| MustangSteve's HOW TO INSTALL A NEW TAIL LIGHT PANEL in a 65-66 Mustang |
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| Updated August 18, 2002 |
| www.mustangsteve.com or To post a Mustang question...visit FYIFORD - MustangSteve's Q&A Board |
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| Remove the bumper, backup lights, gas filler neck, tail lights and license plate. Remove the rear lower valance. Take a look at the new panel to be installed to get a good idea where the seams are. Start grinding, drilling, or use whatever method you prefer to cut all the spot welds away. I found it much easier to use my nibbler to cut away the main areas of sheet metal first so I could wedge a chisel in between the remaining pieces to determine exactly where the spot welds were located. |
| Big pieces of the panel were cut out of the way to allow work to be done on smaller pieces. |
| Once welded in place, Bondo the areas around the tail light holes to form a flat surface, and use 3M Automotive paintable seam sealer to fill any joints. Now, just bolt all the other stuff back in place. Prime, paint and you are ready to go. Give those Chevies something good to look at! |
Patience is the key to this work. Carefully remove the welds and the panel parts will just lift right out. Be careful not to bend the trunk corner supports. |
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| The old panel, all 14 pieces of it, showing all the cuts made to remove it. |
| This is the corner piece you want to be sure not to damage. The dots "O" show where there are spot welds remaining to be removed. |
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| This is the new panel. |
| O |
| O |
| O |
| O |
| O |
| O |
| O |
| O |
| A new bumper and a set of new backup lights finish off the restored appearance. |
| sdghdsghdshdsh |
| The new panel snapped into place for a perfect fit. This is where paying the extra price for FORD sheet metal pays off. Install the bumper bolts to hold the valance to the bumper mount brackets, then install the row of sheet metal screws across the bottom of the panel. Then, plug weld the new panel to the existing sheet metal. Plug welding is done by drilling a 3/32" hole in the new material, exposing the old material below, then filling the hole with weld. A MIG or TIG welder with gas shield is a must for this job, |
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