I would like to hear about your experience with aftermarket hoods, fenders, and doors (or door skins) Good fit? poor fit? I've had some bad fitting issues on F body and truck parts in the past. What can I expect with G body parts? I've heard the quality is improving.
Aftermarket body panels
- Thread starter TCATTC
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As someone who has done bodywork for several years, here's my opinion-
I've never had a panel that I couldn't make fit. Almost all of them are going to take some finessing, but they will fit. Honestly, I've had some factory panels fit worse than reproduction panels, especially on GM vehicles. Most body on frame vehicles are really easy to get panels adjusted to fit, as there are usually a ton of different ways to adjust the panel gaps. Shims are your friend.
The biggest issue I've had with aftermarket panels is the thickness/weight of the panels. A lot of the times, replacement doors, fenders, tailgates etc. are made of much thinner metal than the original panels, so they will dent much more easily than the original panels. So on panels like tailgates that take a lot of abuse, I try to stick with factory panels.
Also, I've found that the reproduction panels tend to be much more rust resistant than the factory panels. I believe it's because they are usually e-coated really well inside and out, unlike a lot of factory panels sometimes.
Lastly, I've found that the "CAPA/NSF Certified", is usually a bunch of crap. The CAPA panels are usually manufactured side-by-side with the regular panels, and the only difference is the sticker on them. Not worth paying extra for IMO. I am legally required to minimally use CAPA panels for insurance jobs, so I use them, but I think it's a bunch of BS. I don't bother using CAPA on my own vehicles.
I've never had a panel that I couldn't make fit. Almost all of them are going to take some finessing, but they will fit. Honestly, I've had some factory panels fit worse than reproduction panels, especially on GM vehicles. Most body on frame vehicles are really easy to get panels adjusted to fit, as there are usually a ton of different ways to adjust the panel gaps. Shims are your friend.
The biggest issue I've had with aftermarket panels is the thickness/weight of the panels. A lot of the times, replacement doors, fenders, tailgates etc. are made of much thinner metal than the original panels, so they will dent much more easily than the original panels. So on panels like tailgates that take a lot of abuse, I try to stick with factory panels.
Also, I've found that the reproduction panels tend to be much more rust resistant than the factory panels. I believe it's because they are usually e-coated really well inside and out, unlike a lot of factory panels sometimes.
Lastly, I've found that the "CAPA/NSF Certified", is usually a bunch of crap. The CAPA panels are usually manufactured side-by-side with the regular panels, and the only difference is the sticker on them. Not worth paying extra for IMO. I am legally required to minimally use CAPA panels for insurance jobs, so I use them, but I think it's a bunch of BS. I don't bother using CAPA on my own vehicles.
No recent experience, but about a dozen years ago we tried an aftermarket right fender on an 85 El Camino. The rear edge was not the same radius as the front of the undamaged OE door, so we couldn't get a decent gap without cutting it up and reworking it. Luckily, it was a fill-in for one of the owner's friends, so we were able to put it off until we found a used OE fender..
I'm lucky in that I live in an area where G body sheetmetal can still be found, but it's beginning to dry up. For this reason, I have not had to try aftermarket body parts on anything G body since that case
And despite what everybody wants to think, OE parts seldom fall on and fit without some tweaking, even stuff that's still in production. Actually, I believe some of the OE service sheetmetal for in-production vehicles are assembly-line culls.
I'm lucky in that I live in an area where G body sheetmetal can still be found, but it's beginning to dry up. For this reason, I have not had to try aftermarket body parts on anything G body since that case
And despite what everybody wants to think, OE parts seldom fall on and fit without some tweaking, even stuff that's still in production. Actually, I believe some of the OE service sheetmetal for in-production vehicles are assembly-line culls.
I installed a goodmark hood on my last malibu and it fit well. I bought the lower door patch kit for the same car and the fit was so poor I didn't use it. My current ride has aftermarked a pillars and t-top header panel and those fit well.
This is 100% true. OE sheet metal isn't always a fantastic fit either. The worst experience I've had with OE sheet metal was with on an S10 extended cab third door. I bought a new door from the Chevy dealer to replace the rusted out original. The hinges are welded on the door side and on the cab side, no adjustment outside of tweaking them with a door adjustment tool. That door fit so poorly it was almost unbelievable. I think I ended up cutting the hinges off the door side and rewelding them in another position so the door would close. It was way off. And it was a factory GM door from the dealership. So yeah, OE panels aren't always as glamorous as they are made out to be.
There are only 1 or 2 manufacturers for most older-car aftermarket sheetmetal...Lots of resellers that put their name on the box and would like you to believe they're the manufacturer.
For fiberglass in my opinion Harwood can't be beat. The quality totally changed my dad's opinion on fiberglass parts. And he's been doing paint and body for almost 40 years now.
I had to replace the right rear quarter on my aerocoupe and I went to Rock Auto. My dad had the old one cut off and new one on and fitted the same day. He was very pleased with the out-of-box quality. I also had good luck with my Goodmark 2" steel cowl hood. I can't speak for other brands.
I had to replace the right rear quarter on my aerocoupe and I went to Rock Auto. My dad had the old one cut off and new one on and fitted the same day. He was very pleased with the out-of-box quality. I also had good luck with my Goodmark 2" steel cowl hood. I can't speak for other brands.
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