Molding in headlight eyebrows and tailight housings

[RICH MUISE]

I was looking for an old post on fitting '63 tailight lenses that Alvin inquired about, and when I found it, there was also some discussion about how I molded in my tailight housings to eliminate seams. Well, that post was almost 8 years ago, and I wanted to follow up on how that worked out in the long run. One word: excellent!
We probably all have seen '57's with cracks along those seams after a nice paint job. I had seen two 57 fords with cracks, so naturally I was concerned when I did mine how it was going to hold up after it was on the road.
Well, 2 years of road time, 18K miles, an accident that hit both the headlight eyebrow and the tailight ring, and I can report NO cracks!
here is a link to the thread where how I did it was outlined:
http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=2025.msg10668#msg10668
and, the particular posts from that thread:

Cool 57 quote: How did you mold the pot metal taillight housing to the quarter panel?

First, let me tell you what didn't work..and ask if anyone else has been sucessful.I tried a low heat brazing type rod designed to melt with a propane torch but the pot wetal was melting before I could get the  areas hot enough to melt the rod. So went to plan B...first, both the housing and the fender were cleaned to bare metal and the mating surfaces were roughed up as coarse as I could get them (wire brush @ slow speed, 36 grit 2" disc) I made sure the holes the studs go thru were large enough to give me the movement I needed for alignment. I then used a 2 part epoxy putty with a fairly long working time (45 min. or so)made by por-15, and kneaded a 1/4" rope which I applied to the housing all around the perimeter. using the 4 studs, I pulled the tailight housing in tight to the fender, squishing the putty out all the way around. I removed the excess putty at the outside seam before it set up being careful not to get it too smooth. I then applied some more putty from inside wherever I could reach with my finger to the joint line and finished the inside with as much por-15 as I could flood the "inside areas with. The por 15 adds some structural strength as well as rust protection. I then applied a coat of evercoat kitty hair (filler with fiberglass strands) around the outside seam lines, and finished it off with evercoat rage gold.

Re: dog dish trim ring!
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2010, 07:49:00 AM »

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The por-15 putty can be smoothed like glass before it dries if the particular project calls for it (I use it to repair damaged antique ornate picture frames), but in this case if you let it harden without overworking, it has a nice gritty texture which will provide good adhesion for the filler material. It also has a really high tensile strenth. I moulded in my headlight brows also, but had to approach it differently. The brows are not strong enough to squish the putty like I did with the tailight housing, So I first did some hammer and dolly work on the brows to conform to the fender closer, and used a 2 part epoxy resin with a 60 minute work time using clamps and tape to hold it in position till it set up. I then forced epoxy putty into the gaps as much as I could to seal off any gaps, and used a hypodermic needle suringe (without the needle) to inject por 15 in thru the 4 stud holes. After everything was set up, I added the washers and nuts to the studs, and finished them off as I did the tailights. In addition to the mechanical attachment, I basically tried to get as much of the right adhesive stuff in as I could...I've been accused of overkill before, but in this case I hope it was adequate. a few weeks ago I saw a ranchero I had seen at shows a few years ago after he first bought it and it was beautiful...this time I saw that his moulded in brows were all cracked around the seams...worries me.   Rich

[RICH MUISE]

BTW: cool57, another member we hadn't heard from in years. Isn't he the one who's '57 was totalled, or close to, when his daughter was driving her SUV home and a bee flew in the car, causing her to swerve and do a head-on with his '57 that was parked in the street ?
Anybody know if he's the same cool57 on the Hamb?