GM NOS Replacment panels Quality

[tubbed69]

Originally Posted by waynieZ

If you look at the stickers on the quarters the old one were white then they went to green and white, then blue and white with scan bars on them. The older one's had crisper body lines. I bought a cowl hood that was NOS but it had the blue sticker with the scan bars. it was still NOS

I just bought this set of GM quarters recently,they were still in original boxes and were stamped in 1991.You can see the sticker inside which has the stamp date on them.As far as quality they are alot better than aftermarket but they also need a little finish work.

[kttrucks]

People dont like to hear this... but the truth is that alot of GM factory replacement panels designated for parts-only sales and not asembly line (as well as Ford, Dodge, etc..) were "seconds" and didnt make the cut for line installation, due to inconsistancies and flaws. It's possible to get expensive NOS panels and have to modify them to fit because of these reasons. Having said that, the metal gauge would be correct, and would probably have undergone the same tratement ( or not) for corrosion that the rest of the body had seen when assembled. If you're interested in the spirit of having all-original parts, then it's important to try to find NOS and make them work, or perhaps get very lucky and have better fitment than aftermarket.

One thing I do like about modern replacement parts as opposed to NOS is the EDP coatings available on most. AMD has the best (IMHO) and others fall in behind, but the coating is an excellent barrier for moisture, and agruably stands a better chance of not rusting as fast as the original.

perhaps a trade-off for NOS? maybe even a reason for NOT going NOS.

KT

[Sparks67]

In 2003, when I bought my 67 NOS quarters. I recall talking to Kyle Tucker, and he recommended buying NOS quarter panels on my 67 Camaro. Also, told me of the die stamping that is on the first photo below. There was no AMD sheetmetal. There was only the Taiwan sheetmetal from Goodmark, typically my friend was spending lot of hours on cars to make the taiwan sheetmetal actually fit the car. He had a customer with 67 Chevelle, the fender to door gaps were about 3/8". He also did a 68 Firebird and you have to cut the quarters to make them fit. He didn't have to on mine. Just was minor adjusting. (If your NOS quarters don't fit, then start measuring the car. Could be that car was wrecked in the past. )

I talked to Matt at Sled Alley Hot Rods, and on the AMD quarters he has widen them to make AMD quarters fit. He likes the quarters, but it still takes metal work to make them fit like NOS. Matt doesn't weld on the edge.

You need to find the die stamp, that is the key on NOS quarter panels. These are 67 NOS quarters. EDP coating doesn't matter, when you have the sheet metal allkaline stripped and e-coated.



This photo was taken in 2009, and that is without the rubber. I worked on the car as well, but we don't have any bodywork on the quarters.


My 67 Camaro at Sled Alley! The gap is perfect fit with no work on the quarters. Actually, it was adjusted slightly, so I could drive the car without bind.



Jeff