Comparing Model A sheet metal

Had an opportunity to compare wheel wells from two sheet metal suppliers this week and the difference was pretty significant.

These are photos of the rear wheel well from both Snyders and Brookvillle. Being blunt, the Brookville one is pretty awful. I tried to find a better way of putting it but can't.

The detail in the Snyder supplied piece perfectly replicates the original panel that came off. The Brookville one? I leave that for you to see..

First three photos are Snyder, last two are Brookville.

 

Snyder version looks actually stamped like stock and the brookeville looks like someone just rolled it with a bead roller!! YUK!

 

Realized I have my Brookville roadster sitting in the other garage so went to check on that. The wheel wells look fine, stamped.

Also, note the corner recess where the wheel well meets the rear of the car. Completely missing on the current Brookville wheel well...

 

Maybe they had someone else fill some orders?

 

I was going to suggest the same thing, if I was after sheetmatal and wanted it bead rolled instead of stamped I would just do it at home.

Wex,
Tha third pic could easily be bead rolled, as long as your beads are not crossing each other it doesn't really matter. It is when your beads cross that you got those wonky lines.

All that said brookville normally puts out a fine product, at least from what I have heard from others and what I have worked with personally no complaints. maybe being farmed out, as Chad suggested, is a correct ***umption to make.

If the wheel well shown by the OP is stamped someone neeeds to do some serious work on the dies.

 

Wow,.....thanks for the heads up

 

I found the cheapest ones I could find,,,MAC`s they weren`t worth putting on... some of the holes for the fender studs were more than an inch off...the 1/4 patch panels are better than nothing at all...but not by much!!!

Tom T

 

I paid Snyder $61.95 for the pair. Brookville was $65 so price-wise they are pretty much the same.

I will take the comment above about Brookville being a company that puts out super product as being the norm and that maybe this is an aberration. However, the proof is in the pudding as they say, I will wait to see what they come back to me with. Anything other than "yes, this really is pretty ****py, sorry" would have me raise an eyebrow.

 

I had a simular issue with some cowel patches I bought that where made by Brookville. I so disapointed I called and asked if it was rolled...and they where. The beed was round, not even close to orginal. Ended up buying a differnent pair from a guy near by me who stamps them..and they looked dam good too. From my understanding anything they stamp is right on. Other than that it just looks off...

 

I'm the 2nd owner of a Brookville 30/31 roadster bought new by a longtime friend, about 8/10 years ago as a roling body/ch***is ***y. The paint and bodywork were done during my ownership, and none of the sloppy work depicted here was on my body.
Makes me think that although Brookville started out as a manufacturer of patch panels, it moved into full stampings of enough stuff to build an entire body and sell it, even as a rolling ch***is if you pay the bucks. Could it be that due to more folks like me, either too old and feeble, too little skills, or just in a hurry, decide to spring for a headstart over and past a rebuild on the rust buckets left to build nowadays.
So maybe they're farming out the patch panels now? Could it be a rebrand of an inferior part? All to enable them to work on the newer, more profitable stuff?

 

Who ever bead rolled that needs to look at the bead rolling thread here.

 

why do we put up with and allow such bad products? I think there's a market for high quality reproduction parts that fit just like the original , it would good to be able to go to a site or thread with a side by side comparison unbiased
with price and quality , Ive looked threw many a build thread were people need to modify a patch panel to make it look right, to me that's just bad products and we should stand up and demand higher standards and tolerances, why should I have to rework a rear corner patch panel I paid good money for? it should just be produced properly in the first place, sorry to go on and on , people demand this from me and I do my best to meet the demand, whats wrong with demanding that from our suppliers ?

 

This is interesting, because I have purchased a 29 Roadster Body from both suppliers. Brookville took 12 weeks or so, and Snyders had them in stock. Brookville makes them for Snyders so Snyders stocks them. No difference. When we get down to looking at weather they are stamped or rolled, once they are painted and the wheels are on, I was just happy that I had a body(almost an exact copy) of a body that was made 80+ yrs ago. Try that with Chevy or Mopar. Brookville has a 31 Roadster in there show room that fooled the Model A Judges. Thats quite an accomplishment, but Ill bet the judges never looked at the rear inner fender pans. Iceman

 

Wanted to provide some closure to this thread. Finally heard back from Brookville and to be honest I am a little disappointed. The good news...they will take the panels back and issue a refund....

The bad news is that this IS the standard Brookville wheel well panel now.

"The Brookville ¼ panels on your car are die stamped, the coupe wheel well patch panels are bead rolled, if you would like to return them, let us know and we will issue you a return number and a call tag...Rick"

Aside from offering me the opportunity to return them (I pay shipping both ways) that is it. No apology or acknowledging that they are a POS. So, if you want wheel wells like in my original post, you know where to get them.

 

Wow.Just found this thread,and that was definitely NOT what I expected to see!
Thanks for posting this,and giving many of us working on A's a heads up on the quality of available sheet metal.That really is disappointing.

Scott

 

I have bought a ton of stuff from synders and have been very happy with the prices and quality over all

 

Doesn't Snyders get their sheet metal from Howells?

 

You could be right, I really don't know. I do wish it was 18 gage instead of 20 but that aside it looks really good.

 

Had the same experience in Canada from a Canadian supplier. 30 Coupe panels. Beads were rolled with a very rough join point, bottom lip was done on a brake, other details such as rear recess for rear sub rail and shaped area for wheel clearance were missing. A phone call to dealer and quick agreement to take back. I was stuck for shipping.

Re-ordered from Geo. Moir and got stamped panels that took very little work to finish.

Had similar problems with lower body and door patch panels. Should have made my own, it would have been quicker.

Safest bet is to inquire whether rolled or stamped.

Canuck

 

I've had good luck with Snyder's. No idea where they got/made the parts.