opinons please sheetmetal ?

[bigblock79]

i got that bb 79 truck that i bought. the PO had already bought 2 new doors and have them painted on the inside and jambs. and got them fitting really nice had to tweak them a bit .my Qustion is since it a truck that is really going to be a high end truck. i bought a nother 79 that is going to be my daily driver. it got good 2 rust free orig doors would you change them out. and the PO put 2 new fenders on it and already got them painted on the inside and got them on nice to would you get some orig. fenders and swap them out to. i have to take the fenders back off cause. he put 2 new inner fenders and left them the black ece primer. so i got to paint them. so what would you do thanks for helping me deciade

[Captkaos]

If you already have fenders and doors fitted to the current body well, you will save your self the hassle of doing it again by using them instead of the donor doors..

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

I would just use the ones you already got fitted for it.

[old Rusty C10]

agree keep whats fitted on there for now heck if you watch those guys on tv they use aftermarket parts on their cars the el camino on wrecks to riches was using goodmark aftermarket parts and the thing sold for like 61.5K quality aftermarket is as good as original in this case

[69BBsuburban]

When I built my first truck, an '80, I used aftermarket doors and fenders. NEVER again.....they fit poor, are made of thinner material, and will not last as long.....my .02 Talk with any body shop doing custom work....NOT collision shops......
Aftermarket stuff comes from overseas.....regardless of company who supplies it here in US....I've bought stuff from various suppliers to have it all come in the SAME boxes....from Taiwan.........
I'll only use OEM from now on, regardless of it's condition, it can be fixed........

[dubdeuce80]

well...if it's gonna be a high end truck, wouldn't it be getting completely stripped down anyways? i'd use oem

[bigblock79]

thanks

[Jonboy]

A lot of the aftermarket stuff fits just as well as these trucks did from the factory. A lot of it just depends on how much you want to spend, and the quality of the aftermarket parts.

[87 STEPPER]

High end or not the parts are there and New the others are Old Original and you would have to do it all over again.

Nobody but you & us is gonna know that the parts are aft. mkt.

[69BBsuburban]

Most aftermarket stuff needs as much, if not more work to get straight than OEM.......
The reason all the musclecar restorers are using it is the wrecking yards no longer have the original stuff to use.....it's either rusted away or picked over.......

Nobody but you & us is gonna know that the parts are aft. mkt.

...and your bodyshop.....

Your right, but I'm talking about initially during a build, OEM stuff fits better.....that's all.....use what ya want..... I have nothing against a guy using aftermarket stuff.....I've used it on stuff I sell......just not on the stuff I BUILD and PAINT myself to keep.........
The aft. fenders fit better than the aft. doors...FWIW......

The title of this post states: "opinions please sheetmetal ?"..........just stating mine on the subject.......

[Srubydo1986]

im an original kinda guy

[bigblock79]

thanks. i bought the truck the way it sits. i am going to keep this truck. my mama bought a new 77 and it had the 454 and allways wanted one. i started buliding a clone of hers and found this truck. and i want to do it good. the po has got the doors fitting good and the fenders is good execp at the top of the fender at the wendsheld it dont mach on both sides. i wanted to see what other would do thanks

[1987 Shortwide]

I spent 450$ a SIDE for my new bedsides, thought that'd be so much nicer than fixing my warped up originals... NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER again!

my $.02

[69BBsuburban]

^^^^And I found a NICE '85 SWB bed for $500 for my '80.....complete with 2 new tanks and a PERFECT tailgate.......It pays to hold out for OEM parts.....

[Roper]

Can you still get replacement panels from GM for 73 to 87?

[69BBsuburban]

The parts are still made.....example....OEM doors are @ $500 ea, Aftermarket $89, and fit like crap....I find it amusing that the poll above is in favor of aftermarket doors....I've used a few (out of necessity at the time), but not again......
It's not like these trucks are rare......

[87 STEPPER]

Originally Posted by 69BBsuburban

It's not like these trucks are rare......

Yeah but for some folks money is.

[grinch4om]

I paid 60 for scratch and dent door from action crash parts, paid 166 for other door from keystone, night and day difference in fit. the keystone part was certified, whatever that means, and it fit so much nicer than the action door. even though the action one is fitted, I may buy a keystone door just to get better gaps uniformity!

[bigblock79]

thanks for voteing and thanks for all the replays

[Roper]

Originally Posted by 69BBsuburban

The parts are still made.....example....OEM doors are @ $500 ea, Aftermarket $89, and fit like crap....I find it amusing that the poll above is in favor of aftermarket doors....I've used a few (out of necessity at the time), but not again......
It's not like these trucks are rare......

Im in the process of saving up money for my body job. Im going to end up replaceing all the sheet metal. But locally I have been looking for second hand doors, new box bed, etc. Everything that I have looked at so far (a dozen trucks) wasnt worth bothering with. All rusted out or smashed up.
I didnt vote in the poll because I dont know enough about it to vote but the body shop that im going to be dealing with says it will be cheaper to use new GM panels than for me to pay them to shape up aftermarket ones. He quoted me $4000 for the body job but from past experience I know he really means $8000.