[REEDRACER]

Finally getting around to getting my 73 TA on the road again. When I bought it, it had a 72 front bumper on it. I bought a used 73 bumper for it. Working on installing it. My buddy and I have found the lower valance doesn't have provision for mounting support bracket. Valance is metal. I think it's for a earlier years. I believe the nose and valance were replaced from a accident years ago. Should I buy repop 73 one from Ames? Has anyone bought one from them? Thanks for

[77 Canamman]

I have a '73 Formula, and the original plastic valance has been repaired several times, and it is about hopeless. I too am curious is the Parts Place part that Ames sells is worth the effort.

[Green Hornet]

Originally Posted by REEDRACER

Finally getting around to getting my 73 TA on the road again. When I bought it, it had a 72 front bumper on it. I bought a used 73 bumper for it. Working on installing it. My buddy and I have found the lower valance doesn't have provision for mounting support bracket. Valance is metal. I think it's for a earlier years. I believe the nose and valance were replaced from a accident years ago. Should I buy repop 73 one from Ames? Has anyone bought one from them? Thanks for

If you are referring to the center top mount....I believe ALL of them came with mounting provisions (bolt hole)..

Do you have the triangular shaped bracket that bolts to the lower end of middle vertical rad support brace?

Might help if you posted a picture...

[PureSD]

The Parts Place plastic replacement valance is the best thing going for the correct look but it will require some fitting.

['ol Pinion head]

Parts Place repro is not dead on, several years ago compared side by side a PP repro to a low mile original '71-73 piece, took a bunch of pics as well.

[77 Canamman]

So what are the incorrect details, and it is worth the north of $300 price?

[Chief of the 60's]

The originals were plastic, GM replacements were steel and require different parking lamp fillers.

[poncho-mike]

Did Pontiac initiate a program to replace the plastic lower valance with the steel valance?

Back in the early to mid 1980s, I ran into a Ford guy who had bought a bunch of NOS parts from a small town Pontiac dealership that closed in around 1975. He was planning to go through the parts and sell them on Hemmings but never got around to it. I was able to buy everything he had, which was about four pickup truck loads.

Among the inventory were roughly a dozen new 70-72 lower valance panels and a box full of the brackets for the middle support. The dealership wasn't that large, and the number of Firebird valance panels seemed disproportionate to the reest of the parts. My guess is that they were having to replace a bunch of broken valance panels, or Pontiac was replacing them with metal under warranty.

Mike

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by poncho-mike

Did Pontiac initiate a program to replace the plastic lower valance with the steel valance?

Back in the early to mid 1980s, I ran into a Ford guy who had bought a bunch of NOS parts from a small town Pontiac dealership that closed in around 1975. He was planning to go through the parts and sell them on Hemmings but never got around to it. I was able to buy everything he had, which was about four pickup truck loads.

Among the inventory were roughly a dozen new 70-72 lower valance panels and a box full of the brackets for the middle support. The dealership wasn't that large, and the number of Firebird valance panels seemed disproportionate to the reest of the parts. My guess is that they were having to replace a bunch of broken valance panels, or Pontiac was replacing them with metal under warranty.

Mike

There was 3 different parking/ turn light assemblies used in the model year 1972. This also mean that there was 3 different lower valences.
1. The early same steel one used in '70, and '71's with the multi piece light assembly with a clear lens. ( the first Valence)
2. Around the middle of November of 1971, Pontiac got the bright Idea of using the plastic valence. ( The second valence) This failed before cars even made it to the unfinished car lot. This first plastic Valence had a "Clear" capsule. It used a different front light harness as well, with a bulb socket that twisted in like a tail light, to the clear capsule.
3. Due to breaking of the lower valence, Pontiac had a steel unit built ( The 3rd Valence) that would hold the new Clear capsules, and also the Amber ones introduced in Late Dec of 1971. This is the Valence that was force shipped out based on sales, and many cars got one ( unpainted ) in the trunk with instructions for the dealership to paint and install.
What you have are the GM replacements, which some were made up until 1979. These will even work with the early style assemblies, but there is more gap around the metal socket part. These fit against the lower fenders WAY, WAY better than ANY metal replacements out there.
Here are the second Two light Capsules. The clear one from my Nov'71 built Firebird, the Amber from my Dec '71 Built Firebird. The Amber continued through all of '73.

[bird72]

My late 72 has amber lights in a replacement steel valance. It was missing the center bracket, so I knew it was not original. Also had no filler pieces around signals, so it was whammed together. Since not a pedigree rare car, I'll keep functional steel valance over problematic plastic. I fixed the incorrect, missing stuff.

[77 Canamman]

Stay on topic..what needs to be done to the Ames/Parts Place plastic reproduction part, and is it worth the $300 plus dollars?

I personally do not like the looks of the steel valance, so I really prefer not to go there...

['ol Pinion head]

From a distant appearance sake, the PP repro is close. It is, however, injection molded of thinner plastic, esp noticeable where the quarter shapped access holes are near the parking lamps. Several shapes & detail lines also don't exist, on the bottom the rectangular slots evident on an original don't exist. those will be cutout as I modify & reinforce from the backside two of the repro's. My .02, building a bug-smacker/driver or local "showcar", use a metal used or repro valance with parking lamp fillers.

[poncho-mike]

Thanks for the explanation, FormulaBruce

I always wondered why only a couple of the valacnes were in boxes, the rest were loose. I suspect the dealer collected them and only installed the metal ones if customers complained.

[Formulabruce]

The Parts place repop for '73 "plastic" valence has issues at the fender fitment and I have found it to be different from side to side.
I used a heat gun on one to get the capsule in correctly.

[Bentwheelbob]

The Parts Place valance is the only game in town unless you want to wait and hope you might score an original. I have no first hand experience, but have talked with numerous people that have fitted one or more including Darrell that did my Black Car. My takeaway is that it is a 6 out of 10, but will require a material amount of work to get it flattened out and to get it fitted at the ends. Sort of like fitting the TA wheel flares, a heat gun will be your friend. If you hate the metal replacement and have $1500 to spend for parts and labor get it. It’s the only option for anything other than the metal replacement.




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[grd777]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

There was 3 different parking/ turn light assemblies used in the model year 1972. This also mean that there was 3 different lower valences.
1. The early same steel one used in '70, and '71's with the multi piece light assembly with a clear lens. ( the first Valence)
2. Around the middle of November of 1971, Pontiac got the bright Idea of using the plastic valence. ( The second valence) This failed before cars even made it to the unfinished car lot. This first plastic Valence had a "Clear" capsule. It used a different front light harness as well, with a bulb socket that twisted in like a tail light, to the clear capsule.
3. Due to breaking of the lower valence, Pontiac had a steel unit built ( The 3rd Valence) that would hold the new Clear capsules, and also the Amber ones introduced in Late Dec of 1971. This is the Valence that was force shipped out based on sales, and many cars got one ( unpainted ) in the trunk with instructions for the dealership to paint and install.
What you have are the GM replacements, which some were made up until 1979. These will even work with the early style assemblies, but there is more gap around the metal socket part. These fit against the lower fenders WAY, WAY better than ANY metal replacements out there.
Here are the second Two light Capsules. The clear one from my Nov'71 built Firebird, the Amber from my Dec '71 Built Firebird. The Amber continued through all of '73.

i have a metal valance with the amber lights . do you think mine was changed out back in the day

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by grd777

i have a metal valance with the amber lights . do you think mine was changed out back in the day

Most likely it was, and has the newest steel version.
I have the original off my '73 Formula project, but like many, it needs some repairs. I bought a heat stapler and 3m epoxy to fix it, but its a bit down the list.

[Red Goat]

As Bob and OPH have said, the Part's Place valance is as good as you can do unless you come up with an original.

I have several of the originals and have compared to the repop. In addition to what has already been shared, the shape of the large openings are noticeably different and the contours are different. Another obvious difference is the lack of a styling ridge along the top edge and around the openings of the repop. Once you've seen these differences, you can recognize a repop right away.

[cnc]

Could someone post a pic of the centre support your referring to??
So the centre support is on the steel Valance or the plastic or both???

[poncho-mike]

It was used on the steel valance panels used in 1970 - 1972. I don't think it was used on the plastic valance panels. It's been a very long time since I saw a plastic valance that was still intact.