Caring for body fillers 1978 Eldorado

[dennisspeaks]

Looking for some tips for caring for (AND CLEANING) my body fillers for the 78 Eldo I picked up today.  I know they don't like the weather too much, I won't be driving in rain unless I get caught up in it or definitely putting away from the winter. 

She ain't perfect and I am still getting used to yellow but it does stand out.

Fortunately they are not cracked yet.

Thanks,

Dennis

[Big Fins]

The only tip at this point is, don't touch them. They just crumble sometimes. Just washing the car and running a rag over them causes cracks and breakage.

[D.Smith]

Congratulations!

Yeah those are the original ones, so they're bound to be fragile. 

Take some good close up photos of the factory striping on them so you can replace the stripes accurately later if/when you replace the fillers later.

78s Colonial yellow is a pleasant color.   More subdued than the Naples yellow used in 1977. 
Because we don't have colors like this on new cars today, people really gravitate to yellow cars at shows.
It cheers people up.   Makes the car look even bigger if that's possible. 

[dennisspeaks]

Big Fins,

Yes I had that happen to me with my last Biarritz.  Although they all were cracked when I bought it, I washed it and they literally cracked before my very eyes.

What about lightly washing then with low pressure?

Since it has been sitting awhile I was hoping to be able to clean them up one time but I see the door hanger on them "DO NOT DISTURB!"

[dennisspeaks]

Thanks D.Smith.  Good idea, I took some pictures but not with the purpose of the pin stripping.

I was wondering what the difference was between the 77 and 78 was, I just couldn't put my finger on because the cars were in different buildings.  This irritates me even more because there is a  78 yellow Biarritz, 77 Brown Biarritz, and 77 plain Eldorado yellow all that the rats got into and all have original fillers undamaged as far as I can tell.  I talked to him about buying them all as parts cars.

[GBrown #8092]

I pretty much agree with everyone else.

I don't know that you can save them other than to treat them with kid gloves, though sometimes you just get lucky. Most seem to have a mind of their own, and are "headed for self-destruction" regardless of the care given them.

My 9500 mile 76 Fleetwood had been stored in a temperature controlled garage for 31 years. One side fell off when it was backed out of the garage. I moved it to my not temperature controlled midwest garage in the fall. In the spring, the other side fell off when I backed it out of the garage. Only washed once by hand the fall before.
I also previously had a low mile 76 DeVille that had always been outside on the street in Chicago, so it was very rough, but the fillers were good. I moved it into temperature moderated storage in the early 2000's. I was removing the wethered by solid looking fillers to sell them in the mid 2010's. They disintegrated as soon and I unbolted the backing plates.
The exception was my other 76 Deville which had been in Arizona in winters for 20 years, and in the Dakotas and Chicago as a daily driver for 7 or 8 more, including multiple car wash trips (don't judge), had perfect very solid fillers when I sold it around 2009.
They seem to have an expiration date, and when they are ready to go, they go.

Be prepared and expect them to need to be replaced whenever they decide to leave you.

[dennisspeaks]

Gbrown

I bought a 78 White Biarritz last year and it had horrible fiberglass replacements.   It had Western Cyclone II wheels on it so I found a set of stock rims for $50 on offerup, sold the car locally and kept the rims. 

Keeping my fingers crossed. 

[MaR]

There is not much you can do other than don't touch them unless you absolutely have to.

[dennisspeaks]

MaR,

I kinda figured that.  I guess the good thing is the parts car I am getting is also yellow with better hub caps (two of mine have slight scuff marks)  and the fillers are good too, if push came to shove I could attempt to replace them from the donor car when they break... with a lot of LUCK!

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

These filler panels are made of a polyurethane
compound. As such, they degrade from a
combination of age, exposure to the sun, and
heat / cold.

There is nothing that you can do to extend
their life.  You might as well plan on replacing them
before they fail unexpectedly.  The best reproductions
I've seen are made of ABS plastic.  I've used a few of
these with good results.

Mike

[dennisspeaks]

Thanks Mike,

I figured that, I just got the car so it depends on if I keep it or not and for how long.

Dennis

[1776-1976-Eldo]

Funny thing, I actually discovered I have had 3 of my 4 replaced, who does that??? My right front started to split, and can tell it is original and "squeezable", all the others are ABS or fiberglass, and look great. So weird, now I need to find one front ABS to replace it.

[MaR]

I have been working on 3D printed fillers for a while now that have all the correct geometry of the factory parts. The biggest issue with the current aftermarket parts is that they are made either from fiberglass laid into a mold or they are vacuum formed ABS over a mold. The factory parts are injection molded so they have faring thickness, flanges, tabs, and other features that cannot be reproduced with either of the two methods listed above. That's why the rear fillers are often missing features to properly mount the fillers and the trim that goes on them.

[dennisspeaks]

Well MaR,

What is your timeline.  I had a set of the fiberglass on the 78 Biarritz I bought last year and they were horrible fit wise.

You will have a HUGE market.

Any pictures of what you have done?

[MaR]

Here are some parts I have made for my '74 Eldorado:

These first parts are the headlight to bumper fillers. They are different than the '75-'78 parts.



















This one is of the license plate filler and then the license plate grab handle.









And this last one is of the 74-76 tail light filler. On the 77-78 this part is a blank with different mounting tabs on the rear.









I have sample parts for the front 75-78 front fender extension and the front head light trim and I also have samples of the rear quarter extension for the 74-76 Eldorados as well as the rear quarter extension for the 77-78 Eldorados. I also have samples of all the rear parts for the 74-76 deVille.  I will make models of all of those in time so they can be printed.

[Rockne Smith]

I posed the same question regarding how to preserve my 1977 Eldorado original bumper fillers on CLC Forum many months ago.  The best advice I got, and will give, if you intend to keep the car, is to order ABS aftermarket replacements, as you will need them.  I went through the whole procedure last spring and submitted and article about the subject to CLC Self-Starter Magazine.  They published it in the September 2021 Edition, pages 42-44.  It might help you and others facing this issue.

[Big Fins]

I suggested to Dennis what to do with his intact originals. What he does is up to him.

I know if I had a set of originals in perfect shape, I would have paid for my new car already with them. There is a market that has to be recognized. Be it in ABS, fiberglass or 3D printing, it has to be tapped. Taking those originals out will require the utmost of patience and time. Locating a shop or business to duplicate them without losing that market is the key to success.

[J. Skelly]

Mitchell,

I commented before on the fantastic work you have done on your '74 pieces. 

There is also a market for replacement of the cheap plastic center armrest hinge pieces used on the '67-'70 Eldorados with bench seat.  The only difference being would be to make these hinges solid instead of "hollowed out" on the inside.  These were also used on the '66-'70 Riviera and Toronado. 

Hopefully you can bring all of these to market as GM Restoration Parts.

[MaR]

Mitchell,

I commented before on the fantastic work you have done on your '74 pieces. 

There is also a market for replacement of the cheap plastic center armrest hinge pieces used on the '67-'70 Eldorados with bench seat.  The only difference being would be to make these hinges solid instead of "hollowed out" on the inside.  These were also used on the '66-'70 Riviera and Toronado. 

Hopefully you can bring all of these to market as GM Restoration Parts.

Do you have pictures of this item?

[dennisspeaks]

J.Skelly,

I have not done any work in this area, MaR has, I was commenting on the fillers he has made.  It was suggest that since I have an original set on my 78, carefully remove them and have the 3D printed.