Topic: trunk drop off

[1970shelbyguy]

does anybody have something like my driver's side qtr dropoff.   looks like it was too long. it is NOT a replacement piece.  calif car from 1970 to 1986  1986 -2005  in heated garage then into my heated garage 2005 present .   stripped car to bare metal-  absolutely no collision damage or rust repairs evident.   all fact spot welds  along btm seam .  drop off has a production stamp on lh side of pic. .- what gives?  not going to trim it.   

[J_Speegle]

When was the car built at Dearborn (so I can look for cars built around the same time) ?

What are those two, somewhat round things on the surface mid picture?

[1970shelbyguy]

hi jeff   thanks for inquiring   my car was bucked on june 12 and built june 19/69- those  two spots are filled holes ( body sealer)  blob on lower inside too they're small dia holes . not my doing - could these holes in dropoff have anything to do with the calif vapor system in driver's side of trunk  they're  maybe 2 1/2  inches apart  -   the red is my application of dplf  after under body was wire brushed and  sand blasted to remove all old road grime . saw many spots of the orig grey sealer on top of red oxide -  pass side  dropoff has one filled hole also . it's about 3/8 dia.   this hole is about 1 inch back and 1 inch up from factory drain hole.-  little square holes are perfect on both sides (where drain valve tabs fits into)  no rust perforations at all either side.  backup light wiring holes are there and are perfectly round.  could the  pass side dropoff  single oddball hole be a messed up punched hole from factory and just "fixed" with seam sealer .   it just looks to me that the drop on drivers side is too long and the btm edge is lower than the qtr panel flange.   again i see no brazing or welding of replacement metal at all.   david

[1970shelbyguy]

hey jeff  could the plugged hole in the pass dropoff have anything to do with the tsb fix- 3/8 line venting from filler pipe  seen the forum link to finding the steel line  npd has it for 50.00 or so.  any more info would be greatly appreciated.   david

[specialed]

I have seen where the trunk drop was factory spotwelded off like your car before & most likely human error or getting behind on the line or somebody else filling in . These uniy body cars can vary alot depending on how they are setup on rails as i have seen other areas off when spotwelded. After the blackout and seamsealer is brushed on it will blend in more. The rh side holes were punched in for vent hose in trunk drop then up on frame rail hose was pushed in rail so not to get clogged up.

[1970shelbyguy]

hi ed  that's good to hear.  that's what i thought.-  human error and got paid to do it!-  at least it's documented that it has happened before on the line.  i was afraid a judge would knock me down for it now i have some backup.  you're saying the rh hole was part of the recalll gas  filler pipe vent.  the hose exited the drop to the outside and curled back up into the frame rail a bit.  would it be rubber fuel line  ( 3/8" dia)  was there a bracket in corner of tail light assembly holding metal vent line secure?  think jeff had a rh trunk pic somewhere showing the line. a friend of mine has an early 69 gt350 convert. it has the retrofit line in trunk.  believe car orig dso'd to california.  that's where he purchased it  many yrs ago.  know where i can get the line from?  thanks   david

[J_Speegle]

As ed mentioned, if the welds look factory and there is no splice further up in the panel its likely just poor workmanship at the plant. Since the bottom edge of the quarter panel has a lip that normally bends inward to try and shield water away from the seam - a worker would have had to taken some extra effort to make the panels go together. But have seen it before. Owners sometimes choose to correct the mistake during restoration.

Mentioning the finding before judging takes place (during their intro) is what I always suggest. Just a statement of findings , and having some pictures available should work - no name dropping is needed and often frowned upon

hi jeff   thanks for inquiring   my car was bucked on june 12 and built june 19/69- those  two spots are filled holes ( body sealer)  blob on lower inside too they're small dia holes . not my doing - could these holes in dropoff have anything to do with the calif vapor system in driver's side of trunk  they're  maybe 2 1/2  inches apart  -................ 

IMHO no - for the retrofit there is no need to put holes in that panel. Return line goes into that panel up on the horizontal surface behind the wheelwell housing

[specialed]

the 2 holes filled on lh trunk drop remind me of electric fuel pump bracket as i have seen them mounted various places but never there unless they were getting power off taillamp wiring harness & they could have spliced into fuel line on outside frame rail because crossflow 69 muffler was in the way. The gas tank vent was intended to be used on gt500s but maybe in CA because of heat they installed it on your buddys gt350 as the crossflow muffler caused gas tank heat. I have seen early gt500s that never got recall in northeast area as the owners never bothered to get done because of cooler temp. They were mainly having problems with this issue in southwest heat area. The vent had a nipple in filler neck then short hose then tube going to far rh quarter panel with plasticwraparound clip supporting tube to top outer taillite bucket stud that holds cardboard taillite cover on then tube bends forward and loops then drops down and rubber hose slids over tube end then hose goes thru hole punched in trunkdrop then goes upward to hole in framerail & end of hose stays pushed in rail.

[1970shelbyguy]

  thanks ed- i'll take a couple of pics to show no repairs- and have them avail to judges. if they ask i'll say  " jeff,ed who?"  i'll have to study up on the vent recall items.  thanks again