New plastic panel fitment

[mally002]

Hey guys,

Has anyone ordered new plastic panels for their 240. I got the entire kit from Les but every piece is bigger than the original. I'm sure it will crack if I try and force it. The rivet holes are off also, and if I force it......CRACK.....

If anyone has installed new panels and can help me out please let me know.

Thanks,

Randy

[Oiluj]

Yes, the panels run large. They are trimed to allow for dimensional differences chassis to chassis. I had to trim mine almost 1/2" in a couple spots. Once fitted, they look great!

[mally002]

Thanks Julio,

I did the right side last night. Using some tin snips I was able to take off small amounts at a time until the fit was correct. I still had a few issues with one panel, but you can barely see the mistake I made........:stupid:

It seems the fitment is way off only on the rear and two speaker panels, the smaller panels appear to line up better. Hopefully I will be done today and can post some pictures.

Thanks again for the tip,

Randy

[pwd]

Can you use the old panels as a rough trimming guide? (assuming your car had them). You might be able to pass some wood dowels through the rivet holes as alignment pins to mark the new panels. Just a thought. Good luck.

[mally002]

I thought about that, but the old panels were so brittle I couldn't really get a good tracing. Also a few were cracked at the edges and I was afraid I would be off too much.

The trimming is a pain in the butt, but it worked out fine. Just took forever because you have to do small amounts then trial fit and then repeat 4,000 times more..........:tapemouth

But in the end it worked out fine. Here's a few pictures.

PS....The doglegs actually match perfectly, but for some reason look lighter in the pictures. Nothing is in permantly, just basically psedo fitted.

[GreenZZZ]

Looks fantastic!

Love the white with blue.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

WOW!! That is blue!!! I mean BLUE

[Montezuma]

I got a 71 blue on blue that some moron painted the blue black a few years back. I really want to return to the blue interior...it looks awesome. Also great advice for future reference.

[Bonzi Lon]

That blue is AWESOME, mally. Like Montezuma, my #110 was a blue/blue till 'that moron' painted everything black. Same guy?

The new rear trim panel I got from MSA was black with SEM vinyl dye in off white. It was larger than original, thicker too, and needed the multiple trimmings to fit the 73.

Bonzi Lon

[cbudvet]

I second and third everyones opinions. Those look amazing. You did an excellent job of putting those in. I will be in a similar position in the future. I have the replacement panels, all I need is the car back from the shop. I may need to contact you for advice. Good job! Absolutely beautiful.

carl

[ZCurves]

Nice, Real Nice. I almost had to wear sunglasses.

[bpilati]

I got a 71 blue on blue that some moron painted the blue black a few years back. I really want to return to the blue interior...it looks awesome. Also great advice for future reference.

I didn't realize they had any blue on blue in '71. I would have guessed a white interior.