68'/69' Charger rear valence & end-caps questions:

[Captain D]

Hi guys,

I have a few questions about the rear valence and the rear valence end caps. Here goes:

I have a 69' Charger, however, the prior owner must have put a 68' Charger rear lower valence on. It looks identical to the 69' and even the 70' Charger lower rear valence. However, the one that's on mine doesn't have the holes for the reverse lights (that's why I'm saying that it's probably a 68' Charger lower rear valence).

- As far as I know - the 68'-70' Charger lower rear valences are exactly the same?
- If I were to purchase 69' Charger rear valence end caps, would they fit my valence even if it's a 68' lower rear valence (if the valences are all the same, in order to install the back-up lights all I would probably need is to use a hole saw to fit the lights)?
- My friend and I are doing the welding. Before we undertake putting the end-caps on, do you guys have any tips, suggestions, ect. before we weld them on? I've heard that the end-caps can be a pain in the a$$ and rather tricky.

Thank you for your time & for any replies,
Aaron

[yeahitsgotahemi!]

I think your assumptions are correct. I believe that the valances are all the same, the only difference being the holes for the reverse lights.
As far as the repair, I just fixed my rear valance, as it was dented, and one corner was rusted. I removed the valance, which allowed me to pound out all the dents and have better access to the corner. To be honest, any replacement sheet metal fits like crap, particulary those corners. I just fabricated new pieces and patched mine. I would recommend working with what you got if you can. Get some dimensions and definately go ahead and drill the holes. Buying all new stuff would cost you several hundred bucks and still require all the work to make it fit.

[Captain D]

Thank you for the response,

I have access to some 69' Charger valence caps, so it sounds like they may work on my 68' Charger valence ok. I agree, even though the end caps may need some tweaking in order for them to fit nice and snug (as the originals do), I should probably work with what I have because the repro metal may not guarantee that everything will automatically jump into place easily. If anyone has any tips, suggestions, ect. on the best way to tackle these end caps, I appreciate your any replies.
High regards,
Aaron

[yeahitsgotahemi!]

How bad a shape are you corners in? Are they completely rusted? a few holes that can be patched?  I guess if you have access to new ones you might as well take them, unless you have to throw down the hundred plus bucks they cost, when yours might be able to be fixed?

[Captain D]

Thank you again,

Well, when I bought the Charger, here is the condition it came in when I purchased it:

- it came with no corners (end-caps) at all whatsoever,
- apparently a 68' Charger lower rear valence,
- and, the lower rear quarters weren't "bad," but I just want to do a good job. So, I bought new repro.

Everything else is solid in & around the car (new floor pans, frame rails, and entire trunk replaced). The lower rear quarters and end caps are all that's needed to be done. Hopefully, my partner & I can make them look good with as minimal bondo as possible to help them look good/original.

I have new 69' Charger end-caps ready to go, but when we place them in their locations to eye-ball a rough assessment, they jut out a bit. So, that's why we're trying to learn as much as we can before we officially undertake to the welding.

So far, that's where we're at  ,

Thank you again,
Aaron

[yeahitsgotahemi!]

Take your time. Make sure you know what it should look like by checking photos and car shows. When I do all my work, making pieces fit is 90% of the work. I believe there have been other posts regarding the valance corners, I would search for those as I remember that people had to section the corners inorder to get them to fit right. Actually, 69hemi.com has a section on replacing his coners. Hope that helps, good luck.

[tan top]

yep had to section mine needed to add a 3/8ths" 

[BlueSS454]

They are a PITA to do.  I ended up doing one of mine twice.  THe right one fit perfect, the left needed some persuasion.  I ended up cutting it back off after I already had welded it on and had the car in the final primer coat because I wasn't happy with it.  Just be patient with it and make sure once you have it clamped in place, take a few steps back and look at it to see if it's level with the valence and not cocked like mine was.

[Captain D]

Thank you guys for the responses & for the link to 69hemi.com. I'm printing all of the photos and info up from that and this site...the more info I can get the better!    I'm also trying to find as many pics as I can of this particular area of the Charger. If anyone has any close-up pics of your completed end-caps, I would love to view them.

We'll definitely take our time and eye-ball it as much as we can as the welding work progresses. Thank you guys for the responses and advice!
High regards,
Aaron