Technical I hate repro parts that don’t fit

Have you ever tried to fit the doors on a 55-9 Chevy pickup?

 

Bolt on stuff very seldom does.

 

It was things like this that caused me to learn to fabricate things. It the 60s lots of companies advertised "bolt on" parts. Unfortunately they left out one word eventually! And, that's where my best friend and I began to crudely repair those "bolt on" parts. Fortunately for us, there were enough people producing parts like that, that were able to learn fabrication skills! Not that we wanted to thought.

 

On the '49 AD truck I used to have, I remember a seam on one front fender that the other fender didn't have.

Gary

 

When I was doing all the rust repair on my '39 Chev coupe I had to source a huge amount of repro parts, and honestly the only panel I bought that fit perfectly was a NOS tail panel a guy had in his attic for over 30 years. So appeared to me that old panels were properly stamped, but panels from the same company I got that were newer all needed work.
My lower interior door patch panels were so bad I had to cut them in half lengthwise and remove almost 3/16" then weld them back together. My floor patch panels would have been easier to make from scratch than do all the mods I had to do to make them work.
I took back my inner/outer rockers and just bent up mine from 20ga. sheet metal that were way cheaper and a perfect fit. I had a 4'x4' piece of sheet metal cut into various width 2"-3" and 4" strips so I could simply cut to length for various fillers I needed when patch panels weren't large enough.
I spent 6 months repairing all the rotted metal on my car before I was done. And other than that nice tail panel it all needed extra work to fit.

 

It sorts looks like it is supposed to, but don't expect it to fit, or work.

 

I ranted about this a couple months ago. Rootlieb said their Gennie Henry 25 louver hood sides were a direct fit to original tops. Took a couple hours to get those to fit correctly. Then there was the 35/36 Mack Hils tailgate, Hinges were about 1/4 inch off center to the left so the tailgate was off a like amount to the right. After numerous conversations which included one ending in (we don't make mistakes) I put the original tailgate, the new tailgate with shipping box and invoice in my pickup bed and made the almost 800 mile round trip to Moberly MO. where at the factory we found 3 more with the same problem, they were speechless. One employee even said (that must not be our tailgate) after which I produced the box and invoice. Brought home a stock 32 which is what I should have done in the beginning.. Sorry to be so long winded but with 50+ years of building hot rod I could write a book.

 

krylon32 800 miles is a pretty good trip enjoyed the rant

 

When I went through my '40 a few years back I used almost all Drake parts with some Carpenter and a few Vintique pieces in the mix. All the Drake and Carpenter parts fit very well but the Vintique stuff took a little tweaking to work.

No issues with the Brookville parts for my roadster either, but it was a different story for the one piece I bought from Howells...

 

When I was building my Deuce roadster I had a mint, original grill shell. I sent back 4 inserts and gave up on one company. I purchased a Dan Fink insert and it fit like Henry made it.

 

I bought a Mack Hils stake pocket for my 35. It was 5/8" short and had 2 rivet holes instead of 4 and was bent wrong. I called and was told I had the 'other' 35. Might be true. I just fixed it. I have always wondered why the reproduction parts makers would put out all the effort to make the part but stop before its correct. and yes thats Howells, too. They werent at Pate this year. I hope they keep making crappy parts that we can fix.

 

Thew deuce grill thing. Nothing could hold a candle to Dales reproduction 32 grilles out of OKC. I will give cudos to United Pacific. All the parts for my deuce pickup I bought from them fit perfect. F&R fenders, door internal parts, front splash apron and more.

 

I make a living banging fenders and just cringe when they set a aftermarket part in my stall the big three OEM isn't much better, the best fitting OEM is from other countries I could remember opening a aftermarket box and thinking oh no Jap crap not the case anymore that title goes to China.

 

even the grille shells are different…..
I have posted before about how I have two original ones that measure 3/4” different in height and are quite different in shape.
( The one that we fixed for my coupe from two originals, must have had the top of one type, and the bottom of another, now no insert on the planet will fit ! )

 

people keep buying them so they just keep making them. by the time you figure it won't fit you have messed with it so you cannot return it.
I bought an OT 1965 car that came with a repop fender. the car must have lost a front wheel because it was all twisted behind the wheel opening. I ended up cutting the part that was bent off the new fender and welded it to the original fender.
worked on a 51 Chevrolet convertible where the guy told me he had bought floor pans. what be bought were 4 pieces of flat sheet with bead rolls in them. same with the trunk floor. this was 20 years ago, they make stamped ones now

 

One of my least favorite HAMB prejudices is the 1-800 haters. I use repo part when I must and they require a great deal of re-work, re-fab and re-finishing. No, you cannot open a box and bolt the piece on your car, it will look like ass. But it is a basis to be worked, fit and finished into something that no one else knows is a new piece. I expect repo parts to be crap, if they are too crappy, they go back. If I can work with it, I quickly "void the warranty".

 

Actually a really easy build would be a traditional 32 Ford Hot Rod coupe. Start with a mint original and bolt on the appropriate mint, old Ford, upgrade parts (like 40 Ford), and vintage speed parts. A dropped original deuce axle, some reverse eye springs with some removed leafs. Some old Ford rims, hubcaps and Coker tires and away you go. Might cost a small fortune nowadays, but it would ALL FIT TOGETHER without having to use any repro parts, just like they did in 1948.

If you are on a modest budget, building a roached out original, or even a Tupperware repro deuce, you would have your work cut out for you, as anyone who has actually built one knows, with the parts from various manufacturers from all over the world!

 

My brother in law worked at a Ford stamping plant from the 60s to the 90s.. He was a final inspector. He told me if a fender or hood was slightly damaged it was packaged as replacement parts rather than repair it. I built a 48 Ford coupe some years ago. The wheel opening in the right rear fender was nearly 2" off compared to the left rear fender and slightly differently shaped. Both fenders were original undamaged Ford parts that came on the car I was building.

 

Not fitting properly is one issue
most repo sheet metal part are made from scrap reconstituted steel
and
in the rust belt last about 1/4 of the time of new

 

Old Addage.... you can't beat orig steel.

 

GM did the same thing. NOS/ replacement parts were usually 2nds never meant to be installed at the factory. I have used repro and NOS body panels and you have to make them all fit.

 

Who really appreciates being able to get these parts that don't quite fit because they are able to get parts kinda like going to the grocery store. I appreciat that the parts are being made 75 years later. Of course they don't quite fit just like your blue jeans..

 

The fitment on Chevy AD trucks was horrible from the factory. Door gaps uneven, body lines between panels not matching, etc. but the repop panels are even worse. Forget about the damn hoods. Holy crap they fit terribly. I've heard that Chevy needed to get as many out the door to farmers as they could as fast as they could so there's that. My Model A Tudor gave me fits with body patch panels. My coupe needed rear lower 1/4 extensions. I actually spoke to the guy that stamps them. He was laughing when he told me they fit nicely as he was the only one who stamps the complicated part. When I got them, they actually did fit very well. A truly pleasant surprise. It's a crap shoot. You never really know what you're going to get and just have to work with it if it's a repop part.
Andy

 

So far, ever piece I've bought from United Pacific for my '32 Ford 5W project has fit like a charm. I hope by stating this doesn't jinx future parts I buy from them.