reproduced stuff

[bbs1965]

I was at a swap meet today checking out repopped core supports for 64-66 chevy trucks they look pretty damn good for $100. I don't know about alignment but they looked solid. But on the other hand I sell the hell out of rust free used ones for $50. plus $40 shipping. Are people saving $10 bucks or is the repop a terd that looks good. The repopped fenders for 68-72 look good but do they bolt up right?? I mean lets say a vendor is selling a new fender for right around $130. Why would a used fender have any value?? Am i missing something here. To me the 67-72 trucks are as popular or more popular then the 67-69 Camaros
and they reproduce just about everything. Why buy used???

[Desert Rat]

With my experiences id pay you the $50 and $40 plus shipping,or even if it was more before i bought a new one.also the fenders alot of the fenders the BIG vendors take to swapmeets at blow out prices look nice in the box,6 months later when you bolt them on not so nice.If i was at a swapmeet and there was a new fender for a $100 and a used fender with original paint for $125 id buy the original.I mean look at most of the repoduction Big Block AC brackets,i wouldnt put half of them on my motor,ans some guy whines when you want $200,he said he can buy them new i say go ahead,hell be the one with a torch and vise grips bending them to fit,some of them are ok,but the majority no.IMO anymore repoduction stuff is for people who dont have the time to seek out the original,i bought a set of grille moldings upper and lower,and a grille,wheel well moldings,bezels from Goodmark,i was happy with the huge savings over OEM,but after i put it all on,none of the edges even match up im talking like 1/2"gaps where they are suppose to butt up.the grille for $29 is good,better then GM's $199,but now im going to the dealer and paying twice as much,and the rest of the stuff i dont know what ill do with,some ok for a driver,its pretty,but i just had it painted,and need parts to be shiny and fit right.After that im scared to put on the fenders,ive heard guys having to tweak this and that,spacing out-i mean you will with any fender,but think im gonna go original.Id love some feedback on the doors,hoods,bedsides,and tailgates!!!Keep your original parts and sell them,some people ive noticed at swapmeets are 100% original parts,some want something that kinda works.

[Desert Rat]

Id love to hear a opinion from GMCPaul or Wes,or anyother board vendor on these parts.maybe they drop ship them and dont see them???

[bbs1965]

Yea i'm all ears. Here in the south where I can get 67-72 stuff like water but never do because demand.

[snow man]

been there done that and will gladly pay more for good rust free used parts.you would think people would get tried of bad fitting stuff and complain. i did but never got any satisfaction out of the vendors. guess its just the american way now days.buyiers beware i don't think they ever built a chey truck in taiwan just my 2 cents. snow man

[bbs1965]

maybe people don't want to hack off vendors ???
I would be pissed personally if I paid for a fender that don't fit.
thanks for replies

[ebfabman]

I'd only buy aftermarket if I could not find old used stuff. Even old OE stuff that needs rust repair like fenders are in my opinion far better than aftermarket, just a much a much better fit.

[snow man]

i agree i would rather fix rust than try to fit repo parts that suck use tabco american patch panels and do the repairs and you will be happier with the end results!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! snow man

[jay-dawg]

hmmm. you guys got me thinking 2nd thoughts now. Here in Hawaii, there is no such thing as a rust free truck unless it was shipped in from arizona or something. I was going to order new sheetmetal from some vendors. I mean I have little metalworking experience and doubt that I can repair the panels that I have on the truck. I would say that I would agree with the others in saying that original parts are better. I've read threads where the panels dont match up or are poor quality and stuff.

ok i'm done
jay

[GMCPaul]

Well lets see I have a 67 with repro front fenders/ inner fenders and cowl hood, a 72 Chevy with the same parts and front bed panel + 2 wheel tubs and a door, putting together the sons bed now using 100% repro parts. I did have about 8 front fenders, & 3 doors used I was keeping to use and am now down to 2 fenders & no doors as I have been selling them off since I started using the new sheetmetal.

I have sold unkown amount of fenders but its in the hundreds and around a hundred or so doors and many of these parts are on award winning show trucks.

Have done 2 returns on fenders one was actually a blem and the other one the guy that bought it couldn't even get a OEM used fender to go on after he gave up on using reproduction.
There has also been 1 blem door that we had to do a exchange on ( The skin was crimped to frame with it to far forward and when machine folded back edge over at rear it bent the rear frame of door tweaking it forward causing a 3/8" gap at rear)

In regards to the tabco patch panel comment I gotta say they are about the very last place I will get a patch panel from especially a rocker panel!!!! Most of their tooling appears to be worn out as where a bend on a panel should be a sharp curve or bend it will instead be radiused or gradual bend, cab corners with 1/2" ledges on the bottom where they roll under the cab when it should be a 1/8" one, I used to sell Tabco and switched when we began to see these problems keep getting worse.

Not to say that all patch panels that are available are as good as they should be. The bed ones especially, if you have lower bed side repair thats needed both the front and rear bed lower patches are missing the small 1/8" bead recessed at outer edge of wheel lip and the rear lower is missing the indentation below the taillght area, so on a rear lower I form the original indentation if I can not reuse that section on bed, if I need to do any part of the wheel arch on either side I use a complete wheel arch as they are 100% correct and section on the bed side lower patches minus area supplied by a complete wheel arch.
We do get folks that call having a problem installing a front fender occasionally where they have a gap problem at door not being even. The problem has always been one of cab or radiator support mounting pads being worn out which causes a tight gap at top and a large gap at bottom or visa-versa depending upon which cab or radiator mounts are bad or missing. Its amazing how many people go to install new metal and have missing mounts or almost non-exsistent ones this WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH PANEL ALIGNMENT!!!!!.
I have used virtually everyone of the 67-72 parts we sell or checked them for fit. If I don't like one manufacturer/suppliers quality I try another till I find a good one or I don't carry the part at all if its not quality.
Theres a ton of manufacturers out there doing these parts, on fenders alone off the top of my head there is
Gordon
TABT
APBT
APEX
Triplus
In regards to vendors taking blems or bad parts to shows to unload them this may be true in the case of some unscrupulous dealers but ourselves we throw a blem away or use it ourselves after repair. Anything I take to a show is the same high quality I sell or use myself everyday.
GMCPaul

[imaindianoutlaw]

I guess he told you guys! You tellem paul! Hope to see ya at carisle! work pending!

[bbs1965]

cool so they are good

We are gonna get some for a 67 swb my friends restoring
but I was debating new or old school

[Longhorn Man]

Wes and paul both use what they sell, and are true hobbiests.
I would trust them before a fly by night swap meet vendor. (ask MTDave)

[snow man]

well i will give gmc paul credit at least he responded wish some of the other vendors would.he did hit a few good points but i do understand that you have got to start with the body mounts and core support mounts first.its like building a house you got to have a good foundation to start with.i just want people to know that if we ***** to all these vendors maybe we can get the qualityof the after market parts where it should be.things i have ran into like spot weld nuts on the core support on the wrong side,not a problem just remove them and put them on the right side.shouldn't have to but oh well.ream out the holes on the new core support so the fenders will fit,shouldn't have to oh well.now as to the fenders there may be several different manufactures but they all seem to have the same problems the lip on the front of the fender where the grill butts up is not the same as originals,ream grill mounts to try and get it back far enough,no problem shouldn't have to oh well.reshim cab to try and get a good door line,well that worked now try to get a good hood line gave up on this one.well i could go on but the more i go the more pissy i get.what i am trying to say here is not all the people trying to build or restore these trucks have access to a complete body shop line of tools,and if the parts were made right it would be alot better for all of us.i realize i am getting old and am pretty picky but the only way to get people off there butts to fix problems is to *****.so i guess i will keep *****en till i see improvement for the rest of the board members.i will make a challenge here,i will bet that i can walk up to any one of these trucks 69-72 and tell you without openning the hood witch ones have after market fenders on them.still *****ing in illinois snowman p.s. those fenders are now leaning up against the wall put nos fenders on and they fit perfect

[Desert Rat]

I remember some problems with the front fender,grille alignment,and the repop fender was takin off thrown away and a used one fit perfect.Thanks GMCpaul guess ill buy all my stuff from you,i shoulda complained about the moldings i ordered for the 79,but by the time i had to remove all the plastic fastners,(thank god i still had original)i had to put in the original fastners,then i bolted them on top piece theres a 1/2" gap of body showing compared to original yes its shorter,and the lower was stamped at angles at the ends suppose to be straight,i shoulda called then but after modifying to try to make work,i called the dealer across the street and ordered new ones double the money but they fit.My fault for not contacting you and im sure you never deal with those years,and probably drop shipped.but when it comes time for doors,fenders and a bedside for my 67 GMC ill be ordering from you.(getting all new mounts)body off job,you seem reputable so im gonna go with it.
AS far as the vendors dumping junk at the swapmeet i didnt think the GMCPauls or Wes's did it,i see it at every Pamona a big Semi trailer FULL of truck parts,$20 dash bezels $100 fenders,etc-i wont buy them.Are you gonna cart them back to the next swapmeet and carry them in?and probably no reciept.I have never heard anything good about tabco except if you work hard enough and trim and cut and hammer it will fit eventually,but i guess a rocker panel is better than none,thank god i bought every one this old man had at swapmeet for $5 a piece real GM,but those to,will probably take some mods.Oh well but i can guarantee most of the repo big block brackets are UGLY,you can make them work but since they are the same price as oem usually better of going with dirty greasy originals!!!

[bobs409]

I recently posted my experiences with some repro parts and had good luck with what I used.

The only part that seems to get a bad rap is the cheapo plain stepside tailgate. (I'll let you know later as I have one ordered-I just won't sit on it! LOL)

My favorite repro parts: Front bed panel (stepside) and radiator support. They were excellent!

[ebfabman]

Paul you got any pics of those award winning trucks?

Here's one, and I would be embarrassed to say if I put it together. No missing mount on this one, but bad alignment on the whole front end. The lines of the hood/ fenders just don't line up.
I guess it all depends on whats acceptable to the owner/builder.

[Tuck]

My truck used all repop goodmark part ( see its painted post) ecept the cab. I had a hard time lining up the fenders and hood but its perfect now. it takes some time but can be done.

I have 1/4 inch gaps all around the doors and fenders. I did have to oblong the holes every now and then.

You need to spoon where the door and fenders meet to get the sides flat. and you will need to put in a little filler to fix but its well worth the effort.

I am so anal that I drilled out the spot welds on the fender behind the wheel at the front and pulled it out and rewelded it.

I wasnt happy with my first impresion whith the parts but now that its painted I am very happy. and am thinking twice about selling it.

[Southpa]

Paul, good point about the cab corners. I found mine were 1/2" too big, ie. the flange that wraps around the door post had to be cut off and then I had to rebend a new flange to get a proper fit.

[ebfabman]

Tuck, I must be anal too, in fact I know I am because thats what I've done countless times over the years with all kinds of aftermarket parts. Even the patch panels I hammer and dolly the parts to fit to my satisfaction.

oh well, whatever it takes, right?