The New, Newer Project: Part Tres...

[njsteve]

And since the Polytech Autobody class started up again this week I started working on the polyethylene front valance that will be going back on this car. If you recall, I repaired a blue valance back in 2006 for the 1972 Trans Am. it ended up being a spare when I repaired the original white valance from the T/A. Here is the link from the original thread where I plastic welded the valance back together:

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...opics/99647/23
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...opics/99647/24

Since I had to recreate the outer edges of the valance with polyethylene welding rod, it was about 1/2" too short to match up with the fender edges and the lower portion of the nose.

Similar to the process of making a fiberglass mold off of an original, I used masking tape to cover the mating areas on the car, installed the valance (after redrilling the mounting holes in the valance to match the location of the mounting points on the radiator support). I then used a liberal slathering of rubber bumper repair compound and let it cure.











I then pulled the polyethylene valance back off and started hand sanding to get the contours. I also added the bumper repair material to the back side to mate up with the new flange areas. I reinstalled the steel valance and I brought the polyethylene valance to the Polytech class last night and started prepping the rest of the valance for primer and paint.