help! repair headlight bucket

[dbeal]

Does anyone have experience repairing the potmetal on the headlight buckets? Both of mine need some repair. 1 has a crack, and the other is missing a chunk out of the mounting area. (area that normally gets messed up) Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Mosesatm]

Most broken pot metal gets thrown away because it is so difficult to work with, but you might want to try roughing it up with a course grinder disk then fiberglassing it.

 

[Perkchiro]

My drivers side headlight bucket was also in bad shape. The mounting hole for the front valance was broken off. The body shop that did the prep and paint work strongly suggested that I just replace it with an aftermarket one. I did that and it worked out real well. I think the cost was around $140. Money well spent if you can't fix the original one. Good luck with the project.
Steve

 

[rvrtrash]

I'd probably try and find a replacement myself. I've never repaired one but am not a big fan of fiberglass on metal so would probably experiment with JB Weld, Liquid Metal, or some other synthetic. Go to an automotive paint store and see if they have anything they recommend. At least if it doesn't work, you can take the part off and replace it. Save any left over paint for the top coat just in case so the color matches.
Steve

 

[Russ]

Hi Darrell, I found a pair of NOS Ford service replacements at Virginia Mustang. They were pricey, but trying to repair the old ones ws impossible. Russ

 

[Mustanglvr]

I have a question about the ring trim around the headlights on my GT/CS. First, are they just a ring screwed on to hold the light in or are they part of the bucket? Also, the ones on my highland green car are black and I figured they were replacements. I notice from Sara`s car in the gallery, that hers are also black. Is black the color of these on all highland green cars?

 

[rvrtrash]

I have a question about the ring trim around the headlights on my GT/CS. First, are they just a ring screwed on to hold the light in or are they part of the bucket? Also, the ones on my highland green car are black and I figured they were replacements. I notice from Sara`s car in the gallery, that hers are also black. Is black the color of these on all highland green cars?

They're a ring that holds the light in place, with 3 screws. As for the color, I would think they should be body color.
Steve

 

[JGFRANCK]

Hey Rhonda,
Steve is right the head light ring should be the same color as the car. Joel

 

[Mustanglvr]

Ok, Thanks. Sara and I must both have replacements.

 

[mikegtcs1968]

Repairing pot metal with fiberglass, or any other synthetic agent is rather poor advice. This will not work, and is a waste of time. I would not purchase the reproduction stuff because it fits like crap on orginal fenders. Stick with the orginal pieces and try to fix them. You must grind down the affected area and either TIG weld it, or use alluminum welding rods with oxy-ace. torch. If you are unable to locate alluminum rods, or have feel they are too difficult to use, get something called "alumiweld" rods. I have used them fixing some pot metal and they are very easy to use with a oxy-ace torch. Just be sure to scrape the top layer of oxidation once you have reached the melting point of the pot metal, that way the stuff will stick. As for the missing pieces, build them up with the filler rod and grind them to shape. If you have had little or no experience with welding, locate an experienced body man.

 

[Mosesatm]

Repairing pot metal with fiberglass, or any other synthetic agent is rather poor advice. This will not work, and is a waste of time. I would not purchase the reproduction stuff because it fits like crap on orginal fenders. QUOTE]

Mike, glad to have you back. Good to see the sensitivity training was a success!

 

[Perkchiro]

My thoughts too Arlie. Both of us are experienced restorers and GT/CS owners. So we give our advice out to help someone, and we get trashed for giving "bad" advice. Nice to get "pot shots" from a wise cracker who knows it all.
Steve

 

[rvrtrash]

I just considered the source and let it slide because Jon asked us not to beat him up so much in the grill thread.
Steve

 

[PFSlim]

I can't tell you how many buckets we threw away because they were broken, beat up, etc. We kept one (original to our car) and bought an aftermarket which went on very smoothly. I am glad I spent the money and trashed the others.

Perk - How is the car coming? Are you almost done? I am ready to see new pictures.

We are in the process of cleaning our car for World of Wheels here in Kansas City on Mar 17-19. As much as I hate doing this show, it is good to go through the car and clean everything up and make it look new again. Last night, we put on our Cobra-Powered by Ford valve covers and rebuilt our power steering pump. We painted it the color blue it is suppose to be and it really looks nice.

For a years worth of driving, the car has held up nicely.

Paul

 

[Mosesatm]

My thoughts too Arlie. Both of us are experienced restorers and GT/CS owners. So we give our advice out to help someone, and we get trashed for giving "bad" advice. Nice to get "pot shots" from a wise cracker who knows it all.
Steve

It seems that Mike really knows metal-working and seems to offer good advice on ways to fix things, and we all need all the help we can get.

My only issue is with the tone of the responses, and the insults. An occasional, "you might want to try", or "what's worked for me" would go a long way.

 

[Perkchiro]

I can't tell you how many buckets we threw away because they were broken, beat up, etc. We kept one (original to our car) and bought an aftermarket which went on very smoothly. I am glad I spent the money and trashed the others.

Perk - How is the car coming? Are you almost done? I am ready to see new pictures.

We are in the process of cleaning our car for World of Wheels here in Kansas City on Mar 17-19. As much as I hate doing this show, it is good to go through the car and clean everything up and make it look new again. Last night, we put on our Cobra-Powered by Ford valve covers and rebuilt our power steering pump. We painted it the color blue it is suppose to be and it really looks nice.

For a years worth of driving, the car has held up nicely.

Paul

Hey Paul, thanks for asking. I'm near completion. Have all my parts lined up for interior install. Just can't get an unholstery guy to commit to install the headliner. I've contacted two who promised to call me back with a time but no response. I'm really anxious to get the front and rear glass installed. I'm now looking at May or June for a completion date.

Have fun at the World of Wheels. I know your car will show well there and be a great respresentative of the GT/CS cars we all love.
Steve

 

[PFSlim]

Steve

What is the distance from downtown KC to Nixa (time wise)? Was thinking about getting ahold of my guy to see if he wanted to do it. Just a thought, he may not want to come that far.

Paul

 

[Perkchiro]

Steve

What is the distance from downtown KC to Nixa (time wise)? Was thinking about getting ahold of my guy to see if he wanted to do it. Just a thought, he may not want to come that far.

Paul

Paul:

About two and a half to 3 hours. Probably too far for that kind of job. There are about a dozen or more auto upholstery shops in the area, but they all sound like they are overrun with business. I think that's why I'm having trouble getting one scheduled for an on site job. Thanks for thinking about this, I'll get it done sooner or later.
Steve

 

[PFSlim]

Steve

You might think about visiting one of the shops and seeing if a guy wouldn't mind stopping over for a short visit to see your car!!! Most shop owners don't like the guys doing the side work but it will only take them 45 mins to install. It goes in very quick. You never know, they might just be interested in seeing a classic car......

Paul

 

[dbeal]

Thanks for the input! I will be looking up someone who can weld potmetal from the yellow pages.