rust repair panels...wtf?

[schurg]

might be an odd question, obviously many people are well versed in doing the typical rust repair for 67-72. I finally bit the bullet and dismantled my old rig and started cutting out all the cancer. I first pulled what was left of the rocker panels, only to find many, many holes under them...not too surprised. excited to see some metal on it, I took my new replacement rocker and held it up to the truck, it fit rather well (key parts), the bends near the weather stripping are completely wrong, but the rest seems fair. (the weather stripping area has a graceful "S" shape rather then the hard 90degree bends of the oem)
ok, here's the deal, I noticed the oem pillars have recessed areas where the rocker fits, making for a clean surface from rocker to pillar. the new pillar panels have no such indent. I noticed the rocker panel doesnt fit the a-pillar repair panel, it doesnt even fit over it, let alone the actual bends matching. my question(s) is(are): does anyone make an actual 'replacement panel' that is shaped like the oem? and, is this normal with the aftermarket panels not fitting together? it kills me looking at some of the panels, lol, I mean, it's 2012 shouldnt we be able to make panels exactly like the ones in the trucks? rather then a close facsimile? are you guys just putting the rocker over the new a-pillar and trying to blend it with filler? I've kicked around the idea of buying ebfab's dvd's, but that isnt in the budget atm thanks

[old Chevy guy]

Do you mean in the front corners? They never fit good there,I had to slice mine a little bit. The part where the weather strip went was terible too. All the one Ive seen lately were that way,your right it seems like someone should be able to do a better job in this day and age.

[schurg]

sounds like we're thinkin of the same area. but you see what I mean though. we have the technology today to make parts perfect down to a gnat's ass tolerence..yet we cant get some good stamped sheet metal products

[PAWS 72]

coming from overseas what do you expect?

[slikside]

No doubt the capability is there, the question is, how much would you be willing to pay for that precision fit? I have never used any of the replacement sheet metal parts, but I have noticed how inexpensive most of them are. I suspect it's because of the issues you are talking about.

The manufacturers know that most people would not want to pay the price for the precision, but that's just a guess on my part.

[67c10rustbuket]

Yep aftermarket steel sucks! I had to modify every part I got (tri-plus) some needed trimming, hammerforming, adding flanges that taiwan forgot, fixing angles that were supposed to be a hard 90 as you stated, Cutting parts in half, sectioning them and welding back together, emdless trimming, redrilling holes that dont line up, adding holes they didnt bother to punch. Tri-plus offers these parts in a couple different thickness as well and the thinner will have looser flange dimensions, angles, and wrinkling where the thinner steel is stretched instead of held in place in the die designed for thicker steel.
I have access to a hydraulic press brake at work so it was an easy fix but very frustrating to buy "replacement" parts that dont fit. There are also some odd brands that LMC and others carry that are worse than Tri-plus. I compared my Tri-plus to other members LMC parts and they are slightly different. I hear that Tabco makes the same panels here in the USA and they fit better. A couple board members have used them and I am going to give them a shot when I get to the passenger side of my truck.
I thought maybe I was just a little too anal since I was a press brake operator for years working within .010" but this is pretty much the same reaction from everyone who has bought and used off shore "replacement" parts. I hear that the fenders,hoods, etc all fit terrible also.

[koda360]

I got my lower A pillar patch from Truck and Car Shop, can't remember the MFG but they did have the tapered portion that the rocker slips over. My were for a 60 however. The bolt holes in them were close, not by any means perfect.

Maybe you could cut yours down and butt weld them to the rockers...

I always buy these parts expecting to do some tweaking, and consider them as a starting point. Some are better than others, but considering no 2 trucks are exactly the same, close is all you'll ever get.

Now that most of our MFG jobs have been shipped overseas, and the people that work in the few left here, just don't care anymore... I don't think you'll ever see "great" parts.

[67c10rustbuket]

link to tabco

[old Chevy guy]

I used tabco parts on some resorations I did years ago ( like 17 or 18) and overall I was pleased with the fit up. I seems like I remember it not being as hard.

[dfwright]

I had to work on every patch panel I used as well, but I have to say that I am just glad to have had them. They weren't perfect, but they were close enough that my low end skills and tools could make them work. I could never have fabricated patch panels from scratch.

It would be nice to have perfect panels, I admit, but I'll take what I can get.

[schurg]

dont get me wrong..I'm greatful for the fact that we have access to parts for these trucks. I used to have an old buick wildcat...there is NOTHING available for that sumbich..lol..I just wanted to make sure that the parts I have are pretty much par for the course. thanks for the input, I might check out tab.

[schurg]

out of curiosity...has anyone used tabco's lower pillar panels? I'm curious to hear how they fit, and looked if someone has pics...I'm half tempted to buy one just to see how it is..lol