BUILD THREAD “The Juggernaut”

That's some fancy bead rolling you got there- very smooth stuff. I would've wasted multiple pieces trying to get that semicircle right. And you're right about the reverse lights looking better with no gap above them, that's a subtle yet appreciated mod. I've also got a lay down plate mount that needs installed, and now that I know there's room for a "cap hanger" back there I can stop putting it on my trunk!

You're almost good enough to come work on my junk. 😉

Beautiful work Donovan. That must have been fun and gratifying to fabricate. Thanks for the update! It was a fun read.

If keeping the bump maybe have the rear contour on the panel to then meet with the tail panel but going with the clean lines it might just be better to go flat. I would say the flat would look better in my opinion.

Looks great. I can see keeping, or removing the bump, but I lean slightly more to the side of making it flat across.

I like it, but closing off the back might be just as much effort as removing it altogether. Flip a coin I guess?

I vote to keep the bump. NOBODY will know the bump is not really needed unless you tell them, and the fill piece seems to be already cut for it (You have to weld up patches either way). You went to all that trouble to replicate it, but it also keeps that "stock" look when painted. JMO. But it's your car, your money, your effort.

Nobody sees it unless the trunk is open anyway and it also offsets the slightly angled blend where the lamp goes underneath.

But, with that in mind, and I know how detail-oriented you are, maybe try this to help make up your mind...

Take a flat piece of sheetmetal and hold it up where the filler would be to simulate the flat section. My eyes are old, but I seem to see a slight rise in that pinchweld area where the trunk seal would go. A slight arc upward, if you will. May simply be a visual angle or something, or a slightly sagging center since it's just being held up with magnets and not attached yet.

The pics below should give you an idea of the ability of that bump to distract your eye-line. The bump must work in that regard, since nobody else mentioned it. Unless, of course, you have another plan.

1 and 4 seem lower than points 2 and 3 showing a very slight upward arc from point 1 of the GM side of the rear panel that seems to go back again as you reach point 4. At least in my eyes. And, if I had to bet which one is laser-straight, it wouldn't be GM's side of it. 🙂



At this angle, it doesn't go away, at least for me. So I don't think it's just a Jedi mind-trick. Area 1 still looks lower than 2.


This is no way no how a knock on your skills. I think the filler looks unbelievably great. You just out-did GM's structure-work by a mile, so I'm simply pointing out GM's shortcomings on this. I wonder if all of the A/G-bodies are like this?

Oh, and I meant to ask this on previous construction thread: The license plate lamp can be removed/replaced through its opening once it's in its final configuration, right? May need that bump for maneuvering the lamp should it ever need replacing. Just a thought for service-ability.