fiberglass rear tailpanel

[69chargerguy]

hi.new guy here. my name is bill. i own a 1969 dodge charger . 383 290 2 bbl car. needs total restore. my question is has anyone tried or has used the new fiberglass rear taillamp panel that is offered Thur stinger? my rear panel is rusted out in the trunk lid area and key lock cylinder area. also has little holes looks like swiss cheese when u shine a light from inside of trunk.with the prices of hard to find good ones the price on this part being made of fiberglass looks like a better deal. my concern is fitments. AM no body guy. Am a local garage mechanic. used to work for Chrysler now working in a small shop in eastern NC.any help would be appreciated.car is bronze fire metallic with white top and saddle brown interior.auto on column with buddy seat.staying stock with interior and exterior colors.will be putting OE 383 in shed and running a 440 with gearvendors overdrive and either 3.91s in the OE 8.75 rear or Dana with 4.10s.street fun when done.i have been reading this sight for 6 months now. lots of good info on here. p.s. i to own a 2006 charger with 5.7 hemi as a daily driver. wife owns a 2006 Honda hybrid . sorry for the long post again thanksfor any help. as soon as i figure out to post pics i will. thanks! bill 

[Wakko]

I know a couple guys that have used it with no problems.  There's a special glue you can use and I would recommend a few rivets but a body guy might shed some more light on it for you. 

[chargerhunter]

I have one in one of my cars, I used a 3M panel adhesive fo rmine and a few rivets to hold it in olace while the adhesive set, then ground the rivets down, I was told vette panel adhesive was the stuff to use(after the fact), but I have had zero problems.

[70daytonaclone]

just wondering if these panels have the rear tail light mounting studs? thanks D/C.com

[chargerhunter]

No, they do not, I glassed in bolts to hold the tail lights. I have had mine in for nearly 1 1/2 yrs and have had no issues.

[Mike DC]

I'd personally rather patch the metal one that use 'glass.  I'm sure glass can work acceptably when it's done well, but metal is a strong personal preference.

Besides, what's a patched-up original panel gonna do?  Rust out, or something? 
It already IS rusted, and the alternative is a non-metal replacement.  IMHO there's nothing to lose in trying to patch/fabricate the original piece back into shape before turning to the replacement 'glass ones.

Just my two cents.   

[daytonalo]

I agree , during my resto , I found that the rear tail panel basically structurally positions the qtrs to the frame rails . I would not be able to sleep at night , especially knowing what I went through with the stinger nose cone assembly . Larry

[Mike DC]

 
I'm also surprised that we don't see more 1968 tail panels turned into 1969/70 ones. 

The 1968 ones may not be a common part either, but they're consistenly cheaper/easier to find in better condition than the 1969/70 one.  Something about the way the water drained down the '69/70 panel and the wiring loom's placement made it rust a lot more than the 1968 ones. 

And the 68/69 conversion is not really that hard.  All it takes is some basic cutting/welding, and a few donor pieces from the rusty '69/70 tail panel.

 

[tan top]

fiberglass                     tail panel  Nooo it is a structural part of the car

[daytonalo]

When I replaced the lower valence , I cut the old one off the tail panel and the qtrs would drop down with no support

[chargerhunter]

The fiberglass is twice to three times thicker than the factory sheetmetal, support the quarters while you remove your old rusty one, The fiberglass panel is very well made IMO, the stainless rivets I used along with the epoxy adhesive are holding up just fine. My car is not a show car, but you can't tell that the panel is glass unless you open the trunk. It is a big block car with plenty of power and dumping the clutch and stomping the pedal should be plenty of godd stress tests for it. So long, no issues. I would have done a '68-'69 sheetmetal conversion, my car was a '68 to start with though. The next one I'm doing is gonna be all metal, mainly because I have a panel now to put in there.

[daytonalo]

I'm sure it will be fine , for me , the last resort would have been forming a new part out of 20 gauge myself  . I do plenty of  fiberglass work , but I don't like to mix metal and fiberglass , to me its mickey mouse