I need to remove the center panel in between the taillights on my firebird. I was trying to figure it out, but couldnt. Thanks.

 

you gotta remove your interior panels in the back to get to the studs that hold in your taillights, remove both tail lights and that will release the center panel. Once you get all 10 wingnuts off and the tail lights to pop out you'll know what i'm talking about. The center is held in by the center 4 wingnuts, but need to remove entire tail light setup just to get em out.

 

I was previewing my post when I saw that 84redta had beat me to it, lol. So all I can say is... like 84redta said, once you see it, you'll get it.

 

Well I had the interior trim panel off already before I asked the question. I saw the wingnuts for the taillights but didnt see any for the center section so that is why I asked. Its a little more complicated than I had hoped.

I tried to make the center section shine by wiping tire shine on it, but it ate into the plastic and made it white and opaque.

I wanted to remove the panel and try wetsanding / buffing it with compound. It cant get any worse than it is - i might have to get a new one. But the sanding is worth a try I guess.

 

yea out of the 10 wingnuts, the center four make kinda of a rectangle right around the hatch pull down unit...those are what really hold in the center piece...but it's the fact that that center peice is held in by the studs of the tail lights, so you need to remove the taillights just to the point of having them hang by the light sockets on your rear bumper, to gently slide the center unit off.

 

Wetsanding and buffing will do a great job. But if it's just hazy, then try some plastic polish first. That should polish it up nicely. I use 3M Plastic Polish. But if there are some deep scratches too, then sanding and buffing is your answer.

 

Well, most of it is hazy with age. However, there is a big spot of solid white on it from where I tried the tire shine.

 

I surfed eBay for a few months and ended up buying 3 before I found one that was bear perfect. I got all of them for about 10-15 bucks each and then sold the three I didn't need back on eBay together for 45 bucks.

 

i finally decided to get a pic of the damage the tire shine did. Now remember, this happened months ago. The car has been washed many times since. It just been too damn cold to tackle the project yet.

 

Yeah man,I think the wetsanding/buffing trick will make yours look good as new!
You do know how to remove it now right?

 

Kinda. At least I know now that I have to remove both taillights.

I was really hoping that it just popped off or something so that I could drive around without it for a little while as I worked on it.

 

well you can just remove it from the car while you work on it.
You have to remove both taillights then the center piece and then put the taillights back in the car and remove them again after you get your center piece fixed.
It might be worthwhile for you to find another center sec. in good shape and get that into the condition that you want and do a quick swap instead of taking the taillights apart and re assembling them more than you need to.