[brad01]

69 GTO not even 1 year paint and body work. What would cause this?

[6869GTO]

If your pic is of the rear window panel to quarter on a vert it is a common area to crack. It is originally a leaded seem and different shops repair area in different ways.

[brad01]

Right side on quarter near deck lid .

[Scarebird]

I am not sure if the factory filled the seam for his exact reason.

I had my body shop simply smooth the leaded groove and paint that.

[72projectbird]

I'd bet the seam was filled with body filler, and the heat cycles and natural flexing of the vehicle caused it to split.

Usually if I'm filling those seams, I'll weld them together and grind it all smooth.

[vertigto]

That wouldn't make me very happy after all that work was done. What did the shop say??

[brad01]

I just noticed this today . I sent him an email and a picture . Told him I will be up next week.

[brad01]

Garage is heated and a/c

[turbo69bird]

If it’s not gonna be leaded kitty hair glass type filler then a filler over that like icing works good. But I’ve seen lots of drag cars crack like that so flexing is likely the root cause but could be shrinkage too.

[HoovDaddy]

Feeling underneath the crack might give you a clue. If the camera angle is what I think, it's kinda far from the factory seam. However it doesn't rule out a thick repair or patch in that area.

[hobbygto65]

Thats not the seam. Seam is a couple inches farther in from the corner of the glass

[400 4spd.]

That IS the lead seam, and I stole a picture from the GTOForum to prove it. 1968 GTO.

Now you can see why they crack, especially if moisture ever creeps under the edge of the lead. I melt them out, sand blast them, weld them solid and build with weld. Forget any type of filler to hide cracked lead.

[tjs72lemans]

My 72 Lemans vert was mostly painted and apart when I bought it. Never driven yet. As I was going over the restoration and going to paint some pieces, I noticed a crack in paint like that. Other side was just starting to do the same. Ground down, melted the lead out, made a patch to lay in there just below the surface, welded in and smoothed over with a skim of filler. Both sides. Had to repaint the whole dang car. All good after paint now.

[Greg Reid]

I just had to repair that same seam on my car because it was leaking water into the trunk. Had to pull the vinyl up.
A fabricated that area on my car back when I was replacing the rust and spot welded the flanges from inside. I then finished the topside with Metal 2 Metal filler... That was the wrong thing, obviously.

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[n20ta2]

I welded mine solid under the glass then used urethane seam sealer in that gap to keep it looking original. Still Crack free 1 year later

[Hammertime Mike]

Originally Posted by n20ta2

I welded mine solid under the glass then used urethane seam sealer in that gap to keep it looking original. Still Crack free 1 year later

I've done the same on the last two cars I've done. Hoping to stop that crack from happening.

[00fxd]

I used to pay attention to such things and as I recall, for some reason, that seam in convertibles was filled and hard tops was left a groove. And they were always cracked. Does anyone else have that recollection?

[69gtocv]

Originally Posted by 00fxd

I used to pay attention to such things and as I recall, for some reason, that seam in convertibles was filled and hard tops was left a groove. And they were always cracked. Does anyone else have that recollection?

I agree, my 69 and 72 convertibles are/were both filled, my 68 hardtop is a groove