After stripping the taillight panel down to paint, i found a series of weld dents directly behind the bumper (all along the panel). Is this normal or an indication the panel has been replaced at one time?

could be normal, do they look factory? stamped into the metal..or plug welded?

Correct me if I am wrong but that is normal. Those welds hold the tail pan to the trunk pan.

They are just smaller than dime sized and look to be done very well....This leads me to believe they are factory ..(You would understand if you had seen some of the bodywork I had uncovered! )

Thanks-Jim

Those are the spot welds that were installed from the factory when they welded the tail panel on.

I have the same spot welds on my tail panel. They do appear to be factory welds.

Yep, spotwelds on mine too. Just looked at your photo site. Hope this car turns out great for you. After all that work you deserve it. Nice job. Looks very professional.