76 Regency

Hey guys, I'm back with another update and I think this one will be a good one. I finally got back in touch with the manufacturer this week. Although the shop manager I had voiced my complaint to about all of the issues with the fillers is no longer there, it sounds like he actually put the changes into motion before leaving. The contact that I did speak with confirmed that they addressed all of my concerns and made completely new molds before re-listing the fillers for sale. I should have replacements next week and I will be giving them a thorough review before giving the green light.

I'll let you guys know when I have some more info for you.

John

caddy

Thanks John...

76 Regency

GUYS!

I finally got the newest set of fillers. They made completely new molds and they definitely put some time into making at least the biggest changes necessary to the design. Where the last set was short at the top edge and the profile tapered off, it's back to the correct dimension and the profile is right. Also, where the last ones were rounded where it comes down around the top of the bumper they made it a 90 degree angle like the OEM parts.

Given, there are still some really minor things like the holes for the small phillips head screws (on the inside trunk edge) are not pre drilled so we'll have to do that ourselves. Also, the holes for the phillips head screws into the quarter panel are still the same size as the holes for the studs of the mounting bracket. Neither of which are deal breakers but it would have been nice if those little details were done correctly as well.

Anyway, at least at first it seems that we have good fillers now. Keep in mind, I am in the middle of a big project on my car right now which I need to finish up before test fitting these fillers on my car and giving my official blessing. At first glance, I'm very happy with them but I will do a very careful test fit before having them painted. As with the last ones, they may need a little bit of "modifying" for a proper fit.

As always I'll keep you guys posted. Things are looking really good now!

John

caddy

Thanks for the update...

Allan R

John,
I'm surprised at ya! Where are the pics of the new product??

75regency

Looking forward to knowing the final outtake. My fillers have both failed now and it is starting to look like I dont care for it.. If I get these replaced and the vinyl top either redone or paint it, then it will be really sharp again.. Thanks for the updates...

76 Regency

Hey '75. I'm in the middle of a big project on my car which I need to get through before moving back on to the filler fitting. At first glance, the new ones definitely look great but I haven't had the time to test fit them to know for sure. They made the necessary corrections to the major issues being the top edge shape and dimension and the turn around the top of the bumper. Both are now correct and look so much better. I don't want to hold anybody up if you are really ready to go but at the same time, I don't want to give my official OK without seeing them on my car first. I suppose if you're willing to chance it, it's totally up to you. Let me know what you think.

PS. I just parted a '76 Regency sedan last week and scored a lot of great parts. I have the rear lower door panels, one of which is perfect, the other has a little damage...any interest in either?

John

75regency

Hey John,
What color are the lower panels? Are they pliable enough? If so I'd be interested for sure. If you think the panels are a good fit, then I will buy a set. What was the the info for them again? Also, my dash pad cracked right down the center. Go figure.. . Oh, 1 more thing, how is that window trim around the third quarter window look? Mine have shrunk so they are really loose...
Thanks,
Jason

76 Regency

Hey Jason, I sent you a PM so we're not tying up this post for everybody else.
John

76 Regency

Here's the link to the manufacturer in case I haven't provided it before. I still haven't gotten the final fillers on my car because I'm in the middle of a big project on her but I'm pretty confident these are a winner.

http://plasticpartsinc.com/

76olds98

John
Glad to see another option for these fillers. I on a 76 Olds 98 4 door I received from my grandmother after her passing. It was the only car they ever purchased brand new.

Cjlangellier

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum. I am looking for these reproduction fillers. I used the link above, but the fillers for the 75-76 ninety eight are not listed in the companies product book. Does anyone know if they are still producing these fillers?

caddy

Their site is not updated... Call Liz and just asked about the quarter extensions...

Cjlangellier

Excellent, thanks!

76 Regency

Hey there and welcome to the forum!

Please tell us about your Ninety Eight and don't be bashful about posting pics too! Where are you located?

76 Regency

OK, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to it but I an FINALLY starting to test fit the new fillers on my black Ninety Eight! The original RH filler was in terrible shape and no matter how beautiful the car is, everybody that has seen it has been immediately drawn to that filler saying "what happened here?". I have already removed the original (fell apart upon removal) and started fitting the new one. I've already had to make some minor modifications to the filler but overall it looks like it will fit well in the end. With any luck, I'll have all of the fitting done and the fillers in the shop for paint in the next week or two. My rear bumper is also out for chrome so the whole back of the car is getting a major facelift (or is a butt-lift? ). I'll try to remember to take some pics as I go, especially showing the areas I'm modifying.

caddy

The molds are still off some... I have contacted them in regards to it...

76 Regency

Hey Caddy. Can you describe the fitting issues you're having? What did plastic parts say when you told them? I'm waiting to hear from them myself.

76 Regency

I've been working like crazy to get the fillers fitted on my black 98. Keep in mind, that I am very fussy with my cars and I'm probably putting much more time into this than most people would but it will be worth it in the end. With quite a bit of cutting, grinding, sanding, heating/re-shaping, adjusting the bumper and taillights, they are starting to fit very nicely. It's nearly impossible to explain all of what I'm doing because I'm constantly finding a new spot that needs a little trimming, etc.

If you're diligent and good with a Dremel and heat gun, you should be able to get them to work very well for you. Given, you could just bolt them on as is and they'd still be a million times better than the fiberglass ones or a broken set of originals. If you're willing to put in the work you'll end up with a nice end result. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.

John

caddy

Hey John,

Sorry for the delay, been waiting on the owner of company... I just got down talking to him about the fillers... They took the pictures and suggestions that I provided and altered fillers 3 weeks ago... Even trimmed the extensions that point to the rear... He stated that they should fit better...

Some of my issues were the fillers set high / low even after reshaping holes... A little wide on the part where trunk meets... Bumper had to be pulled out to get on... That cause a gap in the light housings...

76 Regency

Hey Caddy!

Thanks for the update. I'm very curious to see how they change them. I have spent countless hours tweaking mine to get them to fit better and I'm finally about 98% happy with the fit. I had to cut, grind, heat/reshape like crazy but it looks like it will pay off. I also had to adjust the bumper and taillights a bit but I'm pretty confident it will come together nicely once I paint them and actually reassemble everything.

BTW, the taillight bezels should be right around 3" out from the edge of the filler to the front edge of the bezel, meaning that 3" should show from the sides.

Are they sending you a new, modified set and are they making these changes to the molds for all new sets to follow? I have some pictures on my phone showing most of the spots I had to modify. I need to upload them and make markings to show the spots. I'll try to start doing that this week. Only problem is I can do that best at work but it's crazy busy right now.

thanks for the update!
John

caddy

They made changes to the molds... Will give me a discount on next pair... I am looking to have a back-up...

76 Regency

Ok here's the first picture showing the mods I made:

Figure 1:

This dimension needed to be cut down to approximately 1" from the 1 1/2" - 1 5/8" that it was. Without this cut, this part was hitting into the taillight bracket and causing problems. The cut is needed all the way around the opening.

Figure 2:

I cut a little notch up in the peak to allow for some heating and reshaping without distorting the top (found this out the hard way the first time!).

After cutting the notch, I heated up this area a bit and pushed a taillight bezel up into it to reshape it a bit and give a little more clearance at the top of the taillight. It's really hard to see with the naked eye but the fillers are slightly shorter at the top, back edge than the originals. If you put a straightedge on top of the quarter, you'll see the gap to the filler....there's no gap with the OEM ones.

More pics to come.
John

76 Regency

Picture 2

Figure 1:

This lip where the fillers meet the center filler panel was nearly flat and it did not line up with the center piece well at all. They are supposed to be angled down a bit so that the center filler sits over these. I heated them up and with a metal straighedge, gave them enough of an angle to make the center filler lay on top much better.

Figure 2:

I had to grind this area down a bit as it was hitting the metal trim panel (with the licence plate and backup lights, etc). Not only was it hitting here but it was not allowing for the top of the filler to sit flush with the top of the quarter panel.

76 Regency

Picture 3

Only 1 Figure on this one:

These 3 mounting holes are not drilled as the fillers come from Plastic Parts. It's probably for the best because with all of the reshaping, pre-drilled holes may not line up right in the end anyway.

To drill these holes, I got the fillers lined up in what's going to be their final positioning and then drilled from the inside out, through the mounting bracket. That way the holes were exactly where they needed to be. This is a little tricky just because of the working space inside the filler. You can do this 1 of 2 ways, using a right angle drill or Dremel.

76 Regency

Picture 4

I cut these slits on the backsides of both fillers in order to help me with the profile along the sides of the quarters. These slits allowed me to "push" in on these areas with a bit of heat and get them to sit more flush with the quarters. Once I applied some heat, I used a block of wood to make the push while it cooled.

I need to take more pics but I also modified the inner steel brackets. I have to do a little more work on them tonight and then I'll take some pics and show what I did.

caddy

Nice...

76 Regency

Thanks. Here are a couple of pics of the mounting brackets. I decided to cut them to give me more flexibility with the fillers. I cut them in 2 pieces and removed the cross bar. Both cuts made a big difference in the fitting.

I also drilled an extra mounting hole to help bring the top of the filler tighter up against the quarter in this area.

7698Regency

Looks like a great job! I wish they didn't need all these modifications, hopefully the newer set are improved. Still they are much, much better than the fiberglass ones. Let us see how they look once they are on the car and painted.

76 Regency

Hey Caddy,

Please let me know when you get the revised set from them. I'd like to know exactly what they changed and how well the changes came out.

Thanks! This has been a very time consuming task but I think it will be well worth it in the end. The fillers are at the shop now and I should have them back by the end of the week. I'm hoping to have them and the taillights installed right away. I will post more pics as I make progress with this final phase.

76 Regency

OK so it only took me forever and a day to complete this but it was worth the wait !


My fillers are painted and installed and looking great! Although there is still a little room for improvement, I cannot really complain based on how good the car looks now. I have already spoken with Todd at Plastic Parts and after I send him some detailed photos explaining where the fillers could use some tweaking, he should be able to make the changes.


I'll take some more pictures of the fillers up close to show the fit but these pics should give a fair idea of how they came out. Keep in mind, I spent A LOT of time fitting these to my car. I cut, filed, sanded, heated, put them and off probably 20 times per side until I was pretty satisfied with the fit so don't expect them to just bolt right on. Regardless, here are a couple of shots showing my 98 looking pretty again.


Let me know your thoughts.


John

Nick455

@76 Regency
Thank you for pushing this forward ! I had a little accident on my left taillight today and now its up to replace this fiberglass.