Hi all...on the 1981 Camaro sport coupe i'm doing up...

I found rust in the rear valance panel...this is the metal that is tri-angular on the bottom, sandwiched between the bumper extension and the rear frame rails. It is just behind the rubber rear bumper.

It is spot welded to each end of the quarter panels, and likely seam welded across the top (Tail panel is in the way, can't see that far yet.)

The rust is probably pretty common, as it is confined to the lower, outer ends of each side. Probably from years of road crap kicked up by the tires.

The rust does not extend to the frame rails of extended bumper brackets.

How much of a bear is this to replace, has anyone on the group here done this before?

Do you know if a repro or NOS panel is available to weld in ?

Am I calling it by the proper name, 'rear valance panel' ?

Many thanks,
JOE
Clark, NJ

I have this issue with my '73. There was a replacement panel available for it. Mine was spot welded into place. On mine it is also part of the rear lighting area so I had to cut it out across the bottom of the lights. It was seam welded across the bottom under the car. This seems to be a pretty common place for it to rust out so you shouldn't have a problem finding the part. Good Luck!

Thanks for the tip !

Regards, Joe