[michael bustamante]

I work for an aftermarket front end crash parts company and have been in the industry for several years. there are alot of aftermarket manufacturers out there now but 90% of them are taiwan or overseas in general.
when the parts are manufactured the mold for the part is new or slightly used to start with. they will punch out hundreds of parts with that same mold and after awhile the edges get worn, hole patterns shift , etc. so the first hundred or so will be great and the quality just diminishes after awhile till the mold is replaced.
to tell the truth these older chevy truck aftermarket sheetmetal parts are getting rarer to buy over the counter. they just arent manufactured like they used to.
when buying aftermarket sheet metal for your newer veh., look for "CAPA", "NSF" or "ISO9000" certified. These are better materials and made to stricter standards. As for our trucks, , i know classic heartbeat does alot of research on their replacement parts before offering for sale. basically go with who YOU feel you can trust and by reputation for sticking buy their product for our trucks.