lodom

I'm searching for a 74-77 vette, and most of the ones I find have the luggage rack on them. I really don't care for the appearance of it, and would want to remove it soon after buying the car. Has anyone done this? If so, what would be involved other than filling the holes, and repainting the rear of the car? Also, would the hole repairs eventually show through the paint, or is there a way to prevent this from happening? I wouldn't want the rack to prevent me from purchasing a car. Of course, I'll continue to look for one without the rack. Thanks

Alwyn678

I would find one without the rack and save the headaches...Personally I like the racks but mainly on the verts

mox 77

My car is black and has the rack....I hate it. Rather than deal with the hole repair problem, that apparently never goes away, I'm thinking about having it
powder-coated black. That way it will not be as noticeable.

jrzvette

No matter what you do, short of replaceing the entire rear top deck panel, the holes will eventually show through.

joe73vette

I decided to take a different approach. Since any attempt to repair the holes will eventually become noticable, why try to hide them? I got six chrome round head socket screws and put them in the rubber gromets. It is obvious there once was a rack there, but it looks clean. Joe

Alwyn678

I would much prefer the rack to that.............sorry....even if I did not like it

theandies

Got a picture???????
John

lodom

Thanks for the suggestions. I was hoping someone with a successful removal/hole repair would chime in. At least I'm not the only one who thinks they detract from the cars appearance. I asked a guy who has done custom repair work on vettes in the past, and he gave me a ballpark estimate of $600 to repair the holes and paint the top of the rear deck. I know it would cost a lot more to paint the whole rear of the car. He said the repairs wouldn't come back through, but I have my doubts. You'd think there would be a way to make sure it doesn't show later.

Since I've limited my choices to 74-77, there aren't a whole lot of cars to choose from and the luggage rack narrows those by more than 50%.

techrondon

i just cant believe a rack would deter anybody from buying a nice car...
when i got mine it hade the holes with the grometts painted a shiny black and i never really noticed them..they were just there..on a 1977 you cant expect everything to be perfect or you will never have one..take the rack off,plug the holes from under with silicone and you wont see them from 10 feet away..
take the xtra money you saved from getting a good buy on one with a rack
and buy some gas to have fun with .!..btw,,i looked long and hard to FIND a
rack to put on mine,,thanks to a forum member i got a nice one reasonable
and put it on when i go on trips,they DO come in handy from time to time.

Weird Science

I am finding it hard to believe the holes are that hard to fix without showing through. A good bodyman can replace every panel on the body and you wouldn't be able to tell.. Why is filling a couple small holes so hard? I admit I have no experience with it, so who knows?

FinnShark

:iagree: I'd like to see some pics too! I'm thinking to do the same, just put some chrome plugs to the holes, but I'm not sure about the look...

MassVette

The reason they'll show through eventually is because they're vertical section holes. Try grinding down the deck gradually thinner toward the holes, and you nee to back them up with an epoxy and fiberglass patch underneath. Then they'll be fine. Oh, yeah..........allow enough curing time. The patches are usually visible because of shrinkage due to insufficient curing time before painting.
My 2c.