Quality of Repro Taillight Panels

[maxxfish 0]

The taillight panel on my Mach 1 has seen better days, and I'm considering replacemnt of repair. Any idea of the fit and finish of these parts? Also, do they include the inner sheet metal that the taillights screw into? TIA, Max

[RabidPhilosopher 0]

The taillight panel on my Mach 1 has seen better days, and I'm considering replacemnt of repair. Any idea of the fit and finish of these parts? Also, do they include the inner sheet metal that the taillights screw into? TIA, Max

 

Are you talking about a reproduction (metal) panel? I just replaced one on my 69 coupe (same as the mach). I got it from CJ pony parts.

 

Pictured:

http:// http://hometown.aol.com/sixtyninemustang/Main.html (scroll to the bottom of the page).

 

It was a pretty good fit.

 

The one I got had the tail light brackets already pre-welded into the back of the panel. The center panel where your locking mechanisms go wasn't included, so I had to save it from the original and weld it to the new.

 

If you are an inexperienced welder, this would probably not be a good job to try and tackle your self. There are approximately 20 spot welds on each side, not counting the spot welds along the bottom of the panel.

 

If the filler panel (connecting the tail light panel and rear quarters) is rusted badly, that means even more spot welds on the rear quarters which have to be cut out. I didn't bother replacing the filler panels; i retro-fabricated some new once from old, but good, original sheet metal taken off the car.

 

Hope that helps