Tail Light Housing Alignment

[68goldrunner]

Hello everyone,

It's been awhile since I've been on the forum but now I need some advice. I started a restoration on my 68 Road Runner. I replaced the cabin and trunk floors however I came to a point where the rust damage exceeded my knowledge and skill. So my car has been in the process of receiving some serious body work including a driver side quarter panel. The work should be finishing up soon. This past Friday I made a trip to the body shop to inspect the work and pay the body guy. Everything looks great and I couldn't be happier. The man working on my car is a true artist with body panels and metalwork. Anyway he showed me the alignment of the cast taillight housings that bolt to the rear of car. He has them mounted flush and aligned with the side of the quarter panel. The problem is they now hang over about a quarter of an inch past the outside edge of the trunk gutter. He suggested cutting out he appropriate amount of material so the body lines and gutter properly align. I did not like the idea of cutting the factory taillight housings even if it would look cleaner. So my question for everyone is what did it look like from the factory? Or alternatively did you run into this same problem during your restoration and how did you fix it? A quarter inch cut out isn't and huge deal and I know it would look good once finished. IDK...all opinions welcome. Hopefully the photos help.

Brad

 

[69 GTX]

They are always a pain to work with. My 69 had similar issues with aftermarket 1/4s. You just have to try and make them work. Be it modifying the 1/4 or the housing to make it work. Just make sure everything is lined up before paint.

 

[69 GTX]

Almost looks like the top angle is not right as the gap gets bigger the farther to the rear you go. This could cause the overlap.

 

[68goldrunner]

Yeah the pictures don't really do it justice very well. The rest of the housing aligns and the gaps for the trunk gutter look good. Whatever we decide it'll look a million times better than when I bought the car. At sometime in the cars previous life a pseudo restoration was attempted with fiberglass and bondo. They threw the bondo on and shaped the car instead of fixing the metal. It was horrible.

69 GTX I read most of your thread and your car looks awesome!

Thanks, Brad

 

[69 GTX]

Thanks! If it makes you feel any better, I'm probably going to have to redo mine as I'm not happy with them. Don't get in a hurry like I did. Make sure everything gets assembled and bolted together before paint!

 

[Sixtynine_Bird]

Got the same problem with mine on my 69 runner, I can't get them align perfectly with the gutters don't know what to do yet. I have a lot to do before going back on those.

 

[Pistol Pete]

Those pieces are pot metal so you're not going to have much luck modifying them. You can grind them down a little, but you're not gonna take .250" off of them. Pie cutting the top of the quarter is out if the gaps are good now as that will only solve one problem and create another.

They way I see it, you can either :
a. Source some different end caps (and yes, they vary wildly between castings) or
b. Shift the end cap over to align with the trunk gutter and lead the quarter to match the overhang.

Here is a link to another thread on the subject. Sorry about the "less than detailed pics", but I didn't have a tutorial in mind when I took them.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/just-a-leadin-fool.76232/#post-910107638

 

[daytona kid]

I had a similar problem on my charger and I opted for throwing some bondo on it, actually bondo-glass for some extra strength and adhesion. I'm happy with the way it turned out, my car has a lot of filler on it everywhere else so what the heck is wrong with a little more. I taped the fender, put on the extension, applied bondo-glass, sanded to shape., then took the extension off and tape it, reinstalled it, bondo and sanded to a very perfect fit, better than stock. I could have fixed it by cutting my welds and reshaping the end of the quarter but that was not something I wanted to even think about. I'm sure there are some as good but the fit on mine is better than any other charger I've seen in person. And I'm pretty sure the bondo-glass isn't going anywhere.

 

[68goldrunner]

Thanks to everyone for your help. Once I figure out what we're going to do I'll let you guys know.

Brad