Duck Tails...final word on best one out there

[NoLift911]

I have scoured the archives and it seems like MA Shaw and Getty (whether or not one in the same) come up best or kinda best or sometimes not even that great.

MA Shaw from what I can tell is a hair to narrow. This is for a street car and I am looking for the best fit possible. Ultimate goal is to save weight from a Carrera tail but do not want to sacrifice fit and finish for the weighty objective or reduction thereof.

I know about Gary in FL but $1k for some tail (even in FL) sounds a little pricey. Then again, as was said in many of the threads you get what you pay for. Anybody else bought and used one of these? Are they really, really special? Wevo of tails?

As for a metal frame - that kinda weighs down the main objective of less weight? While in the looks department I could go either way - kinda indifferent on likes vs the Carrera tail and duck tail. In other words I like them the same so this is a weight upgrade not looks.

The tail on the car now fits super nice with no gaps - that is what metal will do for you I guess.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks -

-Jeff

[Oldporsche]

I can tell you that the factory tail didn't fit very well at all.

David Duffield

[NoLift911]

Originally posted by old_porsche
I can tell you that the factory tail didn't fit very well at all.

David Duffield

Super - thanks man, very insightful. Factory put A/C in these cars also, don't mean it's right.

[Racerbvd]

I have a Gary tail and have owned it for year, very happy with it.

[Az911]

I have a gt-racing tail and it fit great right out of the box.

[TRE Cup]

If you are looking for a perfect fit, then the Getty unit (MA Shaw same thing- he buys it from them like we do) is the best to start with, then it has to be modified to fit your car. There is no other way around it. Even Gary's well made metal based units may not meet your standards, since the body shell he uses is not EXACTLY like your car.
Brand NEW oem 74 ducktails that we bought from Porsche umpteen years ago took many hours to fit correctly.

[slammed1000]

i have a ma shaw unit at the body shop right now getting painted. my painter did say that it could have used a thicker gel coat as you can still see the fiber strands though the gel coat. he said even though he will build it up with primer and sand smooth there is a chance it showing through later on.
the gt racing tail i had was poorly finished. there were pits in the gel coat everywhere. mine had a little twist to it when i removed it from the box and decided to let it go to someone else. i had a early turbo tail from hank that was ok but it needed quite alot of work also.
renspeed's stuff is priced right but i was told it does need quite alot of prep time in the body shop. i would have tried thier stuff if i didnt get a deal on the shaw unit.....

[NoLift911]

Originally posted by TRE Cup
If you are looking for a perfect fit, then the Getty unit (MA Shaw same thing- he buys it from them like we do) is the best to start with, then it has to be modified to fit your car. There is no other way around it. Even Gary's well made metal based units may not meet your standards, since the body shell he uses is not EXACTLY like your car.
Brand NEW oem 74 ducktails that we bought from Porsche umpteen years ago took many hours to fit correctly.

Any extra value to be had from getting the C/F version? Fit better? Stronger?

[1974carrera]

Originally posted by old_porsche
I can tell you that the factory tail didn't fit very well at all.

David Duffield

I can echo this. The original duck on my '74 is OK but doesn't seem to fit as quite as well as a regular decklid. Mark 74 Carrera (on this board) bought one of Kempton's metalframe ducktails just this year and was pretty disappointed in the fit and finish...to the point he decided not to use it.

[rgofast]

I have had experiance with MA Shaw, and GT racing. I would have to say that the MA Shaw hood, Duck Tail, and front and rear bumpers fit my '69 911 very well. One must remember, that every car is different, and the body tolerances are not that close. Could also be affected by the car being hit etc. There are some minor pits and blisters, but this is to be expected. The proper thing to do is install the parts on the car, and wear them for 6 months to allow the fiberglass to fully cure and do what it is going to do before you finish and paint it. This will allow time for any defects to show up. These can easily be repaired with a product from evercoat, or a fiberglass reenforced filler. As far as GT racing, I purchased a complete RSR body kit, and ended up selling it all for half of what I payed. Need I say any more.

Rod Graff

'69 911t 3.3 twin plug ,crank fire, carbureted.

[AndrewMac]

This is pretty interesting. I never thought about installing and letting it 'road cure' before painting. I imagine the heat from the motor helps the curing. Good Idea!

[rgofast]

Mike Shaw himself suggested this to me. Another trick is when you park your air cooled 911 after a hard drive, and are back in the garage,open the rear deck, and let the engine cool without baking the paint on your deck lid. It is better for the engine, and the paint, especially with laquer. Advice from an old German master Porche technition.

[Racerbvd]

I too am experiance with Getty, MA Shaw, and GT racing, and everything that I have seen posted is what I have seen. What you save on the cheaper parts will be 4 fold in $$$ on fit & finish. One reason my Gary tail worked so well is the base was the stock lid off my SC

[rgofast]

Right on. You will spend much more in the long run trying to fit and finish inferior products. Some body shops will even refuse to work on the junk some people are selling.

[fastbacker]

I would also agree to install fg panels and leave on the car for a period of time before prep and paint.

I have a 65 Mustang fastback that I bought a fiberglass GT350 hood for from the supposed best supplier. I immediately had it fit and painted. A month or so later, after sitting in the sun for a number of days, the hood developed very visible rings all over it.

After my hood experience, I was told by another body guy that I should have left the hood in the sun before painting it.

Craig Backer

[CBRacerX]

Getty has been selling tails on ebay, and I got one at a very reasonable price

Showed up on time, very well packed and was well made. I put it on the car for a month, then took it down to the bodyshop that I use for paint. Took them about 5 hours to prep it for paint properly (actually they painted it once and I was not please with the prep at all), so it looks "very nice indeed" at this point.

Fitting was easy, but finishing to a high standard is another matter. The Getty work was fine, but they (nor anyone else) sell FG that is "paint ready".

Chris

'87 911

[911pcars]

I'd say 5 hours is pretty good time to prep a deck lid to fit. That probably translates to my 13+ DIY hours to get to that point. Of course, that depends on where you're starting from and how tight you want the seams and corners to match. My ducktail from Performane Products (who knows who built it) needed a lot of work. I've seen less than even seam and corner matching on some otherwise nicely finished body work (paint and all). Maybe the goal was to match the factory gaps?

Sherwood

[dsfnctn]

I just spent the last 12 hours before getting on this computer playing with composite ****. Having built a RS replica I think that most of you people are missing the most important thing about these chop shop RS tails. More than half of the ones that I have seen have a very flat edge of the tail and doe not blend into the rest of the trunk lid .When you sight across the lid from the side all you should see is the duck
any of these products will look perfect after a quick post cure,high build primer and quide coated prep job .

[rgofast]

I wont buy chopper gun junk. good fiberglass is hand layed and vacuum formed. Also some suppliers are selling what they call "carbon fiber" body parts. I recieved one bumper that was called carbon fiber. It was mostly fiberglass, with a small skim coat of carbon fiber cloth on the back to make it look nice. Buyer beware.

[Mysterytrain]

So who is "Gary in Florida" and how do I get in touch??