67 firebird deck lid question

[Wall]

I bought a 67 firebird boday a while back that someone had started on and both full quarters were replaced. When fitting up the deck lid it wasn't much of a surprise that the gaps on both sides are way off. The gap at the front seems to be ok but my question is should I buy an after market deck lid? The deck lid I have looks to be an original but had some surface rust on the bottom side and isn't perfect so since I have to fix the quarters anyway would it matter that much? I guess my main concern is the at the front, not sure if the repop deck lids are bad fit all the way around or mainly on the sides.

[BobK]

Generally, the repop lids don't fit all that great compared to the originals, so if yours just has some surface rust, I'd probably try to save it.

The quarter gaps are probably wider than you'd like on the sides, which is also a common problem. I've seen it fixed in two ways- by adding material to the edges of the lid (usually welding rod or similar) or by adding material to the sides of the opening (can be a welded strip of flat stock, or lead, or both). Really depends on how wide they are, and how concerned you are with adding material to the lid. Some guys don't like to add too much to them because they feel it's more "obvious" than adding material to the quarters, since it can be seen if you look at the edge of the lid and know what you're looking for. IMO, adding 1/8-3/16" to the side of the lid isn't something that would be cause for concern.

[Wall]

Thanks Bob, I was thinking about adding material to the trunk lid but after measuring the gaps on both side I think it may be too much so I may have to add some material to the quarters. The gaps are a half inch on both side at the back and get tighter towards the front.