'70 GTX taillight bezels

[monroegtx]

Could anyone tell me if there is a gasket between the taillight bezel and body, or is it just body sealer. Also I have new bezels and new dome nuts for them. Is there a special way of cutting the thread, because the inside of the dome nut seems a lot smaller than the bezel stalk. I've tried pressing hard and turning but they don't seem to cut into it and tighten. I checked the stalk thickness with the old ones and its the same, so I thought maybe the dome nuts aren't the proper self cutting type. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[440+6]

I don't think there is anything at all between the bezel and tail panel, only gasket is between taillight housing and inside of tail panel (white foam).
Also nuts have black sealer in them.
Unless someone knows different.

 

[HawkRod]

Hi,

I just removed them from my 70 Road Runner as I am going through the disassembly for the restoration. It just looked like there was body sealer - nothing else.

Hawk

 

[kiwigtx]

I have had a white foam gasket between mine on my GTX and a previous '70 Roadrunner. I thought that was correct - however it may be different at some plants. As far as the nuts go, if the bezels you have are new repops, then the casting may be a little harder than the original material. The acorn nuts should be self-cutting, however it may take a lot of pressure to get them started, and I realise it's not the easiest place to work on them where they are fitted.

I think you may need to borrow a trunk-monkey :icon_mrgreen:

[video=youtube;WezMQcIiVA0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WezMQcIiVA0[/video]

 

[monroegtx]

I think you may need to borrow a trunk-monkey :icon_mrgreen:

[video=youtube;WezMQcIiVA0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WezMQcIiVA0[/video]

Now that would be handy. Never have to lock the car.:laughing9:

The foam gasket's right for the inside of the tail panel but I don't recall anything being on the outside underneath the bezel. Like Hsorman says, I think it may have just been a thin layer of body sealer. I might place them on the floor and try to get them to start cutting, can put more pressure on 'em that way. As you said Kiwi the repop may be a bit harder material.

 

[kiwigtx]

I checked my GTX again, and there is a very thin black foam gasket on the outside of the bodywork under the bezel. The heavy white gasket is on the inside.

 

[HawkRod]

Here are pictures of my Road Runner. There was a thin layer of seam sealer that was spread around, but I did not see any gasket on mine.

It is possible these were taken off at some point and put back on the car, but this is how I found it...

Hawk

 

[monroegtx]

Thanks for the pictures Hsorman, but I was speaking of the actual taillight bezel not the fender extensions. Although I'm glad you posted these as I wasn't sure whether to put filler under them or make a gasket. So it's good to see how yours came off. Mine were taken off at the paint shop and I didn't see them till later after they were stripped. Looking at the rear of yours where the bezel goes it looks pretty clean. Maybe only a thin gasket or nothing at all. Looking at the picture of my bezel it has a thin layer of sealant of some sort but I didn't take a photo of the rear panel at the time and I can't remember what that looked like. I wasn't sure whether the sealant was original or done afterwards.



- - - Updated - - -

I checked my GTX again, and there is a very thin black foam gasket on the outside of the bodywork under the bezel. The heavy white gasket is on the inside.

Thanks Kiwi. I might get some thin rubber foam and make a gasket. Placed the bezels on the floor and still can't get the nuts to cut, even putting pressure on 'em. Don't want to push too hard in case the stalk snaps off. They cut at the top but won't continue downwards, it's like the stalk is too thick or something. I ran a die over the old ones and that seems to get 'em going so I might just do that.

 

[Photon440]

Mine (and I have three sets of '70 light housings) all had just the thick white gasket, nothing under the bezel.

 

[440+6]

These guys make all the gaskets for your car.

http://www.detroitmuscletechnologies.com/

 

[monroegtx]

Finally got the acorns to thread on.

After screwing around for most of the weekend I finally managed to get the acorns to cut a thread. I should have done this right from the start.:head_smack: I gave up on the new repop acorns and grabbed one of the old ones. (I bought new ones because I was missing a few). The old one cut straight into the stalk and threaded itself on, no problems and didn't need too much pressure applied. The originals have two cutting edges and the repop only one. Even after cutting the thread the new ones are a pain the ottytrain2: I took a photo of old and new so you can see what I mean. I dug out the putty on the new so you can see the one cutter inside. I wonder if they actually tried these repops before putting them on the market, I'm buggered if I can get them to thread on properly. You can see that the hole inside the new one is a lot smaller than the original. Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

[HawkRod]

Thanks for the pictures Hsorman, but I was speaking of the actual taillight bezel not the fender extensions.

Sorry Monroe, I obviously did not pay close enough attention to the text, and for some reason, I keep getting the quarter panel extensions stuck in my head. :iamwithstupid:

I am glad my wrong pictures were still of some help! By the way, for your original question, as you saw there is no evidence of seam sealer on my car (or the bezels). My taillight bezels do not have gaskets on them, but they were taken off and painted black at some point, so they are not a reliable indicator or what was originally done. I have to believe there was a gasket on them as described in other posts.

Hawk

 

[monroegtx]

No probs, thanks Hsorman. :icon_thumright: