man! Keep going!
Jim