The age old subject of quality of repro parts has always been a hot topic on restoration circles. The subject specifically came up again several times this week from various emailers looking for intell etc... each has there own experiences but from my time in the trade the story is simply not one company or another..unfortunately... in reality some panels are made with NEW Tooling, some worn.. some old tooling that was sold off worn but is still a "Repro Panel" etc. Some cars are crook too and need work.
Some parts sold by the SAME companies in different qualities.. and those SAME parts are rebranded ex a source or two and sold under different banners.
At different times.... headings showing 'new tooling" spring up.. .. just cause a company markets "New Tooling" in say June.. then another in OCTOBER .. does not always mean the first company has now the OLDER tooling.. but they are often working their marketing well in advance.. as do quite a few US companies for there own good reasons..
We have been openly saying it on the web for years about certain parts like hoods and fenders and 1/4's and .. boot lids..
In the 90's for instance fenders for many GM cars still available new from GM.. so parts were GM & often expensive.. but as time went on we in reality we could not consistently rely on them for quality either... repro's started to emerge in 1st and 2nd gens... much cheaper...Killed off GM demand... first ones were often not great at all.... then retooled and the old tooling sold off.. now two different companies.. mainly out of Taiwan them.. till that lot was retooled and old stuff retired etc... The tooling got old.. but plenty of crappy fenders in the market place set the tune for future thinking.. .. and more to the point of manufacturer just happy to press & unload.. why waste good tooling.. after all the parts will not be returned to the country of manufacturer...Taiwan... they were NOT made in the USA..
Just to make a simple point.. two boot lids for 67-9 Camaro or Firebird's...pictured today on the scales. (see below) .. two identical 67-9 Camaro & Firebird boot/ trunk lids.. from
one US company who also openly say they supply good & better so you have a price choice. They look the same from a distance .. packaged smartly... but things like the weights alone might say a bit.. the finish and folds, trimmed edges say a lot more too that is harder to show.
But .. try explaining this on the phone day in day out.. when with a 50% or more margin is involved in the alternate qualities of supplies. Sometimes I shrug and wonder how one can judge quality by the price alone seen for a generically listed part on ebay which is purely price driven.. not quality etc. .. & referenced by folk who say parts "are all the same"...
Parts Qualities are not all the same. Mind you in this example of the two pictures of the scales showing the weight is not something you see on ebay either... but here is one lesson maybe... of a "new boot lid" shows just in the metal alone primarily. a 30% difference in bare weight of the two exact copies of the same part.... but both can be used.. on closer examination one is a lot better, bit thicker metal also.
Cross measure them again you get a different measurement at times..
Cross measure many cars.. and you get a different measurement too... and lets not go into "repaired" cars...... And then there is the un-boxed brands.. .. and then their is in some occasions.. GM TOOLING pressed panels.. some good..some not great anymore as the tooling is primarily worn out.
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