Replacing Tail light Panel

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imusa76

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Rhode Island
My Car
1972 Mustang Convertable
302 v2 FMX 2.79 rear end
scince I have to repaint the back half of the car, I decided to replace the Tail light panel,mine was hit at one point of its life and is Bondo filled, and under the trunk gasket is has some Bondo filled rot, ans also the bottom of the lights opening, its bondo filled rot. (the car was once worked on by a Bondo Artist, he did a great job hiding it all)

I tried looking for a "Q" video on ideas on replacing it, best way ect...

I have the new panel that I ordered, just need any tips you guys can share (do's and dont's).

I also might replace the Pass side quater skin, its got hit prity good on the top/side with one of the Garage pipes.

 
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scince I have to repaint the back half of the car, I decided to replace the Tail light panel,mine was hit at one point of its life and is Bondo filled, and under the trunk gasket is has some Bondo filled rot, ans also the bottom of the lights opening, its bondo filled rot.

I tried looking for a "Q" video on ideas on replacing it, best way ect...

I have the new panel that I ordered, just need any tips you guys can share (do's and dont's).

I also might replace the Pass side quater skin, its got hit prity good on the top/side with one of the Garage pipes.
Click to expand...
Measure first, do one panel at a time, take your time and you will do great.

 
Measure first, do one panel at a time, take your time and you will do great.
Click to expand...
Measure 3-4 times and cut once :)

I was thinking f the samething one at a time.

I wasnt sure when I remove it, what will shift and move out of place, if anything.

I have always done small Patch panels never a whole section, last year I replaced my pass side lower rear panel, that was easy, and came out great, but now it looks like I have to replace the whole rear quater (old bodywork cracked when the garage clapsed on it.)

these are a few pics from Last year before I painted the car.

2012-04-13_18-44-02_575.jpg

2012-04-14_16-49-46_82.jpg

2012-04-14_17-14-57_260.jpg

 
Nice work on the quarter panel. I'm going to have to do the tail light and quarter too. I have rust all along the trunk weatherstripping. Post lots of pics on this work will you? I would love to see what's all involved.

 
Nice work on the quarter panel. I'm going to have to do the tail light and quarter too. I have rust all along the trunk weatherstripping. Post lots of pics on this work will you? I would love to see what's all involved.
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I second that. Subscribing to this thread as I'll eventually get to this area after I am done with the driver side floor pan and cowl. :s

Rich

 
Nice work on the quarter panel. I'm going to have to do the tail light and quarter too. I have rust all along the trunk weatherstripping. Post lots of pics on this work will you? I would love to see what's all involved.
Click to expand...
I second that. Subscribing to this thread as I'll eventually get to this area after I am done with the driver side floor pan and cowl. :s

Rich
Click to expand...
Hmmm how do you subscribe Rich. Hook a buddy up. :)

LMAO now I see it. When ya post. I'm in!!!!!

 
Nice work on the quarter panel. I'm going to have to do the tail light and quarter too. I have rust all along the trunk weatherstripping. Post lots of pics on this work will you? I would love to see what's all involved.
Click to expand...
I second that. Subscribing to this thread as I'll eventually get to this area after I am done with the driver side floor pan and cowl. :s

Rich
Click to expand...
Hmmm how do you subscribe Rich. Hook a buddy up. :)

LMAO now I see it. When ya post. I'm in!!!!!
Click to expand...
scroll down to bottom of page and click "subscribe to this thread" at left of page

 
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Sometimes the rear quarters can roll inward when you cut out the tail panel especially if it has damage elsewhere. Do you have a portapower?
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I was thinking of welding a rod to the top inside of the rear quaters to hld them in place before cutting anything.

 
Invest in some welding pliers to hold the panels together while you are working on them . Check the hardware that holds the taillights on the panel. You might need to upgrade with new stuff if they are carroded.Look over the bumper brackets too to make sure you could reuse them .

Make sure to check fitment on the trunk latch before welding that on.

Lastly don’t be tempted to overweld. Stick with spot welds and keep your temps down so you don’t warp it. Mover around a lot . Argon 75% and C02 mix in the mig welding bottle with the smallest diameter wire you can run.

Invest in some weld tru- primer to keep the rust @ bay after welding and get some seam sealer for between the trunk floor and panel.

I would like to get some "Cleco" style connectors in the future, they work great and are reusable

My trunk weatherstip was bad so the panel on my 71 was swiss cheese in 1987.

 
Great thread. I need to replace the TLP and driver's side panel as well.

Already bought the TLP and gaskets. Needs new trunk floor as well.

Sounds like a good day of welding.

mike



I would like to get some "Cleco" style connectors in the future, they work great and are reusable
Click to expand...
I know a guy that builds airplanes for a hobby,

Lancair and Christian Eagle. He uses the Cleco a lot.

There is a starter kit from Amazon for $25

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Fastener-Starter-Fasteners-Quality/dp/B0093QZ0QG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1363971741&sr=8-3&keywords=cleco+clamps

mike

 
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Great thread. I need to replace the TLP and driver's side panel as well.

Already bought the TLP and gaskets. Needs new trunk floor as well.

Sounds like a good day of welding.

mike
Click to expand...
I was just debating if I should replace the trunk floor while I''m at it, its the only pice of original floor left in the car, it had some rot that had been patched 12+ yrs ago and I have not pulled up the mat scince.

I should check it out :)

I should have just did all of this work Last year!!! now Mother nature is forcing me in to it..LOL

 
Great thread. I need to replace the TLP and driver's side panel as well.

Already bought the TLP and gaskets. Needs new trunk floor as well.

Sounds like a good day of welding.

mike
Click to expand...
I was just debating if I should replace the trunk floor while I''m at it, its the only pice of original floor left in the car, it had some rot that had been patched 12+ yrs ago and I have not pulled up the mat scince.

I should check it out :)

I should have just did all of this work Last year!!! now Mother nature is forcing me in to it..LOL
Click to expand...
Replace the floor while you are there. Don't have a floor yet.

NPD has one for $120 but shipping is $140. And there are two

sizes for trunk floors.

mike

 
M.U is $109, and I was going to take a ride there this weekend to pick up a quater panel and all of the extras I want :D

its only about a 45min ride, much cheaper then the Fright charges.

 
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What you find with the after market tailight panels is the openings for the tail lamp is to big..check a few with your tail lamp some are worse than others..if your doing the trunk floor now is the time to do it..your going to want to measure take reference points BEFORE anything is cut out & you need to set up some braces on the rear frame rails in order to LOCK them in place..they can & will move once the trunk floor is out..The new parts should be epoxy primed BEFORE installing as should all mating surfaces(you need somewhere warm to spray epoxy it will fail if sprayed in temperatures below 60 degrees)...make sure the rear body panel is centered side to side & everything needs to be fit put together first with sheet metal screws..including the bumper etc. once you determine where your plug welds are going...It's a simple matter to take a scribe inside where you drilled a hole..& just remove the epoxy on the mating surface..no weld thru required..the epoxy actually does a better job on the mating surface...the insides of the frame rails should be coated with rust bullet once you peel away the trunk floor..all seam sealing should be done with 2 component seam sealer..stay away from the cheap brushable sealers in a can..

 
Last edited by a moderator:
What you find with the after market tailight panels is the openings for the tail lamp is to big..check a few with your tail lamp some are worse than others..if your doing the trunk floor now is the time to do it..your going to want to measure take reference points BEFORE anything is cut out & you need to set up some braces on the rear frame rails in order to LOCK them in place..they can & will move once the trunk floor is out..The new parts should be epoxy primed BEFORE installing as should all mating surfaces(you need somewhere warm to spray epoxy it will fail if sprayed in temperatures below 60 degrees)...make sure the rear body panel is centered side to side & everything needs to be fit put together first with sheet metal screws..including the bumper etc. once you determine where your plug welds are going...It's a simple matter to take a scribe inside where you drilled a hole..& just remove the epoxy on the mating surface..no weld thru required..the epoxy actually does a better job on the mating surface...the insides of the frame rails should be coated with rust bullet once you peel away the trunk floor..all seam sealing should be done with 2 component seam sealer..stay away from the cheap brushable sealers in a can..
Click to expand...
thanks for the Great Pointer :) , do you grind down the expoxy primer before welding? or weld right through it?

I went digging through all of your Videos and I saw one Picture with all of your rear panels taped on, that gave me the I deas of trial fitting before welding.

I will be working on this as soon as the weather gets warmer (I'm hoping in the next week or so)

I will take pictures, and ask any questions if I'm not sure, and I think the most important part is "NOT RUSH!!!"

 
thanks for the Great Pointer :) , do you grind down the expoxy primer before welding? or weld right through it?
Click to expand...
No what you do is once your hole is drilled for the spot weld..with the panel on..you take the scribe or you can use a dremel with a small bit...& just remove the primer INSIDE the hole..the edge of the hole acts as a guide..

 

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