Aftermarket Body Panels

[Captainfab]

I was at a friends shop today, who builds custom cars and trucks. He is building a '66 BBW short fleet for a guy and he has installed aftermarket inner fenders and a radiator support that fit as good as factory parts. I was impressed with the fit and finish of the parts. They have the 'Counterparts' stickers on them and he purchased them from The Truck Shop.

Just a little FYI for those that are in need of some better sheetmetal.

[earl84]

It must be hit or miss with body panels. I have read nothing good about the Counterparts brand until this post. I read all good about Top Banana parts, so I ordered from them. They were Key brand parts, and the passenger floor replacement was off by at least 3/4" in the front. I had to pie cut and add metal there. The kick panel was really good except for one of the holes was off by about 1/2". The rocker panel was pretty good, just needed a little massaging, which was to be expected. None of the bends on any of the parts were as crisp as the original, which was also to be expected.

[Hydra]

I don't remember exactly what brand the fender I ordered was.It was a right fender ordered from Brothers and the fit was nearly perfect.The rear most tab had to be trimmed slightly to fit in the space provided for it but other than that it went in with no issues.I'll update this post with the brand once I look at the invoice at home.

[timmytimm3]

Originally Posted by earl84

It must be hit or miss with body panels. I have read nothing good about the Counterparts brand until this post. I read all good about Top Banana parts, so I ordered from them. They were Key brand parts, and the passenger floor replacement was off by at least 3/4" in the front. I had to pie cut and add metal there. The kick panel was really good except for one of the holes was off by about 1/2". The rocker panel was pretty good, just needed a little massaging, which was to be expected. None of the bends on any of the parts were as crisp as the original, which was also to be expected.

Same exact issues with my top banana stuff. Luckily I scored factory outer rockers when I bought the truck. I did full door skins and they fit great so that was a relief.

[VonDog]

After researching etc., I bought all my parts from Top Banana. They came in a huge Key Parts box but all the bags and/or parts have the Triplus sticker on them. The front fender patch panels had a small dent and a little beat up but not bad. One part was missing - called them & they said they would ship it out to me. I haven't begun to cut steel yet so I can't say anything about fitment. I'm sure I'll be letting you all know once I begin. Triplus parts are manufactured in Taiwan and claim to have state of the art equipment. Just an FYI

[PGSigns]

Top Banana is owned by Key parts and is based out of there Va headquarters. Most of what I have from them has been pretty good.
Jimmy

[ljackson]

Does anyone have experience with Auto metal direct in the Atlanta area? They say they carry Triplus.

http://autometaldirect.com/images/ca...talog_2012.pdf

[flashed]

I got my cowl hood and rocker panels from AMD and they are Tri Plus and the fit was good .

[dbchevy65]

What kind of cowl hood did you get. Whole hood or a scoop? Metal?

[flashed]

I got the complete hood .

[ls60apache]

Originally Posted by flashed

I got the complete hood .

if it was a steel cowl hood for a 62-66 I like to see it!!!

[Vincenthdfan]

Originally Posted by ljackson

Does anyone have experience with Auto metal direct in the Atlanta area? They say they carry Triplus.

http://autometaldirect.com/images/ca...talog_2012.pdf

I know that Mark on Grave Yard Cars on TV just raves about the fit and finish of their restoration parts for the MOPARS they rebuild.

He states repetitively that they would be cutting up donor cars all the time without the quality they can achieve using the AMD parts.

I don't think this is just shameless plugging for a sponsor either because the proof is in the pudding so to speak on their show.

[ljackson]

Originally Posted by Vincenthdfan

I know that Mark on Grave Yard Cars on TV just raves about the fit and finish of their restoration parts for the MOPARS they rebuild.

He states repetitively that they would be cutting up donor cars all the time without the quality they can achieve using the AMD parts.

I don't think this is just shameless plugging for a sponsor either because the proof is in the pudding so to speak on their show.

Thanks, I'll give them call.

I emailed a couple of sellers on Ebay. Here’s what I got back.
dfwswc_gzw6349oa@members.ebay.com
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271363453068...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT In the Dallas area.
These are made by Adept. But we also get them from Key Parts and Dynacorn. So far, we have not heard anyone complain about the fit of these fenders yet. We have sold numerous of these fenders over the years too. It will cost $60 to have this fender shipped to any address in 79106.

Thank you,

- SWClassics
- dfw-swclassics

Jordan
support@fixmyrust.com
jaycr4_itsy6107oc@members.ebay.com
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151428945375...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
All of our parts are Key Parts. I have never had anyone have any problems with the fit. All positive feedback on this part. Thanks!

[clemdaddy]

not to slam top banana because most of their patch panels are ok but the lower inner door patches were not even close. fortunately i was able to piece together enough to fix the rust area but it was a lot of work... i know i will look for a different source for this repair next time.

[ls60apache]

top banana sells triplus parts same as lmc and all the others.

[franken]

Originally Posted by ls60apache

top banana sells triplus parts same as lmc and all the others.

Yep. There aren't 3 billion companies making these parts.
There are a few distributors selling them.

[w00dst0ck]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

not to slam top banana because most of their patch panels are ok but the lower inner door patches were not even close. fortunately i was able to piece together enough to fix the rust area but it was a lot of work... i know i will look for a different source for this repair next time.

I had the same issue. Luckily I only needed the very bottom because the patch was so far off it wasn't even funny. Honestly I'm not sure why they even sell a patch panel that goes up that high when the stamping is nothing like the original. And the lip that goes under the outer skin is a good 1/2" too long. Turned a few hour job into a few days of measuring/trimming.

[earl84]

Not to slam TB either, but I am doing the driver side floor and it is too short by the same 3/4 of an inch at the front, had to pie cut and and add metal again. And the holes for attaching to the cab supports were way off, but the holes is a super easy fix, the adding metal and getting it the right shape due to its location was probably a 4 hour process for this noob. Also, I had two circles cut out that were apparently for seat belt bolts, but they were not even close to where the seat belt attachment point is. So I had to fill those in as well and drill out in the correct location. These were pretty easy fixes. The rest of the floor was awesome, bends in the right place and matched up well.

Kick panels, rocker panels and cab corner are pretty good. Some of the bends not real crisp, but that was expected and fairly easy to remedy. All parts had Key parts stickers on them.

[w00dst0ck]

I used several TB pieces recently, none of them lined up, the inner rocker/outer floor piece is short, curved weird at the front leaving a widening gap as you move outside to the door, and the built in inner rocker is curved towards the front so I'm going to have to add some sheet metal to meet with the outer rocker.

[earl84]

Same exact thing I had w00dst0ck, glad it wasn't just my noobiness. Well, not glad you had to deal with it, cuz it was a bit** to be honest. I wonder about AMD floor sections/inner rockers.