Panel between tail lights broken. Any idea for a solution?

[GT6]

Hi guys,

 

I'm hoping someone can help. We had some rare snow in Seattle last night, and when my niece went out to her 1998 Legacy GT sedan this morning she found what you see in the photo. I've spent some time calling salvage yards, but without luck. Their logical response has been, "They're usually broken when we get them."

 

As a 20 something, she's not surprisingly short on funds. Since the tail lights are fine, I was wondering if there is a custom aftermarket panel that would adhere to the existing, broken panel.

 

Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[Brighton96]

Every car in my local salvage yard has them and they are always intact minus small cracks, plus my local yard only charges $10 per taillight. I don't know what the salvage yard is talking about. Worst case, you can usually find them on ebay. But most auto stores sell red flexible plastic sheeting you can buy and glue/tape in place. Either way works

[Setnev]

Every one that I've seen at the local yards has been intact, unless the car has extensive rear damage. Hell, even my old Legacy that had damage on damn near ever panel had good taillights.

[Osei]

+1^^^

an aside. My very first car was a GT6. Triumph.

 

O.

[GT6]

Hi all,

 

After posting, I thought mine was a trivial question and kind of regretted asking it. With your responses, I was pleasantly surprised. I am familiar with the Triumph forums and the attitude there of "no question too small." I'm glad to have found that same attitude here. When I was explaining the great response I had to my original post about migrating misfires codes on my niece's Subby, a friend of mine who grew up in a Subaru family, he said, "Yeah, it's a brotherhood." He no doubt nailed it. Brighton, you were one of the guys who helped before. Thanks again for that! The migrating misfire code situation still isn't resolved, but as it only happens on the highway, she just takes alternate routes.

 

She's a skier and would love to have her 4-wheel drive to get her into mountains, but so far she's been riding with friends. I think it's going to be actual mechanic time soon for the misfire problem. I just got a call from her. She's stuck in bumper to bumper traffic with a 5 mile backup on top of the last mountain pass heading back into Seattle. Chains required. Yes, literally tons of snow.

 

I'll keep making calls to salvage yards. Hopefully I can find a replacement for her that isn't too expensive. Again, 20 something, short on funds, wants to pay for everything herself (actually admirable). Didn't help that last week she left her MacBook on her car roof when she left for work, and it got run over. Yes, it's dead. If you guys know of a cheap replacement, let me know!

 

Osei! Your first car was a GT6? I know how great that must have been, because my 73 is now my daily driver. I get comments on it everywhere I go, but much more importantly, it's a blast to drive. I always tell people it makes going the speed limit fun. The Triumph forums provided a wealth of information for tuning, suspension, etc. It was incredible to hear from guys who actually worked in the factory in the late 60's and early 70's. Minor tuning according to their guidelines and those of others increased the power substantially. Cosmetically, the car is rough, but mechanically, it's solid as it can be. I've considered painting it, but living in Seattle and parking in really busy places (frequently in Pike Place Market), every door ding would tear a hole in my heart! The important thing is how it is mechanically. I'd drive it anywhere in the country right now. I've done the HWY 1 and 101 trip from Seattle down to LA and back 4 times. It's the perfect car for that. My sister bought it brand new, and I bought it from her about 25 years ago. One thing, it doesn't do snow. The attached photo is about as much as it gets out on snowy/icy days. As it wasn't always my daily driver, it only has a little over 85K miles on it!

 

I do all the work on it myself, and I understand how the car works. I gave myself as much of an education about working on cars with computers as I could, and this forum was the source of the majority of that knowledge. One thing about cars with computers - whoever invented limp mode either lived in Kansas or was a member of ISIS and wanted us to suffer. He or she obviously had never seen a hill before.

 

Sorry for the long post! My excuse is that I, like you guys, am a car guy. Even though, I can go on, and on, so I'll stop.

 

Thanks again, guys. Your help is seriously and sincerely appreciated!

[Osei]

1968. $3215 out the door! Funny how you remember those things. BRG of course.

I see you've gotten rid of the wire wheels.

 

O.

[GT6]

Osei! A BRG 68? Let me first say that I couldn't love my 73 any more than I do, but the 68 has always been my favorite when it comes to styling. The chrome trim, grill, tail lights, side vents, mirrors, etc. are beautiful. Somewhat reminiscent of Bond's Aston Martin DB5. And British Racing Green?? I love the brown, but...

 

The 68 and 73 share the same block. The 73, in the US, was anemic when it came to power. Through the guidance I got in the forums, I got significantly more power, even with all the emissions equipment in place, and couldn't be happier with it. The other changes from stock, other than the Pertronix ignition system (great!) are a stainless sport exhaust (sounds exactly what a 6 cylinder vintage British sports car should sound like) and a quick ratio steering rack, which is infinitely tighter and more responsive than the stock one.

 

The rims are stock for 73. I may pick up some Minilites, but the stock are fine for now, but I finally found the perfect rubber for Seattle weather so the Minilites may happen sooner than later. That being said, wires would be awfully sweet.