1970 Rear End-Caps Paint W/WO Car?

[Moparfiend]

So after receiving and fitting my rear endcap gaskets I am trying to figure out how Chrysler painted them in the factory. The fitment is great but you do see the edge of the gasket. So the the cars were painted POST assembly the gasket would be painted and the panel libes slighty filled in with paint AND disassembly would be messy. If they were painted separately then one would have clean lines and see the black gaskets and disassembly would be clean.
Anyone have an idea hiw they were painted?
Heres my unpainted fitment with gasket in place….passenger gasket also visible.

 

[hunt2elk]

I am fairly certain, on 69's anyway, that those gaskets being sold today were not used from the factory. The end caps were bolted on and seam sealed before paint.

 

[Kern Dog]

I suspect that they should be painted separate. That is what I did with my Charger.
One concern though.....

It may be the distortion in the picture but it looks to me like the gap between the quarter panel and end cap is not even and consistent.

Either the quarter needs more work to straighten out that edge or the end cap is wavy and distorted.

I've seen plenty of pictures that give the impression of a curved edge when in person, it is straight. I hope that I'm wrong about that.
Now is the time to get the metal right. If that is what it looks like, it will be clearly visible with shiny paint on it.

 

[70runner]

All surfaces to be painted were factory assembled as "Body in White", then exposed to various dipping and rust proofing processes. Good discussion of the Lynch Road process circa 1970s here.

 

[hunt2elk]

I always paint mine separate as well. And then use 3M strip caulk where you are using the gasket. I have bought a couple sets of the gaskets and never end up using them. They are to stiff to conform to the irregularities of the quarter welds imo.

 

[Moparfiend]

I am fairly certain, on 69's anyway, that those gaskets being sold today were not used from the factory. The end caps were bolted on and seam sealed before paint.

As the second owner and after removing mine I am fairly sure they were never removed before come to think of it. This is because the bolts were mudded with the factory seam sealer and I had to clean them off. There were no inserts but possibly just a thin paper thick plastic if anything. I started this project too long ago and sort of a different life time ago before my heart transplant. Also for some reason didn’t take a picture of this part while disassembling.

 

[Moparfiend]

I suspect that they should be painted separate. That is what I did with my Charger.
One concern though.....

View attachment 1426121

It may be the distortion in the picture but it looks to me like the gap between the quarter panel and end cap is not even and consistent.

View attachment 1426122

Either the quarter needs more work to straighten out that edge or the end cap is wavy and distorted.

View attachment 1426123

I've seen plenty of pictures that give the impression of a curved edge when in person, it is straight. I hope that I'm wrong about that.
Now is the time to get the metal right. If that is what it looks like, it will be clearly visible with shiny paint on it.

This quarter was hit so bad that the endcap was damaged. I worked the endcap and could have done a little better but its made of pot metal. Maybe I’ll work it a bit more with filler and get it perfect. I actually was pretty happy with the metal work as pot metal is super brittle and I wasn’t going to attempt to weld it.

 

[Moparfiend]

I always paint mine separate as well. And then use 3M strip caulk where you are using the gasket. I have bought a couple sets of the gaskets and never end up using them. They are to stiff to conform to the irregularities of the quarter welds imo.

Yes my fitment was a bit better without the gaskets but I wanted to be factory correct. Turns out now that I think about the factory may not have used anything like this. Loks like I will revisit the gasket use and possibly do a little more work on the endcap.

 

[Kern Dog]

This quarter was hit so bad that the endcap was damaged. I worked the endcap and could have done a little better but its made of pot metal. Maybe I’ll work it a bit more with filler and get it perfect. I actually was pretty happy with the metal work as pot metal is super brittle and I wasn’t going to attempt to weld it.

Hey, if you know of a way to "work" pot metal, I'd love to know about it. Stuff like these end caps, mirror housings and emblems are made of that stuff and it would be great to know how to fix them.

 

[R413]

They were painted on the car. On the inner end where it meets the tail panel there is seam sealer there and it is always painted.

The factory paint was very thin And didn’t seem to bridge that seam up the side. Repaints usually have much more paint.

I have an original paint 70 Plymouth I can look at tomorrow.

 

[Moparfiend]

They were painted on the car. On the inner end where it meets the tail panel there is seam sealer there and it is always painted.

The factory paint was very thin And didn’t seem to bridge that seam up the side. Repaints usually have much more paint.

I have an original paint 70 Plymouth I can look at tomorrow.

That would be great if you could get a close up of the seams. Thank you! The new gaskets are very noticeable and add to the gap visibility. Seeing the original gap will help determine what to use/do.

 

[Moparfiend]

Hey, if you know of a way to "work" pot metal, I'd love to know about it. Stuff like these end caps, mirror housings and emblems are made of that stuff and it would be great to know how to fix them.

Hey KD I don’t think these magnesium parts are very workable as they are so brittle that being said I was able to pound out very carefully the dent in that side you identified. Made it look significantly better but I did it slowly inspecting for any cracks as I went. I did as much as I felt comfortable with but couldn’t get it perfect. I did use some filler which helped and would recommend as that **** should adhere well to such a porous metal. I suppose some heat during forging as opposed to cold forging like I did should help as well.

 

[Kern Dog]

I suppose some heat during forging as opposed to cold forging like I did should help as well.

I was just thinking that. Maybe a handheld propane or Mapp gas torch could soften it below the melting point to reshape as needed.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Hey, if you know of a way to "work" pot metal, I'd love to know about it. Stuff like these end caps, mirror housings and emblems are made of that stuff and it would be great to know how to fix them.

Check out videos on YouTube for muggyweld.

 

[bearman]

Jb weld for pot metal.

 

[RTDaddy]

For painting, bolt the end caps to teh quarter but use a couple of "stand-offs" so the end cap does not touch the quarter. Paint, then remove the stand-off and bolt the end cap on, using sealer or trim the gasket as you prefer. this keeps the paint from bridging the gap, and also painting the cap on the quarter keeps the "grain" of the paint the same. FYI when I pulled the end caps on my original 70 R/T, there was a paper thin plastic gasket between the end cap and the quarter.

 

[Moparfiend]

For painting, bolt the end caps to teh quarter but use a couple of "stand-offs" so the end cap does not touch the quarter. Paint, then remove the stand-off and bolt the end cap on, using sealer or trim the gasket as you prefer. this keeps the paint from bridging the gap, and also painting the cap on the quarter keeps the "grain" of the paint the same. FYI when I pulled the end caps on my original 70 R/T, there was a paper thin plastic gasket between the end cap and the quarter.

Perfect idea! I think I recall the thin plastic. Great idea to paint them like that. Makes it a lot easier! I knew asking here would get me to the right answer! You guys rock!

 

[Moparfiend]

I suspect that they should be painted separate. That is what I did with my Charger.
One concern though.....

View attachment 1426121

It may be the distortion in the picture but it looks to me like the gap between the quarter panel and end cap is not even and consistent.

View attachment 1426122

Either the quarter needs more work to straighten out that edge or the end cap is wavy and distorted.

View attachment 1426123

I've seen plenty of pictures that give the impression of a curved edge when in person, it is straight. I hope that I'm wrong about that.
Now is the time to get the metal right. If that is what it looks like, it will be clearly visible with shiny paint on it.

Here’s another shot head on to show the actual gap at the appropriate perspective.

 

[5wndwcpe]

I was just thinking that. Maybe a handheld propane or Mapp gas torch could soften it below the melting point to reshape as needed.

Yeah, I once tried that on a '68 Mustang headlight surround. It worked just like body solder does.

Nothing.....nothing.....nothing....puddle.

 

[R413]

For painting, bolt the end caps to teh quarter but use a couple of "stand-offs" so the end cap does not touch the quarter. Paint, then remove the stand-off and bolt the end cap on, using sealer or trim the gasket as you prefer. this keeps the paint from bridging the gap, and also painting the cap on the quarter keeps the "grain" of the paint the same. FYI when I pulled the end caps on my original 70 R/T, there was a paper thin plastic gasket between the end cap and the quarter.

This sounds like a great idea, but it won’t work on a 1970 Plymouth. The factory didn't so it and you shouldn’t either. The gap where the end cap meets the tail panel has seam sealer in there. So if you space it out and paint it, then bolt it on and put the seam sealer in there how are you going to paint it and have it look good?


see circled area.

last photo is a factory tail panel with zero paint under the cap.