Rear Convertible Interior Panels Removal

[DP Customs]

Greetings - I'm diving into a 1969 Shelby convertible and want to remove the rear interior quarter panels without damaging them. They fit around the roll bar with a relief cut to flex around the bar to install/remove.  These panels are the old brittle originals and already show signs of cracking from previous handling over the years.  Once everything is out of the way, I'm wondering if anyone has any successful tips to getting these out without risking further damage. Careful warming with a heat gun?
Thanks much!

[Bob Gaines]

Greetings - I'm diving into a 1969 Shelby convertible and want to remove the rear interior quarter panels without damaging them. They fit around the roll bar with a relief cut to flex around the bar to install/remove.  These panels are the old brittle originals and already show signs of cracking from previous handling over the years.  Once everything is out of the way, I'm wondering if anyone has any successful tips to getting these out without risking further damage. Careful warming with a heat gun?
Thanks much!

Careful warming with a heat gun will soften the brittle . Move one flap up and the other down as you work it around the bar. Slow and easy. You only want to move the flaps no wider then the thickness of the bar as you are working it around the bar. It is very hard to keep an original intact.

[DP Customs]

Alright, I'll give it a go, nice and easy.  Thanks for the help!

[68blk500c]

Or, wait until the hottest day of the summer and leave the car out in full sun all day to make the plastic as flexible as possible.  Seriously.

[Bob Gaines]

DP - on my '68, I found that if I slowly and gently rotated the entire panel from it's normal horizontal orientation to a more vertical orientation, the fiberglass did not need to flex as much. Think of it like you are rotating the panel off the roll bar.


"Or, wait until the hottest day of the summer and leave the car out in full sun all day to make the plastic as flexible as possible.  Seriously."
This is also VERY helpful advice.

If you plan to strip and paint the panels, I highly recommend Easy Off Oven cleaner in the yellow can. It is mild enough to not melt the fiberglass, but will lift the paint. Several applications may be needed so be patient. For refinishing, a can of SEM prep and SEM paint (it is really a dye) will give you excellent results if the panels are absolutely clean.

Probably a typo but wanted to clarify that the original panels were plastic and not fiberglass.

[DP Customs]

All great info - thanks fellas!

[krconvertman]

You may also want to consider reinforcing the under side where it`s starting to crack before putting them back on. I do not have a suggestion of a material to use, sorry. Maybe someone else does? Other than I have some original 68 panels that were cut for speakers so are no longer suitable to go back into a car.