[Rack776]

I have had my 75 Firebird fo about 16 years now, one of the
first things I did to it was replace the missing front bumper to
header panel trim.

I bought a NOS GM one from Ames or PY back in about '93 or '94 Not Cheap either.
I drove the car as my daily driver untill about 2001.

The car has been in a garage since and only driven ocasionally now.

I walked out into the Garage and my filler Trim was cracked in 3 or 4 pieces
with a chunk missing out of the middle?!?!?! It was soft & rubbery last time
I cleaned the car about 2 weekends ago, now it is very hard & brittle.

Nothing fell against the car, no animals in the garage, no super hot or cold weather.

What gives? I never seen a part fail completely like that almost overnight!

Anyone else have this happen? I under stand stuff wears out but this is weird.
Anyone know where to get a Fiberglass repo so it does not happen again?

[2manyT/A'S]

That's a pretty common experience, They ALL eventually crack.

You know the story on plastic,after three years (or there abouts) things start to change.

There is a fibreglass re-pop available,but the concensus is that it doesn't fit very good.

GM still has TONS of replacements in stock & yes it's STILL expensive,but just be thankfull you can still buy it OEM after 35 years.

If you had a 73-75 Grand Am,you could watch your header panel disintegrate as you drive the car (same stuff) It just dries up,cracks & blows away.

[Ben M.]

Now you know what us Grand Am people have to deal with on the original noses ;-)

The filler panels and plastic from that era all do this given enough time and they rarely give you much warning before it happens. A fiberglass repro is the route to go, but that's work when the fit isn't stellar. Or just buy a new one from GM ;-)

[form74]

That's why I bought two of them, my old one just cracked oned day.

[Rack776]

Thanks for the input on the glass repo,
I appreciate the moral support LOL!
I hope my Honeycomb Wheels dont turn to dust overnight,
I understand seeing a small crack start into a longer one, but BAM!
3 or 4 all at once is pretty freaky.
I'm starting to worry about my T/A also now its nose is about 10 years old by now.

I made a 1.5" taller shaker scoop out of fiberglass & gelcoat before so maybee I'll attempt my own filler using the cracked one as a mold, (I'll fix it first Doh!)
At least I'll have a mold ready to go for when the one on the T/A craps out.

Its kinda cool to see a car part that you know you made your self,
and know came from a bag of fiber & a can of goo.

Whats a fair price for a New GM one? I have not looked one up in a while,
They were about $130 about 10 years ago.

The repo I saw on ebay was $85 and required a long wait to make it.

Thanks Guys - Jason

[2manyT/A'S]

Not ALL of the vintage GM plastic disintegrates like the 75 filler strip & early Grand am header panels.

Shakers & 74-76 header panels are different construction & have a much higher survival rate.

The 75 filler strip OEM (version) should set you back about what you paid for the last one.

[Rack776]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

Not ALL of the vintage GM plastic disintegrates like the 75 filler strip & early Grand am header panels.

Shakers & 74-76 header panels are different construction & have a much higher survival rate.

The 75 filler strip OEM (version) should set you back about what you paid for the last one.

Yeah I know, The headers & scoops are GM pressed Fiberglass,
The Replacement Filler Strip I had was a black Rubber with "Phillips 66" moulded in the back side, The original was a yellowish polyeurothane like the bumpers, I know
the 77-81 bumpers can get funky with a lot of sun exposure but I never saw them
just split open unless they were hit. I guess the plastic/rubber "outgassed" all of
the chemical that made it flexable, I dont know who else made the GM replacement
parts but Mine had a "made by phillips 66 logo" and was black with a GM wrapper on it.

For the $125 I spent and it lasting 15 years I figure it was like renting one for
$8 a year

[sinister76ta]

I bought one of those NOS filler pieces for my 75, and I'm not impressed by the quality of it. The next time it breaks down, I'm going with a fiberglass replacement for it.

[Formula 400 74]

JMO, but I think the NOS is the way to go. I had one of the fiberglass repros (the kind from ebay). Not only did it not fit well in the space, it had no mounting holes to bolt it to the nose bolt locations. There's no way to mount it except screw it into the bumper or glue it in place. Didn't work well; I replaced it with an NOS one.