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I had to remove the rear deck to make some repairs. The bonding strip for the rear deck to quarter panel should rest on and be glued to the underbody. The quarter panel had already been replaced before I got the car, and I noticed the gap before I removed anything. You can see the gap in the picture. Is it normal for these parts to be so far off before "encouraging" them into place? Do I just need to pull it tight with clamps? Did the person that made the repair the first time just not pull it into place as they should have? Am I on the right track here? I can get it closer with the clamps, but then there is a lot of tension on the area. I want to make sure I'm not clamping it to the point that it is distorting the overall body lines. It's almost like the underbody should be a little bit wider which I know isn't the issue.
The gap is normal. Actually, my gap was so large from the factory that there wasn't enough bonding adhesive and there was an opening. Explained why my #4 body mount cavity was filled with dust & grit.
You can seal it with bonding adhesive or, since that section isn't structural, I used polyurethane sealer.
Rear Deck Install
