Repro parts-my experiences

[bobs409]

It seems all you ever hear about repro parts is bad. I have just done alot of work to my truck and used many repro parts and all worked wonderfully and thought I'd share my experiences with the rest of the class. Here's what I used for my '69 stepside and my rating:

Radiator support (Kingparts) This part was made excellent! It fit like a glove. The only problem was 2 battery tray bolts do not line up.

Inner fenders (local vendor) Fit was real good. No compaints other than made in Taiwan. Possibly a bit thinner than stock but once painted and undercoated, they had a better feel to them.

Front chrome bumper (local vendor) Very nice! Fit like it was always there. Nice finish too for $109 dollars. Wish I could buy Chevelle bumpers for this price!

Front grill surround (local vendor) For $300, finish could/should have been better. Quite a few fairly deep scratches that were never removed before the part was polished. Good for a driver but not a show truck. Fit was pretty good. With the stick on Chevrolet letters, it looks good.

Headlight bezels (Chevy Duty) No complaints. Even came with the screws!

Front bed panel (Chevy Duty) This part couldn't be made any better! It is thicker than stock, extremely well built and fit right in place.

Dash pad (local vendor) Perfect fit and finish. No complaints other than I paid too much. Should have shopped around. DOH!


Future parts will include a cheap-o plain tailgate and chrome rear bumper. I hope they work out like the above.

The manufacturers of Chevelle repro parts could learn a thing or two from the above.


Would like to hear from others on their experience with repro parts.

[Baradium]

Watch out for the tailgate, I've heard that they easily bend...

[Longhorn Man]

It is nice to hear someone with good experiances on parts. Also pretty admirable that you are giving credit where it is due.
All my restoration parts come from the junk yard here lately.
The only things I have bought new are;
dome light lens LMC Had to shave a little plastic off for a good fit in the stock light assembly.
Battery tray LMC Fit almost perfect, 2 bolt holes were offset just a hair. Also this piece held up quite well in the wreck when my first Longhorn got smashed...hard.
Chrome headlamp 1/2 shields LMC Wrong size, reordered, and they still messed it up. Once I got the GMC, they fit the smaller lights. They have been on that truck about 15 months now and the chrom is almost all gone from one cover.
This is all I can remember buying for my truck from any vendors. Obviously, I had not found our famed on0line guys with there good reputation. i had thought LMC was the sh!t...they were the only ones that I knew of.

[kingparts]

I think it is great to see peoples experiences with repro parts. I try be carefull what I sell and sell only what I know works well.
David
www.kingparts.com

[NuBomb]

I agree on the tailgate. I've got a cheap-o plain tailgate on mine and it is a p.o.s. The welds came apart on the sides and the fit is lousy. Got it as a present, but I will have to replace it soon. beware.

[imaindianoutlaw]

Thanks this will help me in the future. I plan on building my truck with almost everything repo!

[jku72]

I had good luck with all except side trim, which is thin, and not well constructed. The black paint that accents the upper side trim sometimes went astray, and looks cheap. But, it seems it is the only alternative.

[Low69CST]

I got a goodmark rear bumper that was delievered straight from Goodmark, would be a good driver but had several scratches. Borderline show piece.

Just got a new heater core, piece of sh!t.

Got both Goodmark bedsides, stamped as good as OEM, spot welds looked like typical Tiwan cheap labor, but shouldhold up.

Painless Wiring Harness Good but still has flaws

Addco Front and Rear sway bars, I just threw them in the trash.

Blazer tank kit, make your own instructions and purchase half the hardware

Speedomotive 415 stroker kit, notice came in the box that I was responsible for doing an extra $600 of machining to make it fit.

[Longhorn Man]

Lets here more. This is info we all need to know. Not just the bad, give credit where it is due too.

[bobs409]

Thanks for the heads up on the tailgate! I'll be sure to examine it carefully before I plunk down the cash. This panel is very important visually as it's pretty much all you see when your behind a truck.

Low69CST, sounds like your having bad luck! Sorry to hear that. If anyone buys something that isn't up to par, send it back! That's the only way the makers are going to get the message to try harder.

Battery tray LMC Fit almost perfect, 2 bolt holes were offset just a hair. Also this piece held up quite well in the wreck when my first Longhorn got smashed...hard.

Longhorn, sounds like your repro battery tray would fit my repro rad support! That's the only problem it had was off set bolt holes for the battery tray. Original trays don't seem to work with these.

[Tim Rich]

First place I found out about was Chevy Duty and bought most of my stuff from them. My body guy was pleased with the quality of the rockers, cab corners, and lower door skins. Had me order him a catalog. Bed wood, strips and bolts worked well for me. Also got a rubber floor pad (sound deadener) and rubber floor mats, seat belts (3), door latches, sill plates, and some other stuff. The tailgate was expensive, but I wanted one with letters instead of a blank, and I'm glad I did.

The only thing that gave me fits was the front blinker assembly. The thing wouldn't work right, burning much brighter than the left blinker as a parking light and not blinking at all. My Dad, the electrically inclined one of the family, took it apart and it was wired backwards. After that, it worked fine, but the lense color on it is slightly different than the new left lense I ordered at the same time.

Overall, I'm happy with the parts I got. Now that I've found out about the knowledge and service of the vendors on the list, I'll be looking to them for future purchases.

[jku72]

I ordered some parts from Chevy duty, they were usually quick, and good service. BUT, my glovebox insert was too small, and the clips along the bottom had to be removed, ordered new custom autosound stereo, it is awesome, but the updated 2 speaker system was a real pain to install , and my radio knobs were cheap plasticy things. I ended up modifiing some original am radio knobs to fit, and they look, and are, original. I got some NOS inner fenders, and they did not fit perfectly, so even some factory pieces can be flawed.
I also had ordered from Chevy duty a new AC diverter box, and door jamb light switch, which were, I presume, backordered, and, after 5 months, I figure they are probably never going to show up. To be fair, I never called them to complain either, so......
Got a new grille from my Chevy dealer, it was perfect in every way, it was not an NOS piece, but sold by Chevrolet at chevrolet dealers, it is a top of the line piece, none better anywhere.
My local dealer, Hight Chevrolet in Skowhegan Maine, has supplied me with the the NOS inner fenders, the grille, and many other parts I would not expect to find at a dealership.

[nroden]

I have gotten
complete stainless brake lines set from LMC... were to short. Went to NAPA and bought a little short piece to make them fit.

Rocker panels and Cab Corners (tri-plus_taiwan) from Ron Manes in Raytown, MO. Also a rear chrome bumper, rear lisense plate setup, and some other small stuff and a used proportioning valve. The body panels had to be bent a little bit to fit properly. Bumper is great.

GMCPauls has been my tailgate and all the rest of my orders. I don't have a single complaint about him and no problems with his products other than a right defroster hose that could of been a little longer. Ripped while putting it on. Hes a great guy and I think we all understand that a lot of times 1 manufacturer is the only choice and they aren't always the best.

[Low69CST]

I bought a hidden hitch kit from early classic, its a hell of a hitch. Its built as good if not better than any i've ever seen. but also it came with no instructions. Its not too hard to install a hitch, but with this one being hidden there were a few things I didn't know to watch out for until it was too late.

I got some aftermarket inner fenders that didn't fit for sh!t.

[kw]

I'm interested in hearing about tailgates, whose to avoid, whose are good, etc.

Finally got a garage to park the Blazer after holding on to it for 10 years. Now the fun starts.

[NuBomb]

I'm interested in hearing about the aftermarket doors. I've got to replace the driver's door on my blazer and I thought I'd go with a repro truck door and make the cuts. Any information on the doors would be great. I don't know the maker of my tailgate but if I did I would tell you to stay away from them. I too want to get a letter tailgate and I probably try GMC Pauls especially seeing the post above.

[OhioDan]

I've probably dealt with a bunch of aftermarket suppliers.
I was burnt by Chevy Duty when I ordered my bed wood. Wasn't informed that they'd drill the holes until after I got it. Asked them to send me the location and dimensions of the holes, and was told that was a factory secret. If I'd pay to send them back, they'd drill them for me.
Golden State Parts are real good and quick when you order. No problems there. Everything fit.
ChevyRestorationWorld, have been great. Only problem has been since the warm weather, parts have been hard to get. Others restoring same as me. Demand is up for parts. I can live with that.
Classic Chevy Parts has been good, quick and everything fit with no problem.
Classic Heartbeat has been real good. Wes sent me a wrong part, and as soon as I told him, the problem was taken care of. Thanks again Wes, I appreciate your effort.
Cheyenne Superman from down in Abiline,Tx. has done right by me. Bought a bed from him, (couldn't find a good one local) and he had it shipped to me in record time. Wish he wasn't so far from Ohio, I'd like to drop by and BS with him. Great guy.
Most body parts are Goodmark, no complaints from my painter yet.
The only other problem I've had is with PUI's sunvisors. The cardbourd/waferboard inside broke off the metal. Still waiting to hear from them.
Time to get off here, getting too wordy. Good luck in your quest for parts, and I hope ya'll have as good-a-luck as I have.

[Mixup]

Some of the time aftermarket parts fit but you end up modifying everything one way or another. I had carpet that was cut wrong and wouldn't even reach the door sills on each side. the carpet manufactuer swore it was right. They finally sent me another one and it fit.

[Dan72cst]

Alright here goes mine off the top of my head.

LMC - good service, only problem I had was the gas pedal bent after first use.

Chevy Duty - seemed to be good service and answered questions, but screwed me on shipping a return. Part quality was fine.


GMC Paul - Good service and quality, Excellent price!


WES - did some trading with Wes, great guy!!

yellow72custom - Bought some used manifolds and very pleased!

In general have been very pleased with board members. I have sold some unneeded parts on this board to help fund some other parts I needed and have never had a problem.

[WOLFMAN]

I've had good luck with "KENNY'S TRUCK PARTS", he often goes to Super Chevy Shows and gives really good show special prices.

"GMC PAULS" seems to be the place for body parts, great quailty-thicker than stock parts which FIT!!!!!!!!! and descent prices.

"LMC" good resource for things you cann't find elsewhere. They could stand to be more competitive with their prices and refine the fit of some parts. Also had the same problem as "nroden" with their brake lines being to short, again went to NAPA and bought lines and made them myself.

"CHEYENNE SUPERMAN" - Good dealings, bought black vinyl inlay for chromed glove box and ash tray face, fit and looks great! Good resource for used parts also. - Reasonable prices on most.

"CHEVY DUTY" - Descent dealings, shipped promptly but several parts were back ordered as long as 6 months.

"BROTHERS" - Good place to compare prices and get a deal. Bought alot from them without any problems other than shipping damage on inner fenders, thanks to UPS. - GOOD catalogue. Good place for exterior trim kits.

Grandpa always said, "Shop alot, save alot"

[NSANE68!!!]

I get alot of my parts locally.

Rick's 67-72, great guy great parts. No problems.


Grumpy's 67-72, ok service, he's kinda grumpy (really), but great parts and no complaints.


From these 2 vendor's I have purchased, 2- 67 fenders(Goodmark), cowl hood(goodmark), 2-cab corners, 2-rockers, smooth rollpan, smooth tailgate skin, floor skin, floor supports.

All fit great and no complaints so far.

[Tuck]

My truck is all aftermarket , but the cab .

only complaints is that the new goodmark bedside were wavy and some spot welds didnt hold and needed to be redone.

The goodmark doors fit beter than the originals.

I did get the dual exhaust kit from LMC and it fit like a glove.

I got all my parts from wess at classic heart beat he is a great guy to deal with . I highly recomend him.

[Longhorn Man]

I almost forgot, back in '99, I met Wes on an other board, he not only gave me an awsome deal on a trim piece for the longhorn, he fronted it to me while I was still in korea!
The part was there before I got there. Being a used part, it was damaged, but he described it exactly as it was. Dirt cheap and packaged perfectly.