Trunk Rehab

[Patcon]

I have a dilemma, I have the trunk floor pretty well in and all the welds ground down. I have been working on the taillight panel. I measured how the old panel fit. Dim. from center filler neck hole to top point of bumper cutout on each qtr. 33 3/8"; dim. from each taillight hole straight over to point above bumper cutout 3 1/8"; dim from taillight hole straight up to tallest point on qtr panel beside trunk gap 8". When I try to set the new panel at those dimensions, I can get it set like that and pretty straight across the rear of the car, but the trunk seal gutter doesn't line up. The new tailight panel is too low to line up with the sides. What to do? Do I slide it up the 1/8" to 1/4" to line up or do I rework the exisitng weatherstrip gutter to meet the new panel. I could cut them and angle them down slightly. If I slide it up what problems is that going to cause?

Thanks, Charles

 

[Qcode351mach]

I have a dilemma, I have the trunk floor pretty well in and all the welds ground down. I have been working on the taillight panel. I measured how the old panel fit. Dim. from center filler neck hole to top point of bumper cutout on each qtr. 33 3/8"; dim. from each taillight hole straight over to point above bumper cutout 3 1/8"; dim from taillight hole straight up to tallest point on qtr panel beside trunk gap 8". When I try to set the new panel at those dimensions, I can get it set like that and pretty straight across the rear of the car, but the trunk seal gutter doesn't line up. The new tailight panel is too low to line up with the sides. What to do? Do I slide it up the 1/8" to 1/4" to line up or do I rework the exisitng weatherstrip gutter to meet the new panel. I could cut them and angle them down slightly. If I slide it up what problems is that going to cause?

Thanks, Charles

Charles..1/8" is within tolerance on these cars...With out a oem ford piece your not going to line up as did the old one..Put it in the 1/8' up location throw a few screws in..PUT THE TRUNK LID & BUMPER ON...See what you have...Whats critical is the fit of the trunk to the rear body panel..You should have the trunk weatherstrip in too, or you may end up with a trunk that won't close nicely..Also make sure to put a square at the body panel to trunk floor joint to insure the body panel is 90 degrees to the floor on both sides.

 

[Patcon]

Thanks Scott,

I will slide it up and check all the details.

Thanks for the reply,

Charles

 

[Patcon]

Alright I finally got everything we needed purchsed and pulled together, started mocking up the taillight panel. Went to put the bumper on and it hits the little molded pieces a good ways before it meets the taillight panel. Are there supposed to be spacers between the bumper and the taillight panel or am I missing soemthing? I have never seen one installed...

Thanks, Charles

 

[Qcode351mach]

Alright I finally got everything we needed purchsed and pulled together, started mocking up the taillight panel. Went to put the bumper on and it hits the little molded pieces a good ways before it meets the taillight panel. Are there supposed to be spacers between the bumper and the taillight panel or am I missing soemthing? I have never seen one installed...

Thanks, Charles

Charles what year is the car ? if it's a 73 the rear bumper brackets are different than 71-73 are you talking the rear bumper fillers ? (little plastic pieces) those pieces should fit inside the bumper ends Need pics

 

[Patcon]

Sorry, should have posted up some pics to help earlier

73 fastback Vin# 3F05H2147##





Wil's car has this rubber finisher that mounts into the corner of the quarter panel and then the quarter panel extension bolts on over it. When we try to add the bumper the bumper hits the small rubber piece before it gets anywhere close to the taillight panel.



Also there is a pretty good gap between the quarter panel extension and the taillight panel



His car was white from the factory and these pieces have white paint on them so I am assuming (I know that can be bad...) that they are original to the car. Do I have the wrong bumper, wrong mounts, wrong quarter panel pieces or some of both?

Thanks for your help,

Charles

 

[droptop73]

On the 73 there is a filler panel between the tail panel and the bumper. It has a flange on the tail panel side that screws to the tail panel. The quarter extensions have a gap on the trunk lid side they should fit the quarter well.

 

[Qcode351mach]

Sorry, should have posted up some pics to help earlier

73 fastback Vin# 3F05H2147##

Wil's car has this rubber finisher that mounts into the corner of the quarter panel and then the quarter panel extension bolts on over it. When we try to add the bumper the bumper hits the small rubber piece before it gets anywhere close to the taillight panel.

Also there is a pretty good gap between the quarter panel extension and the taillight panel

His car was white from the factory and these pieces have white paint on them so I am assuming (I know that can be bad...) that they are original to the car. Do I have the wrong bumper, wrong mounts, wrong quarter panel pieces or some of both?

Thanks for your help,

Charles

Charles..Is that the bumper that came on the car ? You need to make sure you have 73 mounting brackets..I had a 73 rear bumper & comparing it to my 72 the ends seemed a bit larger & the brackets themselves are longer they stick out a good inch further than 72..Maybe you have the wrong brackets ? snap a shot of the bumper bracket mounted to the bumper then I can tell for sure. I do have a set of 73 brackets if yours are not correct.

 

[whitesoc]

Sorry, should have posted up some pics to help earlier

73 fastback Vin# 3F05H2147##

Wil's car has this rubber finisher that mounts into the corner of the quarter panel and then the quarter panel extension bolts on over it. When we try to add the bumper the bumper hits the small rubber piece before it gets anywhere close to the taillight panel.

Also there is a pretty good gap between the quarter panel extension and the taillight panel

His car was white from the factory and these pieces have white paint on them so I am assuming (I know that can be bad...) that they are original to the car. Do I have the wrong bumper, wrong mounts, wrong quarter panel pieces or some of both?

Thanks for your help,

Charles

Charles..Is that the bumper that came on the car ? You need to make sure you have 73 mounting brackets..I had a 73 rear bumper & comparing it to my 72 the ends seemed a bit larger & the brackets themselves are longer they stick out a good inch further than 72..Maybe you have the wrong brackets ? snap a shot of the bumper bracket mounted to the bumper then I can tell for sure. I do have a set of 73 brackets if yours are not correct.

Charles

I've attached a couple of pictures of my bumper on my 73 you can see the filler panel in between the tail light panel and the bumper itself.

Ken

[attachment=3256]

[attachment=3257]

[attachment=3258]

 

[Patcon]

Scott,

No, we didn't have a bumper when we bought the car. I bought the bumper online and it was damaged by the shipper. Insurance covered it. Do the bumper brackets for the 73 space the bumper back the 1" or so we need?

Jeff,

I believe we have the filler panel we took off the car. The quarter panel extensions have that gap on the inside 1/8" - 3/16" but they fit the outside quarter panel real well, is that correct?

Ken,

Thanks for the pictures, are the bumpers the same on 71-73 and just mounted differently?

Thanks for all the help,

Charles

Here are pics of the bumper we have...

 

[Qcode351mach]

Scott,

No, we didn't have a bumper when we bought the car. I bought the bumper online and it was damaged by the shipper. Insurance covered it. Do the bumper brackets for the 73 space the bumper back the 1" or so we need?

Jeff,

I believe we have the filler panel we took off the car. The quarter panel extensions have that gap on the inside 1/8" - 3/16" but they fit the outside quarter panel real well, is that correct?

Ken,

Thanks for the pictures, are the bumpers the same on 71-73 and just mounted differently?

Thanks for all the help,

Charles

Here are pics of the bumper we have...

I don't think you have the right brackets...Let me take a look at the ones I have at the shop tomorrow..Measure them.. then you can compare yours

 

[droptop73]

Charles, I used those brackets on mine with the rubber fillers removed. Later I purchased the 71-72 coupe quarter extensions. When the body and paint get done the plan is to fix the quarter panel to fit the bumper better.

Here's a pic.

 

[whitesoc]

Charles.....

I'll crawl under the car tomorrow and try to take a picture of the bracket on my bumper for you.

 

[Patcon]

Did we ever figure out what I need to do to move forward? Brackets, bumper, etc.. I was thinking I would work on it this weekend...

Thanks, Charles

 

[droptop73]

If you remove the rubber extensions you can mount the bumper with the brackets that are on it.

 

[whitesoc]

Sorry Charles I tried to get some pictures of the bracket on my 73 but the pics were crap.

 

[Don65Stang]

Eric, Charles, Mike (Mister 4x4, Patcon, & 71_badmach) what is the status of each of your trunk rebuilds?

This is one of the many excellent threads on this forum. I vote it be moved to the Tech section.

I think the trunk & frame rail will be the first rust repair I'll tackle on my M-code to make it structurally sound.

 

[URUGUAYAN_FASTBACK]

you´re totally right Don... Not only the trunk is an important part to take care when you´re looking for originality in a car but in this thread, there´s info useful for a lot of stages to the trunk.. Many guys can find it helpful even if they are not looking for show quality so...

+2 on adding this thread to the Tech section

 

[Mister 4x4]

Eric, Charles, Mike (Mister 4x4, Patcon, & 71_badmach) what is the status of each of your trunk rebuilds?

I haven't exactly made it to the trunk area yet. I just got my floors in, and have been goofing with my engine the past few weekends. My next bout of sheet metal replacement will be the cowl damage. I saw a video on VMF about how to repair the cowl damage without pulling the windshield - and I'm gonna try it out in the next few weeks.

Once I get the engine together and the cowl damage repaired, it'll be all about the trunk, tail light panel, and rear frame rails

 

[Qcode351mach]

Eric, Charles, Mike (Mister 4x4, Patcon, & 71_badmach) what is the status of each of your trunk rebuilds?

I haven't exactly made it to the trunk area yet. I just got my floors in, and have been goofing with my engine the past few weekends. My next bout of sheet metal replacement will be the cowl damage. I saw a video on VMF about how to repair the cowl damage without pulling the windshield - and I'm gonna try it out in the next few weeks.

Once I get the engine together and the cowl damage repaired, it'll be all about the trunk, tail light panel, and rear frame rails

E..pull the windshield...Your going to need to paint the windshield channel anyway..& you could have hidden rust under it ..You've come this far & that area isn't a place to take a shortcut.