[1_Wild_Cat]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for help/advice on the best and safest way to reshape the cast pot metal quarter panel extension. The opening on my driver side extension where is goes around the taillight housing is not parallel and forces the piece to sit a little crooked. (See the picture).



I have read that these cast pieces can be reshaped somewhat. I am looking for more specifics on the process. My own thought is to attach the piece to a large heat sink and allow the extension to heat up slowly. Then using a clamp pull the ends of the opening parallel to each other.

Will this work? Other options? I would sincerely appreciate any help y'all can provide. Thanks.

[Chief of the 60's]

Look for one that is closer as they were never perfect right from the factory.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Thanks Chief...I had thought of that. However, it seems like a crap shoot...You would only know if anything you bought was better once you tried it on the car. I know a guy here locally that bought 8 sets for his 65 before giving up and modifying the quarters to match the best set.

[Dick Boneske]

They very seldom were a good fit from the factory. My body guy spent quite a few hours tweaking them to fit, and he got them nearly perfect. Started out with at least 1/8" mismatch on the topside next to the trunk opening.. The diecast can be massaged quite a bit, but it's always risky. When they're close to matching, you need to say "good enough!"

[george kujanski]

Got any junk pieces to practice on?

George

[1_Wild_Cat]

Got any junk pieces to practice on?

Nope - it may be worth buying one like Chief suggested. If it isn't any better then I would have one to practice on.

Dick...

We worked the passenger side and it is now almost perfect. But - my guy worked the quarter instead of the extension. There are some pictures of that in my build thread.

The driver side doesn't really look too bad with the taillight housings in - but the contact doesn't allow the piece to sit vertically. Guess we could grind the edge of the extension a little - or remove a thin slice from the tail panel.

Here are a couple pictures of the passenger side and what it looks like with the taillights in it.

[69hardtop]

I might have a couple of driver side parts in my basement I would let go super cheap, but......I’m sure I picked the best one out of what I had to use on my car, and I’m pretty sure my guy told me he had to shape and shave it to fit.
I think “close enough” as someone else mentioned might be the end result

[1_Wild_Cat]

Hi 69hardtop...If you come across them I would be interested. If none of them fit better - then I would have something to practice on. Thanks.

[69hardtop]

Originally Posted by 1_Wild_Cat

Hi 69hardtop...If you come across them I would be interested. If none of them fit better - then I would have something to practice on. Thanks.

Ill pm you next week when I return from a trip

[1_Wild_Cat]

Sounds good. Thanks.

[1_Wild_Cat]

So...playing around with this I learned that I can flex the piece that needs to move with just the strength of my hands and arms. That makes me wonder if I could just use a clamp to draw it together bit-by-bit. Something like put the clamp on and tension it a bit - leave it a week and repeat. Maybe put a little heat into it to stress relieve it held in the new position.

Any thoughts?

[Lemans64]

I used a clamp to spread mine a bit, just put the clamp on it and leave it for a while, a week, making very slight adjustments each day.
I did not use any heat. mine was close together where tail light goes in.

[flat-bill]

Originally Posted by 1_Wild_Cat

So...playing around with this I learned that I can flex the piece that needs to move with just the strength of my hands and arms. That makes me wonder if I could just use a clamp to draw it together bit-by-bit. Something like put the clamp on and tension it a bit - leave it a week and repeat. Maybe put a little heat into it to stress relieve it held in the new position.

Any thoughts?

On the potmetal tail light bezels on my '50 Merc they came back from the platter with about a 3/8 inch gap between the bezel and the rear quarter. They had fit fine before plating. They mount to the quarter with studs in the back of the bezel and nuts inside the trunk.

I installed the new rubber pad and got the nuts started on the studs. It looked grim. I snugged the nuts up by hand and let it sit several days. Snugged it up some more. After about a week of slow snugging and letting it sit It pulled down perfectly to the quarter. I removed them from the car and remounted them. They fit perfectly to the quarter. No bending needed.

I also worked over a moulding on the leading edge of a '47 Caddy hood. It had a terrible fit. Warmed it up with a heat gun and bent it to fit by hand. I don't think the heat was even needed. Just go slow. Billk

[1_Wild_Cat]

Thanks Lemans64 and flat-bill...Good to know. If I could move the taillight opening between a 1/4 and 3/8" the fit would be perfect. Sounds like the slow tension approach might me a winner. Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

[69hardtop]

Originally Posted by 69hardtop

Ill pm you next week when I return from a trip

Well, I looked in my boxes of extra parts and unfortunately I have three passenger side but zero driver side extensions. Sorry......

[1_Wild_Cat]

LOL...I'm glad somebody else's memory works like mine. Thanks for the effort.