Pillar Replacement...contributed by: Bob Downie

This '71 Eldorado promo sat in the sun for many years, discoloring and damaging the plastic. Rough handling had also taken it's toll, leaving many chips and cracks - as well as removing the passenger side A-pillar.

I am using this factory brochure picture as a guide for restoring and detailing the model.

I ended up using an Evergreen styrene strip to replace the A-pillar, rather than cutting up a rare kit for one. It really wasn't much extra effort, I just sized it, and had to scribe a line into it. Using Ambroid Pro Weld glue really made the pillar joints very strong (stronger than the rest of this very brittle model).

I added new drip rails using .030 round stock all around, as the originals were in poor shape. Once applied, I then sanded them down for the proper appearance.

I'm even going to use Juha Airio's "trick" for making new glass-it worked well on my recent Javelin, and the material is much clearer than kit glass anyway.

Here's what it looks like now-needs some more sanding. Notice all the cracks/fills in the rear of the car. This thing is REALLY brittle, and very discolored...it is turquoise underneath the "olive" clearcoat. Years of direct sunlight is bad for humans and models as well!

Update!!! Here are pictures of the finished model!

 

Photos by Robert Downie, text edited by Tim Doty.