Replacement body parts

[rustbucket66]

I have bought new front fenders, rad support, inner fenders, and front header panel. Upon trying to put the front clip together to check how it fits, I was very disappointed. Nothing fits, not even close. Most of it can hardly be put together at all. My rad support had 5 or 6 things wrong with it, including being 1/4 inch short from side to side. Bends in the wrong places, welded nuts in the wrong places, and many other problems. I ended up repairing my old one. The inner fenders have the front lower brackets nowhere close to the right location, you can put your finger in between the rad support and the inner fenders. I've drilled out lots of spotwelds, relocated, and rewelded. It would cost several thousand extra, if you had a bodyshop try and fix this junk. Problems on every panel. A word of good advice, never throw away your old pieces until you are done. You need them to compare and refer to. When two pieces don't fit, you have to figure out which one is wrong. The panels I have are from Tri-plus, I wonder if anyone else has experienced this. I tried another rad support from another manufacturer, forget the name, but it says "made in Taiwan" right on the parts sticker. It was a little better than the Tri-plus, but it was short side to side also, and is way lighter guage than the original. Picking the thing up, it felt like half the weight. What a headache.... Don't expect to be just bolting these things on.

[Captainfab]

It is unfortunate that we don't have a reliable supply of replacement body parts for our trucks. It seems to be hit and miss as to wheter you get parts that actually fit without a good bit of re-work. I haven't bought from them yet, but Tabco is supposed to have some parts made in the USA that fit better.

http://tabcobodyparts.com

[MailManX2]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

It is unfortunate that we don't have a reliable supply of replacement body parts for our trucks. It seems to be hit and miss as to wheter you get parts that actually fit without a good bit of re-work. I haven't bought from them yet, but Tabco is supposed to have some parts made in the USA that fit better.

http://tabcobodyparts.com

The Tabco parts I bought for my 60 Apache were total crap.

[jimmydean]

I haven't gotten anything for my '66 yet, but everything I have ever gotten from Goodmark for projects in the past have been great. Not the cheapest, but we did an entire front Camaro clip with no issues. I've also gotten a lot of square body parts and stuff for my '69 with no issues.

[Clyde65]

It seams that all Goodmark has for 60-66 trucks are bumpers and brackets.

[jimmydean]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

It seams that all Goodmark has for 60-66 trucks are bumpers and brackets.

Hmm, might have to give them a call. They used to make patch panels, fenders, and a few others but I haven't looked in a while. Seems the only thing on the site, though. I know they make the dash section to fix your radio hole, but I don't see that listed, either.

<edit> No, they still make (or at least sell) a ton of crap for our trucks. Use the "Next Page" link if you are looking at the site unless you search by part.

[chevyrestoguy]

I would rather put a patch panel in a rusty fender than try to make a repop one fit. The act of trying to make a new fender fit by cutting, drilling out spotwelds, and adding metal is one of the most frustrating aspects of car building today. The stuff isn't cheap, either.

[Captainfab]

Well I guess I can eliminate them from my list of possible body parts suppliers.....

Originally Posted by MailManX2

The Tabco parts I bought for my 60 Apache were total crap.

[awbrown]

I guess it all depends on what you have to work with .Meaning if you have a fender that can be patched , or you dont have a fender .I have used tabco on a nova I had and the lower rear quarter panel mated with the rocker panel and door post perfectly ,I was pretty happy with it , i used a quarter from another manufacturer on a GTO it was longer than the original panel and I had to shorten it .. On my 63 ,truck number 1 the patch panels were from Sherman (cross canada brand panels ) and they were disapointing ,I got more from Top banana ,I think triplus/keyparts and the quality on the floor patch panels was much better ,look for the panels that have the holes punched for the floor supports ... what I do is search the part numbers on the web and you find out who has who's panels .. I will have to finish the panel thread I started and update it with the suppliers names and contact info ...

[derail]

Originally Posted by MailManX2

The Tabco parts I bought for my 60 Apache were total crap.

x2 for Tabco. Bought a fender patch panel from them and never even bothered to use it when I saw it.

[albertgen]

It seems like with all the companies, LMC, Brothers, Classic Parts, etc they would have good molds. I want to buy that stuff, body parts that is, but I am afraid to buy it. I am thinking of having this guy put quarter panels on my front fenders. But I need a left door and hood. The door bottom is all rusted out and the hood has a crease right across the center. Al

[Gooker928]

Originally Posted by albertgen

It seems like with all the companies, LMC, Brothers, Classic Parts, etc they would have good molds. I want to buy that stuff, body parts that is, but I am afraid to buy it. I am thinking of having this guy put quarter panels on my front fenders. But I need a left door and hood. The door bottom is all rusted out and the hood has a crease right across the center. Al

Good luck with that. I actually prepped and painted a front fender before test fitting due to the truck being torn apart. That fender came out beutiful!!!
Too bad it didn't even come close to fitting I had to end up using the new fender to patch the original one..

[lee64]

I've bought both outer fenders for my 64 but haven't fitted them yet. The PS fender is a Goodmark I ordered out through LKQ and the DS fender is from AMD. The AMD fender is made by Key Parts. Ordered it out through Summitt. It seems the DS fender isn't available through Goodmark. I've taken some preliminary measurements between the old and the new and it seems ok. I'll know for sure when I actually fit them.

[Crazy Rusty]

I've done four major body rebuilds (65 Suburban, 69 Chevelle, 64 Mustang, and now this 62 C20) and they've all had the same issue, replacement panels are crap. It's industry wide and, in my opinion, they've been getting worse. I don't know what the problem is... bad molds? overuse? but its getting ridiculous.

[Captainfab]

As long as people keep buying the crap quality patch panels and replacement parts, the manufacturers will keep on making the same parts.

The other side of the issue is what people are willing to pay for the patch panels and body parts they need. There is an ebay seller that advertised made in the USA patch panels. As an example, the front fender lower patch panel is close to $100 by the time you pay shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370002251366...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[franken]

Off topic but there's a series of vids on youtube by gibson63 I think showing the lengths he went to to fix what he had for his 63. I'd recommend watching them. I don't think he used a single entire repro body part.

[donthekawguy]

I got a pass. fender from fixmyrust and it fit really good. the only problem I had was the two middle holes on top didn't line up. I have a drivers fender coming today and hoping it fits the same or better.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Let us know on that Don!

[donthekawguy]

The old one came off real easy. Scrubbed all the dirt out and painted the inner cowl area. Put the fender on and it fits great. A little gap in the front but not hardly noticeable. Whole job took less than an hour including paint dry time. The fenders are from fixmyrust.com $179 free shipping. Tristar brand.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Looks great man!

[donthekawguy]

Thanks! Now to strip the new door I have and get some primer on it. Then fix the wheel arches on the bed then all the metal work is done. Then the fun job of stripping all the paint off the whole truck and bodywork. I might even paint it this year!

[TJ's Chevy]

When buying replacement parts your best bet is to buy a donor or find NOS. Or just keep an eye out for "part out" trucks. Reproduction almost always need mods because they're made to fit 60-66.....No truck was exactly the same. I used 64 chevy parts on my 66 and some of the holes wouldn't line up. Not because it was a different year, but because Not all trucks are made the same. But its all part of the fun.

[Vincenthdfan]

Originally Posted by donthekawguy

The fenders are from fixmyrust.com $179 free shipping. Tristar brand.

Free shipping on fenders??

[Captainfab]

Hey Don, if you're going to throw away that old fender, throw it my way next time you come over to the powder coaters.

[donthekawguy]

Originally Posted by Vincenthdfan

Free shipping on fenders??

Yup free shipping.