Identify - Rear Interior Panels (convertible)

[70post]

How are they different??

I've refinished A LOT of original '69-72 Olds and Buick vinyl covered rear seat armrests and they were the style/construction you show.

I have one of the original rear armrests from my '70 W-31 right here...same as what you show. Non-post hardtop car. My '72 Buick original rears are also exactly the same.

[CamaroNOS]

I based it off my searches (The Parts Place), that is why I am still unsure. It appears that Buick and Olds rear panels both show a angled "kickout" section that appears to rest on the reinforcement support and my panels do not have that angled "kick out" section. That is why I was still unsure.

First pic is their 69 Olds panel and the second pic is their 69 Buick panel. Now you see the confusion. Having said that, this is why I turn to the site for guidance.

All I am looking to do describe these correctly (which I can do now) and sell for a reasonable price.

So what do you think these panels are worth?

Thanks for the help.

Paul

[70post]

Those are incorrect for at least '70-2 Olds and Buick...and the armrests shown are plastic. Not meant to be covered w/vinyl or any of the Olds/Buick underlayment material. Again, I'm not sure what Pontiacs may have used and I'm referring to original '70-72 panels since that's what I've dealt with numerous times.

The "kick outs" were put in the plastic panels to add stiffness/strength. The metal panels have beads rolled into them that add much more stiffness/strength to them....no need for more metal or a more expensive/complex tooling w/a kickout.

I have no ideas on values. Lots of these things survived pretty well (like yours) and they occasionally pop up on various Abody sites for sale. I'll dig around some and see if I can find any pricing ideas.

If the harder/denser panel board material under the vinyl is in really nice condition then they have more value. That board is below the lighter padding that is under the upper armrest area. Repros don't come w/any panel board material and most people seem to put a lighter material or foam on there instead of a panel board material. I've installed new/correct panel board material on originals and it is time consuming but most folks don't realize that. Finding originals w/nice panel board material (and many times upper padding that can stay in place) is a plus...to picky people that want an original appearing end result.

Also....yours could be cleaned and installed "as is" on a nice driver car or even painted/dyed. You just need to find the person that will "do the math" and realize the value (not that common).

If anyone comments "They look rusty"....move on to someone else. As you know the factory left these bare and those are in nice condition from what I can see.

The repro people MAY NOT even make the metal hardtop rear armrests....they do make metal convert ones but so far a brief search doesn't show any metal hardtop versions.

[CamaroNOS]

Thanks Patton for clearing that up as you would expect suppliers to properly identify the parts they are selling. I'd like to know how many people purchased these 70-72 Olds/Buick rear arm rests and thought they were buying the correct panels only to find out the opposite.

It really sounds like you go the full distance to achieve the OEM look and feel for your cars.

You are correct, they are nice driver/survivor quality with just the right amount of surface rust to add the ideal patina.

Thank you for all the detailed information, it will help me to sell them knowing all this.

All I need is a ballpark range of their value?

Paul

[70post]

Paul - After many experiences w/repro vendors...expecting them to accurately describe ANYTHING is a waste of your time. They are the LAST folks I would rely on....I think they've gotten even worse lately.

Here is a nice pair of black hardtop metal/vinyl covers for sale (seemingly forever) over on Classic Oldsmobile. The seller is "reputable" but these things seem to rarely sell. Maybe it's his price...who knows. But his are similar to what you have condition-wise.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ice-gm-171250/

And here is a white set over on V8Buick at a MUCH lower price...can't tell if these ever sold on there:

https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?th...mrests.397991/

Again, for a nice set like you have finding the "smart" buyer that realizes the cost to fully redo these is the challenge...thus the potential value in yours.

I looked around more and it looks like these ARE NOT repro'd.

[CamaroNOS]

I can't thank you enough for your effort and detail in helping me out.

Like I say, the site is full of super folks doing super things.

Paul