Who makes a the best fitting aftermarket doors and fenders.

[Cumminpwr11]

I am looking at replacing fenders and doors for my 72 burb. I need new steel and want new even though its not always better than finding good used original. Who makes the best fitting parts with the least amount of massaging.

Fenders, inner fenders, radiator support, cowl, cowl support. I am wanting to use a US Body 4" steel re-enforced fiberglass hood.

Just looking for a good place for the rest.

Thanks
Chris

[72 Copper C-10]

I would also like to know this!
Thanks,
John

[Rod Run]

I asked the same question about doors a couple of months back and got no responses

[oldschool18]

nobody..........I have replaced a lot of fenders and doors on s-10 trucks and some on 73-87's trucks and one fender on 67-72, and I haven't found a good one yet. Fenders aren't as bad as doors IMO, the last time I used aftermarket doors I primed them then installed them first before I painted them. And if your getting new door seals make sure you line them up with new seals or you could have to start all over. A lot of paint on the inside of the panels is good cause the metal isn't as good, inner fenders aren't bad once in awhile you get a bad one. And once in awhile you get a good door and fender, I have been getting my stuff from keystone body panel...they deliver next day where I live and they have new bumpers and cowl hoods and other stuff.....

[67swb72klb]

your in a great part of the country to find great OE sheet metal why would you want to buy new stuff that is thin and does not fit?

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by oldschool18

nobody..........I have replaced a lot of fenders and doors on s-10 trucks and some on 73-87's trucks and one fender on 67-72, and I haven't found a good one yet. I have been getting my stuff from keystone body panel...they deliver next day where I live and they have new bumpers and cowl hoods and other stuff.....

So you've never tried a 67-72 door, or you only have experience with Keystone?

Originally Posted by 67swb72klb

your in a great part of the country to find great OE sheet metal why would you want to buy new stuff that is thin and does not fit?

What manufacturers have you used?

[Rod Run]

I think those of us that are looking for answers, are looking for answers from people that have actually used certain manufacturers for these parts.

The biggest problem that always seems to happen on forums, is that people just chime in saying things are lousy, even though they don't have real experience with the parts.

The next thing that happens is that someone has a bad experience with one manufacturer, so they say that all manufacturers make inferior products.

If anyone has GOOD or BAD experience with any aftermarket manufacturers, please post up in here with the individual manufacturer and which part you actually bought. I've searched all over this forum and no one has really done that in a way that is easy to find.

A sticky on a subject like this would be awesome.

[oldschool18]

So you've never tried a 67-72 door, or you only have experience with Keystone?
No I have never installed an aftermarket door on 67-72.....No I have experience with a couple different company's.

I think those of us that are looking for answers, are looking for answers from people that have actually used certain manufacturers for these parts.

The biggest problem that always seems to happen on forums, is that people just chime in saying things are lousy, even though they don't have real experience with the parts.

The next thing that happens is that someone has a bad experience with one manufacturer, so they say that all manufacturers make inferior products.

I have installed over 10 aftermarket doors and over 20 fenders, I grew up in my fathers garage and he's been in business for over 40 years now, started changing oil when I was about 8 and I started doing bodywork around 12 and built my first car when I was 16.
I have used a couple different company's like Keystone, Parts channel they are the two closest to me. There was another company in PA don't remember there name but there out of business. Keystone sells a platinum series for some cars and trucks that are nice so that's why I try to get from them. And the main thing is that the metal is thin and will rust out quick just like 67swb72klb had said......that's why I said put lots of paint on the inside of the panels.

I gave you the steps to help install a door to save you time so you wouldn't make the mistakes that I made in the past.......do a little more searching I have never heard anyone say the aftermarket stuff fits right.

[trkfrk]

I purchased a complete front clip from Keystone. Long story short I waisted over $1500 and set my build back almost a full year. The body lines on the fenders weren't even close. I couldn't get the hood to shut. It ended up being 1/4" wider than an original. The original clip on the right I found on CL after months of looking. Take your time and look for original sheet metal it will be worth it!

[Rod Run]

Keystone has always been known for cheaper and inferior parts for a lot of other cars, so it seems like that holds true for our C10's also.

Thanks!

How about Goodmark or AMD?

They make superior parts for lots of other cars, how about for our trucks? Anyone?

[Bennett68C10]

I used Tri-plus for my front fenders, core support and hood. Fenders and core support fit great but the hood did not. You can check out the last couple pages of my build thread to see how much I had to modify the hood. As far as the thin metal, none of my parts are thin and the metal is just as heavy as all my original sheet metal. My Tri-plus fenders came from AMD.

[Cumminpwr11]

I am wanting to replace my entire front clip. I was leaning toward new because they are EDP coated for rust and I just want all the rust fixed on my Burb and not have it come back. Even in dry areas these trucks get rust so I want to get ahead of it.

I was watching a show (I believe Gearz) and they had a section about a car restoration company that made body panels. They showed the difference between theirs and others fenders. The holes were perfectly round and panels were thicker and had no flex. They said they bought a lot of old tooling and were making a product as good as factory if not better.

I was hoping asking for quality body panels would trigger someone memories. lol

I will look into tri-plus

Chris

[mmiddle]

A lot of members have a very bad taste in their mouths over repop body panels. This is why you are not getting much solid input. But, as I read and research, Tri-Plus does seem to get better reviews than the others. In the grand scheme of things there are only 2 or 3 companies that actually make these parts anyway. GoodMark and AMD are usually Tri-Plus parts. Several of the forum vendors also sell Tri-Plus. Even with that, don't expect the repop parts to fit right without some massaging. Also the newer repops are better than the old from what I understand.

OE is always better, because it has already been massaged 43 years ago. If your finders and doors are good then it might be best to sand blast them and epoxy primer them.

[leddzepp]

Like I said in your other thread, contact GMCPaul and Classicheartbeat. They sell the best repop sheet metal because they also BUILD these trucks using it.

[Mike_The_Grad]

I have mixed parts on my front end. I had original metal to the truck. But a front end wrecked changed all that. The driver side outer fender was original til I found I did a little more damage than I thought. I'm going to replace with original fender from another truck. The DRI over side inner fender is original to the truck and is fine for reuse. The outer fender on the passenger side is "goodmark" , I have read about goodmark fenders is magazines and heard they are some of the best because they are made from original GM tooling and jigs. Had no trouble lining up bolt holes. Sheet metal feels like right thickness and had to do no body work. But they are expensive. The inner fender is goodmark also for passenger side. The hood on the other hand is a steel cowl induction, and that is from over seas I'm not even sure what manufacturer it is. And it wasn't cheap, about $650.(good thing I have family that loves me, I got it for christmas!) The cowl is from another pick up and fits fine.the thing I'm not sure on is my core support since it came off someone else project, he said it was from an original truck. But I think it had minor damage because its different on alignment, but not by much.

[Mike_The_Grad]

Also be aware on the EDP coated sheetmetal. It does hold up against some weathering but I wouldn't let hang out in the weather for more than a month or two. My out and inner fender on passenger side were coated, then they rusted, luckily it was only surface rust but it did get through that coating. I left mine out in the so. Cal. Weather for far to long and I regret it but everything is fine now. Here is a pic of what I'm talking about. Notice fender in foreground.

[Rod Run]

I really need doors. Mine are completely just, so I'm going to have to take the plunge on them soon. I hope someone chimes in about the Goodmark doors (or another decent manufacturer) before then.

I always take the whole "aftermarket is bad" talk with a grain of salt, because unless someone has personal experience with certain manufacturers, it's just all hearsay.

The thing most people overlook when talking aftermarket parts, is that lots of the buyers who complain about quality, usually bought the cheapest parts they could, because they tried to save a buck, only to learn that they should have spent the money upfront and saved lots of headaches. (holy run-on sentence!)

[Cumminpwr11]

Thank you all for the Information. I bent up the fenders when I rear ended a dodge ram. My doors could be salvaged and have the speaker holes filled in with a new lower section but I am afraid that having all that done will end up costing more than buying new. Thats why I am asking questions so I can have good questions and expect answers from a body guy.

No place better to get information than to ask thousands who did what and how.

I am looking into some used fenders I was PM about that are local. I will need to address rust were they do not make patch panels for and smooth out the boogered up fender wheels in the back. I am going for broke so I will be on the message boards a lot more as I get ready for more.

Thanks again

Chris

[CUSTOM/10]

Rod Run;

I have 2 sets of rust free 72 doors from Cali. One set I'm keeping for spares, the other I'll sell. Not cheep, but much better than repop doors.

I'm located in Sothern NH.

Gary

[71 super]

I have tried the reproduction fenders and they are bad. Keystone fenders ( with a GM restore tag no less) came no where near fitting or matching body lines- off by an inch - too high, when dropped the top went out. These are junk. Early tri plus fit better than keystone but not by much, later tri plus key parts have a good weight but fit at front of hood is off by 1/4 to 1/2 inch- it grows as it moves forward. Tri plus plain gates with no stamping are junk and only slightly better than nothing. Inner fenders are thin and with a little weathering begin to rust and pit ( bought a set that sat up in garage and got damp). Tri plus - key outer rockers are as good or better than oem , I used one on my brothers truck with nos on other side and the tri plus actually fit better. Counter parts head gates are not much, had to pie cut one to fit with oem sides and floor. Counter parts cab corners do not fit very well and increase work time. As far as doors, unless corrected recently, when shut hard counter parts type can and do bend at the handles. The hoops must have the spot welds cut an re welded, I was directed away from them for anything that I wanted to keep by notable sellers ( jerry brown and Gary terry). Now for the good, I used a head gate from mar- k for my wood floor in my 71, not a single issue, their stuff is top notch and fits well. I used tabco cab corners because the fit with little work. Key parts rockers are very good based on experience on three different trucks. I personally try to use nos or good used GM on my own stuff based on problems I have had on my brother's truck and on my friends trucks. Buy tabco, ( Made in u.s., mar- k ( made in u.s.) key - tri plus Taiwan, and the rest is pretty much junk- counterpart, good mark, keystone

[Rod Run]

Originally Posted by CUSTOM/10

Rod Run;

I have 2 sets of rust free 72 doors from Cali. One set I'm keeping for spares, the other I'll sell. Not cheep, but much better than repop doors.

I'm located in Sothern NH.

Gary

Sending you a PM right now!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Rod Run

I really need doors. Mine are completely just, so I'm going to have to take the plunge on them soon. I hope someone chimes in about the Goodmark doors (or another decent manufacturer) before then.

I always take the whole "aftermarket is bad" talk with a grain of salt, because unless someone has personal experience with certain manufacturers, it's just all hearsay.

The thing most people overlook when talking aftermarket parts, is that lots of the buyers who complain about quality, usually bought the cheapest parts they could, because they tried to save a buck, only to learn that they should have spent the money upfront and saved lots of headaches. (holy run-on sentence!)

Aftermarket doors are an absolute waste of money and junk. I have Goodmark (tri-plus) doors on my truck. There's only one or two manufacturers of everything, it just gets repackaged and reboxed depending on who's selling it.

They're thin and flimsy. The door frames need work to fit correctly. I have the factory rockers on my truck and I had to grind down and reweld the bottom and top of the door so it fit.

Did I mention they're THIN?

One day, my PS door was only shut on the first click. Crap. So I decided to just push it closed the rest of the way on the handle, did it lots of times with the old doors. The son of a ***** DENTED IN almost a full inch. I was able to somewhat push it back out, but now the PS door looks like ass around the handle.

Did I mention I hate aftermarket doors?

I kept my original doors that just need some minor work (didn't have the time or skills 8 years ago to fix them, I do now.)

The fenders are OK. They're easier to make work, but are hard to get a the hood to match the top of the fender. I would use the fenders again if I had to, but I picked up a rust free pair from Cali to put back on the truck.

Look at the first few pages of the build thread in my link. With a lot of work I was able to get really good fit/gaps, but the quality of the doors is terrible.

I have no experience with the hoods, but some of our own board vendors refuse to sell certain cowl hoods because they're crap.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ight=cowl+hood

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by Rod Run

I really need doors. Mine are completely just, so I'm going to have to take the plunge on them soon. I hope someone chimes in about the Goodmark doors (or another decent manufacturer) before then.

I always take the whole "aftermarket is bad" talk with a grain of salt, because unless someone has personal experience with certain manufacturers, it's just all hearsay.

The thing most people overlook when talking aftermarket parts, is that lots of the buyers who complain about quality, usually bought the cheapest parts they could, because they tried to save a buck, only to learn that they should have spent the money upfront and saved lots of headaches. (holy run-on sentence!)

Don't say we didn't tell ya!
Seriously, I think it's been said enough that it's become common knowledge. No experience needed.

As for me, I wish I had done my homework before I went with Tri-plus. They were complete garbage. The bodyshop spent many hours trying to make em work. In the end we had to toss em and go with clean originals. Now, if you just need a functional door and don't care about door alignment, gaps, aligned body creases, ect. Then yea, you can hack up a set of repops and get them to kinda-maybe work. Good luck!

[myyamr7]

I bought a tri-plus core support and 2 tri-plus inner fenders and was pretty happy with the fit. I did have to make a few holes larger, but I was expecting that from everything I've read. Mine still has the original fenders and hood, and all the lines line up as they should with the new core support

[72 tigger]

Any recent improvement on aftermarket doors?