1966 charger sail panel removal..how?

[ghosthunter242]

i have a 66 charger i am getting ready to paint but i need to remove the sail panel emblems.
i am positive these were held with nuts, so rather than try to mask around the whole emblem just yank 'em
and replace them after paint.

i wasted a couple hours trying to get the panel out. i started with the trim under the back window and pulled every screw out that seemed like it touched the panel. it was mobile but hung up in the rear. i do not have to tell you how brittle this 44+ year old plastic gets. i got a little gunshy and backed off.

do i have to remove the panels starting from the door back? or can i just remove the sail panel?
what am i doing wrong or not doing?
thanks!
mark

waaaaayyyy more questions to come in the near future.
mm

[BamBam86]

http://www.chargersourceguide.com/

There is a ton of info on this site. May be of some help.

[Big Sugar]

You'll need to remove the rear reat side panels then the interior window trim, and the you;ll need to VERY CAREFULLY Remove the sailpanel, The back curved area is an inhearant weak spot so don't be yanking at it or it'll break, It's very brittle moulded Fiberglass.

I shaved about a quarter " off the lower edege on mine to help fit them back in safely, they are tight between the roof and rear deck.


Ron
Good Luck

Try popping in over at www.66-67cherger.com
It's All 1st gen Rock All the time.

[ghosthunter242]

well.......after a whole day of messing with the charger yesterday, i am exceedingly frustrated and have both respect for the guys that put them together and disdain for the guys who put them together.
never, have i seen a car with so many inconsistencies of materials. 3 trim clip types per 1/3 of the car?! i decided to start taking the trim off starting at the rear...after an hour or 2 trying to get the front nut off the driver door, i gave up on that idea for the day...
i did a lot of research on my own before posting questions and i usually got the 'check this website out, there is a lot of info' well, there usually wasn't. if there was you did not tell me where to look and i wasted hours trying to find it....

so, if you are getting a car ready for paint and are going to do it yourself, save the headaches and just order your charger emblems before you start. pry them off from the outside..they will probably break. i think they are going to be easier to replace than the sail panel. fragile is an understatement. the fiberglass has seen so much sun and has unbridled so bad it SW the consistancy of paper mache....and eggshells.
the list of things i broke yesterday: charger emblems:2, chrome trim that refused to come off front of driver's rear 1/4 panel(bent out of shape badly, but could be salvaged), sail panel:1.
only one sail panel because i decided to pry the emblems off rather than break anything else. i KNOW i can find the emblems..
i am not happy with the events that happened but there becomes a time when you have to choose the greater evil if you are on your own here. i chose to now buy emblems. good luck.thanks

[mauve66]

in order to get my sail panels out i had to remove the flat floor in the back of the car completely otherwise the bottom of the panel would catch on it, when i put them back in i hope i never have to take them out again (yeah right, i know everybody, this is only the 4th time my car has been taken down to ziploc baggies) but will probably trim the lower edge like Ron said. 

here is another site with lots of helpful people also  www.dodgecharger.com

as a side not if you pry the emblems off then you can only tape them back on, not hte best solution, so take the floor out of the back of the car, this includes the cconsole section but if your painting it good enough to take emblems off instead of masking them like earl schieb............ your probably going to do the rest of the car also.................

[ghosthunter242]

mauve66, there are the round emblem hole thingies that lock them into place as to not tape them. i was just at the paint store today and looking at them.
i was wondering about the floor section but got to it before your response. i reckon the piece would have broken no matter what i did under the circumstances.
i had very little pressure on the piece when it did break.i bet it would be super easy if there were no back window? hopefully besides putting in new carpet i NEVER have to do this again.
later.mm