Doug&Julie

So I'm looking to replace the duck on the back of my car with a flat decklid. I had one from a '73 that I parted out years ago, but after trying to fit it to the car yesterday, it turns out it was as bent as the car it came off of. Sooo...now I'm going back to the original plan of fitting an aftermarket fiberglass piece, but I'm concerned about fitment. What are the chances that I'll get a decklid that will fit right out of the box? I know fiberglass parts are notorious for needing additional fit, but this has to be on of the simplest parts to shape...how bad can it get?

I'd like to just buy a lid, make sure it fits, then hand it over to a paint shop for painting, then I can install it and any grills or badging, etc.

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Celle

Doug,

A friend of mine bought a fibre glass lid with ducktail for his 1977 3.0 Carrera (I'm in Europe). It fitted sort of okay, but the bodywork shop had lots of work to smoothen the surface of the lid and spoiler. After painting, you could still notice tiny dents and bruises in the surface, and small imperfections in the edges etc. Enough anyway for me to decide never to buy fibreglass body parts.

But this is just one experience, I'm sure there will be positive experiences out there.

Doug&Julie

Thanks Celle. I also posted on the Pelican site. I'm thinking before going fiberglass I'm going to try looking for a good, straight used one. I'm just hearing too many stories like yours.

JV911

the quality of fiberglass panels seems to vary greatly. I've heard some horror stories but heard only good things about Getty

lfornace

Yeah I bought a new fiberglass ducktail for my 75 and sent it back because it was already delaminating and the fit was rediculous. The decklid gaps should be straight, but this one was a little more creative...

Lucas Fornace

ron mcatee

Doug, I would only consider fiberglass parts for a race car. The fitment of it on a daily driver or nice 911 leaves a lot to be desired. My question is, why are you removing the "duck"? Is it a Carrera? If so, it needs to stay on there. if not, then, It's whatever looks good to you. Just my opinion.

Doug&Julie

The previous owner did such a great job making this car "his" that I just feel I'd like to do something to make it a little more "mine". The car is not a Carrera, it's narrow bodied '74, which makes the duck look just a little...er, much in my opinion. I really like the sleek looks of a plain coupe.

Having said that, I've decided to stick with it. I'm not really interested in spending money right now and, while I don't drive a Porsche for it's "image", the duck has been getting a lot of compliments lately. So I guess it makes the car fairly unique even in the world of Porsches. So it's staying. If / when I get to backdate it, we'll go with a plain lid then. But for now...

bourgeois911

Well, when you're ready, maybe you'd be interested in a trade?
I'm really not looking to do anything right now either since it the weather is finally getting decent here but I am considering a ducktail purchase this fall.

Doug&Julie

Sure. Let's chat again in the Fall and see where we are.

Cheers

Ray H

Hi Doug,

Congrats again on having a Porsche in the family

FWIW, I think it looks great with the duck. I especially like the integrated center
stop light.

I have thought about putting a duck on my SC

Quack, quack.

Edgy01

Fibreglass tails for all the 911s are each a custom fit job. Even the factory tails need fitting to be working properly. Most are terribly done.

Doug&Julie

Thanks Ray! I actually love a duck on a flared impact bumper car like your SC. I know it sounds funny, but I just think any spoiler on a narrow bodied car looks out of place. The (visually) heavy bumpers on my car helps...so it's not so bad.

The brake lamp is an LED wired up by the P.O. I think it's pretty cool.