Front Grill Repair

[eds70dart]

I'm back for some more info. I'm about to clean-up my front plastic grill on my 1970 Dart Swinger when I noticed a couple of tabs busted off the back of the unit. Happened during storage and got pushed around a bit by the kids I guess. No-one seems to know how it happened. (How I would have guessed that.) Well, I have the tabs. The unit was bought years ago and doesn't need repainting as it looks new, just the tab repairs. I remember somwhere in the web site threads that you can repair these. Can't find it when you need it.......Does anyone know if you have to send away to get this repaired, or is there some type of good adhesive or something to use to repair them. Need some good advice.

 

[70Duster440]

I believe Mopar Muscle did an article awhile back on it. With some digging I could probably find it. Basically though, they created metal splints to back the broken tabs for reinforcement.

You'll find all kinds of suggestions for adhesives, from JB Weld to epoxies and other glues. The magazine suggested a product by SEM which has been discontinued.

For my grille I used a combination of plastic epoxy and something called "Plastifix" to create missing tabs. That is pretty cool stuff. There are some pics on my site under the "Grille Resto" link.

 

[RedFish]

Dunno. Plastic welding kits work but like any welding it takes practice and the right rods. ABS plastic gets ABS rod and so forth. Then there is the super duper super glue found at hobby shops. It is 2 part. The glue will slow set but the accelerater applied from a pump spray (llike a perfume bottle) will produce a crackling sound as the glue hardens instantly. Its used mostly on RC cars and planes. Strong stuff !

 

[eds70dart]

70Duster440, Thanks for the input. Went to your web site "Grille Resto" and that PLASTICFIX looks like pretty good stuff. I see that you made missing sections and it looks pretty good. Does it bond the two pieces together and hold up well with vibration, and does it hold well in cold weather. Maybe I'm trying to hard to find something that works to fix this. It just seems to be "too easy" of a fix. Is the stuff easy to work with, or does it cost a arm and a leg to purchase. Where do you buy this stuff.

 

[70Duster440]

I haven't installed my grille yet to see how it holds up to vibration or mild abuse. It can be used to fix cracks by V-ing them out - which I did. Seems to bond quite well too. It isn't real cheap but goes a long ways. I did a number of repairs and still have a lot left. I got it through Eastwood but it seems like I've seen it at chain auto stores. There's a powder and liquid activator. Very easy to use. The instructions have you mix it up and spread but I found that applying the powder to the part and dripping the liquid into it worked better. You can build it up quite quickly and it cures in a reasonable time. It can be ground, drilled, and sanded when cured and is just like the surrounding plastic.

You check out the product's site? http://www.urethanesupply.com/plastifixhowto.php

In your case, since you have the missing pieces, I'd back it with some thin sheetmetal like a splint and bond it all together. They'll never break again.