Help locating fiberglass panel for C3 Convertible

[Joseph H.]

I am going to be taking in my 69' convertible for some work. One of the areas pertains to the LH #3 body mount. The LH lock pillar has had some work done it before and I thought maybe it was a good idea to have this panel replaced since they will be working in that area of the car. I am having trouble locating this panel. I wanted to replace it with a used original panel, but cannot seem to locate one. I have checked with Paragon vintage and several other so-called corvette only salvage yards with no luck. I then tried looking at new press molded panels from DR Rebuild and a couple of the other big retailers. The new panels do not look the same in the area where the convertible deck lid lines up with the top of the new panel.

So, can anyone please point me in the direction of where I can look further to find a used LH lock pillar panel for my 69' convertible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Joe

[Lynn H.]

Re: Help locating fiberglass panel for C3 Convertible

Joe,
I have installed a few of these panels, and they are VERY difficult to remove, and install. You may want to discuss this with the person doing your body work, could be expensive to R&R. Very hard to separate from the quarter panel and rocker channel without damaging more pieces. Cutting one from a "donor" is what I would recommend, if you can find it. I have one (pictured) that I purchased off ebay as NOS, but I am not really convinced this is one of the Generals parts. It is press molded, but is NOT the same material as on my 70 or 72 cars (which I am currently in the process of installing birdcages in). This part may have come from an aftermarket manufacturer. I took a close up of the numbers on it and would be interested in anyones opinion of this being a genuine GM part or not. I have a repair manual/catalog from an outfit called, GLAS-Ra Products in Campbell, CA (408-296-4957). I am not sure how old this material is (inside dated 1999) or if company is still in business. They show 3 different parts-68-75 convertible/68-79 coupe/80-82 coupe @ $95 per. Send me PM if you need anymore information on this. I may have someone elses catalog with this part also, but I would have to do some looking.
Lynn