Parcel Shelf Rust

Scott Clarke · Scott Clarke's Garage

Has anyone had any experience replacing the steel panel that is at the top of the engine compartment? This is the piece that is sandwiched between the engine sound pad and the vinyl that is beneath the rear window (it's a coupe). I removed my sound pad and found rot in my otherwise nearly rust free car. I'm mostly wondering how difficult it is to remove the piece, and how likely it is that I will find a rust-free replacement, and if a Targa would have the same sheetmetal in this location.

dtw · 10-10-2002, 12:53 PM

I have photos of what this piece looks like in its entirety. I imagine it would be possible to just replace the upper piece. However, I'm betting that if you pull up your seats and peel back a section of the heavy tar paper under the upholstery, you will find additional rust there.

Targa sheetmetal varies slightly; find a coupe donor if possible. This is not an aftermarket part as far as I know, you must find a donor. The transplant should be done with care; this panel is where the rear decklid hinges mount up; you don't want to have to do too much adjustment to get everything to fit back together.

See the links to my site below for some photos of this step of my restoration:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/WintersRS/garage/projectrea2a.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/WintersRS/garage/projectrea2b.htm

Fritz · 10-10-2002, 01:08 PM

I had major rust on that panel from the bottom corners of the rear window. If it had just been that panel you are talking about, replacement would have been a breeze.

My rust problems went all the way out to the exterior below the rear window. I had mine replaced with a piece cut from a donor car (thank you DART in Denver). It was tougher because it went from rain gutter to rain gutter and 4 inches up into the rear window. The metal work came out great though.

I also had rust in the rockers and door latch panels so the whole car was taken apart and media-blasted. At that stage, these guys can repair almost anything (depends on how deep your pockets are).

It's in the paint booth right now as I type this. It has been a long time waiting for the bodywork/painter to do the work. Finding someone who does RUSTORATION is difficult and you are at the mercy of their schedule.

RSR.guy · 10-10-2002, 01:34 PM

Dave,

First off, my apologies for your unfortunate find. Umm, yeah, I have been through this surgery a couple of times. As Dtw mentioned, I would take the rear seats and insulation out. Take a good look at the sheet metal under the rear seats. This particular cancer is usually caused by a leaky rear window seal. As water seeps past the window, it tends to accumulate on both the parcel shelf and on top of the rear seat well.

I recommend finding a donor car for sheet metal. I'm not sure if the sheet metal is the same for targa and coupe. One note on that; the short wheelbase cars have slightly different metal stampings than the early 70's cars.

I've had the best luck carefully fitting in new pieces without too much regard for factory weld locations. Don't get me wrong, if you can drill out the factory spot welds and re-use 'em, great. However, a carefully butt fitted panel and a nice tig weld gets the job done in clean fashion. On my '73 coupe, I ended up cutting all the way aft through the lower rear window support, which made for a lot of re-fitting work.

Yes, do be careful with repeating the decklid hinge locations, and with the rear window seal surface (if you have to remove it). As for the seats, they are a challenge because of the compound curvature. It's a bit of a tedious job.

Cheers, Chris

Scott Clarke · Scott Clarke's Garage

Thanks for all of your responses (and sympathies). I will yank out the upholstery and have a careful look. Dave-amazing web site/project. Very useful in evaluating the task ahead.