1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/original?

[Scott S.]

My right hand radio panel cover is broken at the top, and when I checked the reproductions and used originals, I noticed something on mine that I haven't seen yet on any others.

On the reproductions I have seen, the "stepped" area has sharp corners compared to the rounded corners on mine. When checking used originals, they have the rounded "step" area, but mine has a distinct line in the shape of a square with rounded corners (from the mold used to make it?) that is clearly visible from both the front and the back (see pics).

Is it normal/correct for this outline to be present?

[Lorne G.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

Scott, I just checked mine and I do have rounded corners but no mold line. My panels have been repainted so the mold line may have been sdanded off prior to painting.
I would have thought that the factory would have sanded off the mold lines before painting.
Lorne

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

Scott, I just checked mine and I do have rounded corners but no mold line. My panels have been repainted so the mold line may have been sdanded off prior to painting.
I would have thought that the factory would have sanded off the mold lines before painting.
Lorne

Thanks for checking yours, Lorne.

I don't know for sure if mine is original or not. I would tend to think it should be smooth too, without any "molding" line (if that's what it is), but I don't know why a "mold" line would be in that position in the first place. Modern reproductions don't appear to have them, so there's no reason GM had to use a mold that left a line like this, unless it was for some other purpose.

This car has been in the family for nearly 34 years, so the RH radio panel cover is at least that old, and I don't know if anyone was making reproductions of this panel circa 1976 (or earlier). Back then, this panel might have still been available from GM as an over-the-counter service part.

[John F.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

My right hand radio panel cover is broken at the top, and when I checked the reproductions and used originals, I noticed something on mine that I haven't seen yet on any others.

On the reproductions I have seen, the "stepped" area has sharp corners compared to the rounded corners on mine. When checking used originals, they have the rounded "step" area, but mine has a distinct line in the shape of a square with rounded corners (from the mold used to make it?) that is clearly visible from both the front and the back (see pics).

Is it normal/correct for this outline to be present?

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

Thanks for checking, this car is fairly close to yours, #07873 with a January 11th '67 build date, glad to hear there is another '67 A/C radio side panel out there like this one. I will try to check my driver's side panel tomorrow, to see if it also has these "mold" lines, for lack of a better descriptive term.

I didn't find the missing piece broken from my passenger side panel, so it may have been lost a long time ago. Looks like I may have to try to figure out how to repair this one. That's good though, if it's original to the car, I'd like to try to fix it.

[John F.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

Thanks for checking, this car is fairly close to yours, #07873 with a January 11th '67 build date, glad to hear there is another '67 A/C radio side panel out there like this one. I will try to check my driver's side panel tomorrow, to see if it also has these "mold" lines, for lack of a better descriptive term.

I didn't find the missing piece broken from my passenger side panel, so it may have been lost a long time ago. Looks like I may have to try to figure out how to repair this one. That's good though, if it's original to the car, I'd like to try to fix it.

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

Hi John,

Thanks for clarifying, and that's still very helpful as a data point, because clearly these "mold lines" were not unique to the cars with A/C. As far as judging is concerned I doubt it has any consequence at all, but I'm always interested in details like this, whether more than one kind of a particular part was produced by the factory, and if there was a change, what was the cut-off date, why was the change made, etc., etc.

Either these old cars are endlessly fascinating, or else I've caught some kind of strange disease...

[Wayne W.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

This is a common occurrence with some of the corvette panels that had a running change. Instead of producing a new mold to make the 67 panel. The area of the change was cut out and modified. You will notice the lines are around the area of the vent pull. That way the old dies could be used to produce both the new and the old style part.

[Scott S.]

Re: 1967 AC RH radio side panel has "mold" line in fiberglass. Is that correct/origin

This is a common occurrence with some of the corvette panels that had a running change. Instead of producing a new mold to make the 67 panel. The area of the change was cut out and modified. You will notice the lines are around the area of the vent pull. That way the old dies could be used to produce both the new and the old style part.

Thanks Wayne, that explains it, I understand now.

I think that means there should be mold-lines on the '67 LH panel too, around the recessed vent-pull area. I'll try to check mine tomorrow.

[Scott S.]

Update

Here are some front and back side pictures of the 1967 driver's side (LH) radio cover side panel, with NO mold-lines on the front or the back. It appears to be the same age and general condition as the RH panel. The actual vent opening looks crudely cut (pictures 3 & 4), not smooth/rounded as I would have expected.

Is this correct?