70 or 71 duster tail light panel sell or trade?

[Dusterdude72]

Ok guys here is the deal. I have my 72 duster that I am working on and soon getting painted.....The tail light panel on the back of the car is the only panel on the car that has any rust damage....so it will need some repair...my dillema is,I am not so much of a fan of the 72 style rear tail lights as I am the 70/71 style rear tail lights. and if I am going to do work to the tail light panel to make it look good,I would rather rather that effort be applied into swapping the rear panel out for the 70/71 style that I prefer. The tail lights I have are in excellent shape however. just the panel has a rust hole just below the passenger side tail light. Now I know there are alot of guys out there who have junk dusters laying around or parts car duster laying around or maybe your one of the guys who converted over to the demon rear tail panel and saved your old one. Even if it has some dings in it or some minor rust, I would rather fix that style then my 72 style. I am willing to buy one or trade my tail light panel or tail lights or both or 1 or the other or both plus cash!.....or I have other things aswell. so if anyone has one please let me know ...like I said, going in for paint soon and I want to get it done by then. and I dont want to spend the money to buy a new/repro panel. Thanks guys

 

[68 Sedan]

I was the other way around. Had a 70 340 4 speed car first and preferred the shorter, fatter tail lights. But since I've owned my 72 for about a year now I've gotten to where I prefer the long skinny to the short & fat.

I'm still lookin for a nice set of black (no silver paint) 72 lights if you change yours:cheers:

 

[Dusterdude72]

bump

 

[clhyer]

These panels are being repoped now. I got my '72 from AMD and it was a quality piece. It did not come with the brackets needed to mount the tail lights, though. If you really want the '70-'71 style you might be able to get the brackets from a parts car easier than finding the complete panel.
C

 

[abodyjoe]

and I dont want to spend the money to buy a new/repro panel.

this is cheaper then i have seen originals go for..

http://www.autometaldirect.com/ShowItem/100620 70-71 Duster Tail Light Panel.aspx

70-71 Plymouth Duster Tail Light Panel

70-71 Plymouth Duster Tail Light Panel
Part No: 900-1370

MoparARP

Your Price:
$299.95 EA

 

[Dusterdude72]

I have seen them selling for around $260.00 but the cheap overseas crap. and I am not sure what you meant buy just buying the brackets for the 70/71 tail light instead of the hole panel? the tail lights are not the same from 70/71 to 72 the 72 tail light for long and skinny as where the 70 and 71 tail lights were a bit shorter and taller and had a metal rib that ran between the two len's.....I would need the hole panel to do a tail light conversion....panel,lens mounting brackets and tail lights....I pretty much posted the thread up to see if someone had a parts car duster or if someone had converted there tail panel over to a demon or something and saved the panel......that way I could get a factory one instead....I already knew you can buy them aftermarket. Thanks for the info though.

 

[clhyer]

No, I apologize for not reading your post close enough. You were plain that you didn't want a repop.

What I was referring to with the brackets: The tail panel is a complete outer skin only. On the back side of the panel (in the trunk) are brackets welded on which the tail lights are bolted. You would need those brackets if you were to buy a repop. If you look at the AMD link that abodyjoe posted they are now repopping those brackets for '70-'71. $80 each - ouch!

FWIW, the AMD piece I purchased was a good piece and fit pretty much just like the one I took off. I am pleased with it.
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[Dusterdude72]

what one did you take off and why? I dont care if I find one with a little bit of rust or some dents....I can fix that...and I already knew about the brackets on the back hand side. I just dont want an aftermarket panel because I think they are far to over priced and I am not willing to pay $300.00 plus the extra $1xx.00 some odd dollars for the brackets plus still have to but tail lights....after its all said and done id be around $600 or $700 just for a diffrent look on the back of the car and its not worth it....I wanted to find a good used one or one someone has laying around for a good price

 

[clhyer]

what one did you take off and why?

I presume you were talking to me? I removed a '72 panel that was totally rusted out around the lights. I actually bought a used '72 panel from a junkyard (and drove about 150 mi. one way to get it). It "looked" ok, but when I stripped it down and began the process of removing it from the rear quarters it was not in very good shape at all. About that same time the repops came on the market so I just cut my losses and visited AMD.

I would think that you could find used brackets from a parts car easier than the panel and they shouldn't be too much if a member here could hook you up. If you could swap lights with 68 sedan you would be pretty good to go for not much more than the new panel cost. Or, sell your lights on ebay and you should get close to what a set of the '70-'71 lights would be.

BTW, if anyone is following this thread and wants a set of '72 taillight brackets, I can hook you up - shoot me a PM.
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[Dusterdude72]

well i buy paint today and body work is getting closer to being done so I probably wont find a different tail panel in time so its looking like I stay with the 72 body style tail panel thats currently in it.....I have to do a little bit of metal work to it but nothing big,it has some rust in it but only on the bottom side of one tail lense and thats it.....but thanks anyways for the help,if you run across something let me know,thanks