When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
But also be aware that they can work very nicely, and if the alternative is no fillers at all, it's worth the effort. I needed rear fender extensions on both sides for my '78 Toronado. I bought them from the vendor mentioned above, and my local body shop fitted them and painted them along with the rest of the car. They have been on the car four years now and are still looking great. They are made out of a stiff fiberglass and not the more flexible material the originals were made from, but they still work.
Oh wow Nice! I went to a website link mentioned above by @1970cs. They have them even for the front bumper. A lot cheaper than the originals I’ve seen. I’m gonna go w/ those !
I left all of the paint issues up to the body shop. Since he was painting the entire car, matching of paint to something already on the car wasn't an issue. I just wanted him to match the original "carmine red" as well as possible. The upper photo shows the car with its original, deteriorated paint, and the lower shows the repaint. I think he did a pretty good job of matching colors.
Of course, if you are not repainting the entire car, then matching the paint on the newly painted fender extensions to the existing car color will be an issue, but it will be no different than matching the paint on any new or repainted body panel, whether its the bumper fillers, a fender, the hood, or anything else.
Jaunty75 has good advice. There IS a 78 delta, in a yard forty miles south of me, but it is likely has dried out and cracked broken fillers. Not worth the chase.
There IS a 78 delta, in a yard forty miles south of me, but it is likely has dried out and cracked broken fillers. Not worth the chase.
The problem with the original fillers is that they are polymers, and they deteriorate over the decades simply as a function of time. They don't wear out due to mileage. Just age. You might find NOS fillers still in their original box since 1978, but when you open the box, you might discover that even those NOS parts have deteriorated. They won't have been exposed to the sun, which will help, but they will likely be stiffer than when new and possibly not useable.
I came across this post this week. Unfortunately I’m not in Texas. To bad is love to take the tail light to swap w/ mine that has been cracked when I had it in the shop for a motor replacement. Thanks anyways!
