Rocker Panel Misery

[littlee_domn8r]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me if there are better Rocker Panels available from say Brothers or LMC, as compared to GMC Paul's. I got an outer Rocker and inner backing plate that don't fit worth a darn. My body man says he can make it work, but it won't look right. He didn't notice that the backing plate was wrong until he had already cut it, but I told him to wait on the Rocker Panel til I could find out. All I was having done originally was patching the floorboard, but when he got that out, he realized the inner rocker was completely gone. Now I'm having to replace the floor, inner and outer rocker, and the rear lower fender tip. Thanks in advance for any tips you can give.

[carryallnut]

Hi there,
I purchased mine from LMC and they were original GM. They also sell aftermarket ones (much cheaper). The last time I visited my local Chevy dealer they were still available, and every once in a while you see them on ebay. There is a big difference. The backing plates are junk, they are really for the 67 to 72 Chevy's. I cut mine out and went to a metal fabrication shop. There (with a digital picture of the area) they cut and bent two of them perfectly. The only tough part was the drain channel on the ends where they are rounded. Your body man can modify those.
Have fun!

[raphyel]

I had the same problem with my inner rockers. The aftermarket ones didn't fit right, they are too short. My best advice on installing them is dont remove the outer portions if you dnt have to. My inner rockers were bad in the middle, but the outer parts ( close to the door jamb) had no cancer. I just put the middle section in, They are too short by about a quarter inch, but you can still get good tacks along them to the outer rockers. Just make sure to put some seam sealer along the short part and then undercoat in to keep water exposure to a minimum. They will look and function properly.

[kewlbear]

I bought mine from LMC and they come up short just like raphyel said. I bought another one from REZ just to compare and it fit alot better and it had a GOODMARK stamp on it. They always seem to be everywhere in the resto world, hmmmmm must be good stuff. Thats my two cents.

[kewlbear]

ooopps, I just noticed raphyel was talkin bout inner rockers, I was talkin bout outer rockers, the ones from LMC come up short on meeting up with the weather strip part of the cab.

[littlee_domn8r]

Thanks for the help guys. I called LMC and they no longer have GM Rockers. I wondered about goodmark, but didn't know where to find them. I'll check them out, but I think I'm just going to go with what I've got. I'm not building it for show anyway, it's just a beat around. If I win the lottery, I'll be able to have it done right. Thanks again!