bout time for me to get some patches for the chevy. need rear quarters both in front where the gravel guard lives and on the very back of the quarters. front floor pans too. their prices aren't too bad but how good do they fit is the big question. the gravel guards aren't going back on so they have to be pretty tight there. floors are floors. any experiences? positive or negative, alternative suggestions welcomed too. thanks guys/gals
I had to replace the one section behind the right rear wheel on my 53. I was pretty happy with the fit of thier panel. I did have to work it a little here and there to fit perfect, but overall was satisfied. It sure as hell fit better than any of the stuff i've bought from oversea's places for late model stuff thats for sure!
I bought mine from NCA...they're good for the price (espedcially compared to EMS..although I hear their quality is superior). Here's a before and after of the quarter-panel I patched....obviously not finished. I used most of the panel, cut what I didn't need, and then cut the quarter out for a clean fit. Those little gravel guards sure do a great job of keeping the moisture in ...that's next on my list of stuff to patch. If you do yours, I'd be interested to hear how it goes. Bryan
The patches are cheap, don't fit very well, they need m***aging, and usually aren't big enough for a Jersey car! But, you don't have much choice unless you have the talent, or tools to form them yourself. Get them and make them work!
i used them on my delivery (53) had to beat on them and mess with them alot to get the skirts to fit right.... other than that they arent bad if your not using skirts...
I used them on a customers 53 and wasn't very impressed with them, same problems most of the other guys had, but hell it was better than making them from scratch.
I can vouch for EMS panels, i just put a p***. side on, and about to do the driver side, Excellent fit and finish.
i'm most concerned with where the gravel guards were. did EMS come out with 53/54 panels yet? i asked a while back and they weren't doing them yet.
Guys, I have the same questions also, as I recently picked up a a '50 Fleetline, and would really be interested in hearing who everyone would recommend as a source for patch panels. From what I've read here and on the net, EMS has superior fit and quality but their prices are very high. National Chevrolet has MUCH better pricing but the quality suffers when compared to EMS. Is this indeed the case? Can anyone make an emphatic recommendation one way or the other? Are there any other sources that are worth considering? Thanks in advance, Thor
I can't vouch for NCA's stuff but I have an EMS patch for the p***enger side that I should be putting on pretty soon. One thing about EMS that makes them more expensive is the fact that the patch covers a lot more area. The one I got goes all the way from inside the wheel opening to wrapping all the way into the door opening to where the windlace goes. This includes the entire curve of the bottom corner of the door opening. Vertically, it goes from the pinch weld @ bottom to almost the 1/2 way mark on the curve of the "bulge".... more than 2x what I've seen from other people. My car has a bad dented area in addition to the rust there, so it was worth it for me. YMMV. I'm not aware that EMS is making these for 53/54 cars yet, but it's worth a phone call. Alternate sources would be to get the top section of the bulge from a donor car, and flip it upside-down and swap sides.
depending on the damage i try to avoid any type of aftermarket patch panel. on the rocker part in front of the rear wheel on my 49 what I did was cut the original part out, way bigger than where the rust was, then I sandblasted it inside and out, removed the thin metal and welded a homemade patch in and then welded the big piece I cut out back in. beware of anyone saying they have a floor or trunk patch panel!!! i did a 52 chevy convertible for a guy who told me he had trunk and floor patch panels to put in. well he shows up and he did have a floor pan for the front. it was a stamped part that was very close to original and worked well. what he had for the back floors and trunk were flat pieces of metal with a couple of weak harbor frieght bead roller looking beads rolled in them. in other words junk. I used them as s**** metal to make my own panels. I'm sure he paid a premium price for them. I needed some parts for a 64 Impala I was doing. so what I did was I got on ebay and emailed everyone who looked to be parting out a 64. I found a guy who cut the oarts off I needed and I was set. always try to find a factory part of you can
...i've used these guys and have been really happy. http://www.yesterdayschevyparts.com/CATALOG_c134675_2.html -marty
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