Thanks for the feedback. We appreciate it. Please feel free to reach out if you ever have any issues with any of your purchases. We are here to help. Keep up the good work.
I would use the panel with the sharper body lines. I look at patch panels as something you cut up and only use as much as what you need to repair. If it were me, I would only replace the lip and leave as much original metal as possible. Since you are not going to do final finishing, I can see why you would want to hide the weld seam behind the trim. Your way is not the wrong way, I just see too many people thinking they have to use the entire patch when they don’t have to.
Thanks for the input! Yeah I’m not intending to use the entire panel but on the wheel arch panels I’m making more of an aesthetic choice to carry the panels up to the trim line. Leaving the weld lines exposed this should leave me with 4 vertical weld lines. One at the front where I cut the bed down two at the patch panel then 1 in the back where I’m bobbing the tail of the bed 4”. When o do some of the cab repairs I’ll definitely only be cutting out what is necessary. Thanks for watching!
I did the outer wheel arch on the bed sides of my 69 c10 and i bought from LMC and i only used the arch and cut away alot of the panel i always try to keep as much original metal as i can only cut out the rusted cancerous areas, plus wen u cut off un needed metal from the bought paneling u are left with spare metal that can be used in other places.
I was interested in this video because of the content. I am a seventy four year old man who does fab work. If you want to learn how or what ways to straighten metal products, then look no further than a channel called Carter Auto Restyling. Kyle by leaps and bounds is the best body man and teaches every thing you addressed. His playlists are very informative and easy to follow. His playlist on a 36 chevy pickup is one that you can learn from as all of them do go over certain ways to make or fix metal. Don't let his sense of humor get to you as he is just different and most likely after being beat up in the comments, taken a different approach to teaching
You may also want to check out the work of Scott at Cold War Motors. He is quite the master of fabricating sheet metal by hand, rather than trying to buy repair panels,...most of which are not available.
@@MikeyMack303 Love the heck out of Scotts work and been a subscriber of his since he started youtube many years ago. Very few men have that talent of seeing something as a finished project in their heads. The sixty Impala is a huge task at hand as we speak..
Most panels are stamped on a press and subject to the wear on the tooling the quality and accuracy of the part will suffer. Taiwan, has for decades generally made great quality tools and parts. I have some Blue Point/Snap On stuff (along with other brands) that are made in Taiwan and the quality of those air tools is superb. An interestnig video with an honest opinion based upon actual bought in parts for comparison, credit to you young man. There are some "manufacturers" here in the UK that source their parts from China, and 99% of it is junk.
I have restored a 79 f250 I bought new.All panels came from LMC. VERY pleased with quality. Just happy they were available. Much better than what I could fabricate my self. No splitting hairs here.😊😊😊
Hi Cody, Not trying to be critical, just helpful, but a lot of the fitment problem with the AMD panel is because when rust happens it bulges the metal and therefore until the rust is cut out the new panel will not fit correctly whether your trying to overlap or butt weld. Most patch panels are made to overlap, if you want to butt weld you will most likely have to modify the ends of the panel. Jim E
Hey Jim. Thanks for the respectful response! I’m always willing to learn. One other thing I discovered after filming this is a considerable amount of body filler in the bed side. I’m sure that’s contributing to the poor fit as well. I’m going to attempt to install the AMD panel first. If that panel works I’ll be sure to talk about it in the video I shoot for the repair.
I have owned a garage and autobody shop for 37 years and the panels you get today are a lot better fitting today than 20 years ago. But very few fit right on the first time around also you can order the same parts a month apart and not get the same ones twice, Thats rust work!!!
I've bought a lot of product from LMC over many years, including panels. Most of the time it's good stuff. But I've had questionable panels from LMC as well. Like you said, it comes down to how much work you want to put into it, and what level of perfection. I think where LMC really shines is the amount of stuff they carry. For my 1960 Chevy Apache and my 1980 GMC pickup they have just about everything. I order new catalogs from them every year for all my trucks just to thumb through and drool over the pages. Well, and buy parts when needed, LOL.
Im doing and 85 Suburban and Im sad to say that I've been disappointed in the products Ive gotten from LMC. One thing specific was window rubbers and felts. They just wad them up and stuff them in a box so when they arrive they look like they got run over by about 900 rail cars. It took 6 days of laying in the sun before they were even considersble for install and today, 3 years later they still show damage and I have to play with it to roll up the tail gate window. Some of their plastic parts are so hard a brittle that if you can install them without breaking them, you have to beg other passangers not to use them. Don't even think about giving drunk people a ride because anything they touch will end up in their hand and then on the floor. Once you open an LMC package and you smell that plastic you know you you've been fucked. On the other hand, I ordered a grille from parts geek and I was surprised that it was sort of a rubbery flexible plastiic and so far has held up but its only been 5-6 months. It may just shatter with cold weather. I guess the point is to not get your hopes up and don't take a restoration too seriously if you're buying chinese parts. You can be the guy that NEVER breaks bolts or tools and half of your order will be busted upon install. It's a shame.
Too much time telling us that you're going to tell us something. Just tell us. No hate, lots of RUclipsrs do it. This isnt a tv show where you have to stretch it to fit in more commercials. Otherwise, nice gararage, nice work.
I noticed wen i did my 69 c10 a company named "key parts" actually made better panels than both LMC and AMD i bought LMC floor pans driv side had waves ripples in it passenger side didnt but i bought from all 3 companys and found keyparts made way better panels wen it came to body lines and exact match quality to original.
I installed both larger bed patch panels from lmc on my 79 Ranger. Yes there's scratches and few dings but panel was heavy and when welding seemed heavier that factory metal. It fit I think well being aftermarket . My doors I replaced with summit racing and they weighed more than factory door shells and other than some shipping dings fit really well
@CodyBuilds the American made stuff is hit and miss sometimes bud. I've noticed that myself. I'm like you I'd rather support American companies, but not at the cost of double the labor
that the made in usa one 'falls into place' and basically sits near flush over an existing panel is infinitely more concerning to me than the fitment of the AMD panel. they're not supposed to do that. the top fold is noticeably higher than it should be. that panel is wayyy out of spec in almost all regards. the AMD panel is way closer. with the arch seated, taking into account the rust, whatever screws, wheel well liners, age deformation of the arch lip, etc. you shouldn't be getting a near perfect flush fit when overlaying them. you should only get that if you have basically removed the arch and then lay it over the panel. the arch should continue with only the thickness of the metal in difference. at no point in time should they easily stack to a near perfect fit in that stacking. when finding out if they actually properly fit, use some cardboard or large sheets of paper or paper roll, mark those distances on the panel to be replaced, then verify against the new panel. never trust an overlay method for full replacement panel measuring. nothing but headaches. bet you the AMD was closer. (was, since its likely irrelevant now)
Thanks for the info. I am very new at this. I think I may have said that in the video and I’ve been stressing I’m a beginner in my other videos. I am aware the old metal gets removed and the panels are not supposed to perfectly align when overlayed. I probably should have made that more clear. I was genuinely surprised by how far “off” the AMD panel was though. It seems like the body line is further off than the offset of the panel. One thing I’ve discovered is the bed side is LOADED with filler. To your point, that could why it’s so far out of whack. We’ll see soon. I have not yet done the repair. My intention is so use the smaller of the two panels, the AMD panel first. If there is a fit issue I’ll move on to the Tabco panel and try to correct the other issues. I’ll be very open and honest about the fit of these panels when I make the actual repair in my video.
well, i'll put it into perspective. when they need to, graveyard carz out of springfield oregon (who rebuild/restore old mopars), can and have, built entire cars out of AMD original made everything. body, subframes, the works. (though that one was a tribute car, and not a restore). but they do seem to use a fair number of AMD panels and such even in the regular restoring. and given how anal retentive the owner is about detail, i can't see him signing off on iffy product. (he's cool about it, but things have to be right, or they get redone.) not saying AMD is the best out there, but its gonna be relatively close to spec if mark is gonna let them be that much of a core supplier. and sure, everyone starts out somewhere with this. learning is in the doing, and sometimes the feedback. hopefully this project stays interesting and maybe even fun. this sort of hobby or even as a job can wear on people at times, which sucks, since it can also be quite enjoyable. cheers though, and keep on keepin on. it's all good and it never hurts to learn a new skill or two.
when i ordered my panels through LMC about 2 years ago, i got the black wheel arches. Im not terribly impressed with the body lines, but other than that, its fixing the holes. like you im doing a short box, had to replace the entire floor, all the crossmembers, the cross sill, the cross sill mounts, headboard, inner fenders, outer fenders, bolt holes and a few more holes in general. not super thrilled with the quality but it is metal
That sounds like a TON of work! Mine could use a new floor, but I'm sticking with the old one. I bought some patch panels for a few holes in the floor.
I’ve used this stuff for many years and I’ve always had to re-roll something or better define weak lines with a tipping wheel fix dents and one time recieved a panel mangled as bad as the one I was replacing it’s just a norm now
I bought a set of floor pans & cab corners for a 1979 F350 from Tabco after being told repeatedly that they're the best. Took more than 2 months to receive the floor pans & they were less than an ok fit. Took a lot gentle massaging with a 3 pound sledge to get them to fit. Granted they are made from non E-coated 18ga material. Which is nice & was a pleasant surprise. Now the cab corners on the other hand, I got those in a week. They're the run of the mill overseas tissue paper patch panels. They do seem to be "mostly" the correct shape. I've not burned them in yet.
I had to get cab corners for my OBS Sierra… AutoMetal Direct was out of the passenger side so I got one from LMC… the AutoMetal panel fit better due to better bends, but the LMC panel was still usable with a little more fabrication being required to match the door gaps. All in all, I was not unhappy with either!
Sounds like your experience lined up similarly with mine and some of the other commenters. I’ll be sure to talk about the final fit of the panels when I film the repair episode.
This is actually a great piece of info to have. I was working off the website and did not see the distinction between manufacturers. I could have missed it though. I’m going to order a catalog for future reference! Thanks!
Good walk thru, thanks dude! I just wish some of the parts weren’t so freaking expensive… truck bed header panels aren’t that complicated… why are they so much 💵????
I've never used AMD. But I have used lmc. And IMO. If I had known then about how bad the lmc stuff was I never have bought them. They where just panels to fix the bed floor of my 1967 Ford F-100 SWB. And I didn't how sorry you can stamp out the bed floor but they did it somehow. Never going to use them for anything.
Oh no! Not what I wanted to hear. I picked up two floor patch panels from them. I haven’t set them in the bed yet to see how they fit. I’ll cross my fingers.
@@CodyBuilds If I had know they were gonna that bad. I would have been better off going to my local jy which has several 67/72 Bump sides. And had them cut the bed floor out. Hopefully you will have netter luck than I did.
Any Taiwan product will always be better not Japan quality but darn good. I was in the motorcycle industry for a few decades so i have seen my share of product's from Taiwanese manufactures over the years quality has been consistent. Overall I think your correct what are you more skilled at fitting panel's or Bodywork what comes easier for you pick your company accordingly LOL .
This video is so good with excellent information. I subscribed. Many thanks! I agree about Taiwanese products being better quality than mainland Chinese ones.
Hey guy i actually have run presses before when i worked husqvarna that crease you mention at 10:00 is just something that happens occasionally its not a problem with the press press operator or the die couldve been excess oil on the die small shards of metal some inconsistency in the coil of metal (yep most stamped things you buy start off as about a 3ft tall coil (roll of metal in various widths for various different things) it should also be noted that some factorys have the presses operated by robots (we had them husqvarna theyre huge and terrifying) the problems with the bots is they generally dont have a way to inspect the parts that responsibilty still goes to humans so ill close by saying that part should have been sold as a blemished but repairable part so the qc employee fell down on his/her/its job
AMD is my choice if I have one complaint it would be the online option I prefer a printed catalog the quality is impeccable and the shipping is reasonable LMC has issues with body lines
I'm surprised the TABCO panel had stamping issues. I've used their stuff for quite some time and never had an issue with fit or finish. They were always some of the heavier panels made and don't come with that E-coat crap on them that has to be sanded off. I've seen people leave that stuff on and really had problems very shortly after painting. It's really just a cheap primer/sealer to get them out the door. So many of the coated panels have rust under the primer if you pay attention as you sand it off and some you can see it without even sanding. That happens mostly with the Wing Wong Chineseium panels that are absolute junk in every aspect.
I did a little research on Tabco. What I noticed was a sharp increase in customer complaints starting about 2 years ago. Seemed like I noticed quite a few similar complaints to mine but that could have been confirmation bias. Maybe something within the company changed recently.
thank you for the info. i will add that having to work the panel(fine tune) is to be expected thats why they call it body work or patch panels you are the one that has to make them fit
That crease in the arch on the tabco panel is minor enough you can correct it with a high build primer and light blocking before color stage, far as the waves go all I can suggest is pick a spot and pull the slack with a ballpeen or cross peen to shrink it and doctor the spot you crease with some glazing putty or filler, or try blocking it out with some high build primer and see where it gets you. The marking on the inside of the curve however is a result of the tooling and while I agree is ugly, is just a reality of how they're made unfortunately and can usually be corrected again in the primer stage. Just a body guy's 2 cents to help you make use of what you've got in the future if you haven't used it already, your video was very informative and appreciated.
I just done a 67 C10 for a customer and waited weeks to get AMD fenders because they are supposed to be licensed by GM, What I got was sheet metal from tri star. If I wanted to star sheet metal I could have gotten that weeks earlier from any number of suppliers
Honestly, I’m new at sheet metal repair and wasn’t aware of Dynacorn as an option. I’ll look into them as an option for the cab repair panels. If feasible I can do a comparison between AMD and Dynacorn for the cab parts.
Not sure where brothers is stamped but I tried lmc and amd but brothers went right in and my truck came from Arizona original paint just needed rockers
Have you or know any one that has used Dennis Carpenter seen some things they say they are using Ford stampings or National Parts Depot just wondering how there parts compare.
That's a really low 4 digit number on that truck plate. The plate on my truck started its life on a 91 Silverado reg cab, now on a 07 new body style Silverado. 4 digit starting with an 8.
Good eyes! I was confused at first but realized you were talking about the plate tucked in the top of the tool box. My grandpa would have registered those plates in the mid to late eighty's. He may have transferred them off a previous vehicle, that I'm not sure about.
I actually figured out they are from the panel being pressed. They are scoring marks from between the press and the die. Seems like a quality control issue. One of the other coated panels had similar marks that weren’t as noticeable because of the coating.
LMC in my experience is hit or miss. Some door shells line up pretty good, some are way off. The bed side panels didn’t line up with bottom of the cab so it looks kinda goofy. But front fenders, rocker panels, and floor pans worked great. However, do not use anything from LMC thar is like door latches, window regulators or hood springs. None of them worked. Hood springs wouldn’t hold up hood, window regulator broke while rolling up window for the first time, and door latches have broke to where it won’t hold door shut.
That panel with waves that has no paint. Has no paint so you can't see the waves as good. I understand what you said about black coating being shipped overseas. just makes me wonder why no coating at all on other one .Potato chip panel .
None of it is made in the US. If you call AMD they will tell you, they are great people. AMD sources out and has way better quality control and they use 19 gauge steel, like OEM. When you look through their catalog any part that they don’t oversee has an X at the beginning of the part number. They carry companies parts if they don’t offer it themselves. As far as I know they are the only ones producing SWB bedsides for the dents. I bought a pair and they are of amazing quality.
Have tried Browns of Two Rivers? Their quality use to be better, but I haven't tried them in years. Body panel parts are a crap shoot and require a lot more work than the average person thinks. If it is a work vehicle then things don't have to be perfect. They are better than rust. Body filler has a bad rep. You almost always have to use it. The problem is with misuse. People do that and blame their bad decisions on the product. Worse is the flipper hacks which I have seen many in my years.
The wheel well crease issue is negligent. You’re not going to put that panel in with a MIG welder without, at a minimum, some planishing with a hammer and dolly which is an extra 5-10 minutes to planish out the crease on the wheel lip. Most likely, you’re going to use a skim coat of filler on the welded area so the wheel lip crease is again negligible. It comes down to metal thickness and price. As for me, thicker metal can be a plus but something to consider is if a panel is too thick to get my pneumatic hole punch on vs having a panel too thick for it and having to drill my plug weld holes. I’ve installed rocker panels on crew cab GM trucks that were extra thick and they have two rows of spot welds about 1 1/2” apart and that’s not counting the weather strip lip. That’s a pain to drill all of those.
Great point about the hole punch. I don’t have one and spent a large portion of my night drilling out plug weld holes on the header panel and back filler panels last night. It is a huge pain!
Yeah dishonest probably wasn’t the right term. I was using it more in the sense of letting all the scars hang out since I’m not doing a full restoration on the truck and it’s staying a “patina” truck.
The seller should be responsible for the quality of the products they sell. They are not, its all about $$ raking in. I do not think they care because we unfortunately suck it up make right or chuck it in another pile. If they were known for quality you would hear about it.
@CodyBuilds AMD actually has several different brands that they sell. AMD does not make everything themselves. My understanding is that anything AMD branded is made in USA and is their highest Quality product. they have 3 other brands as well Classic Headquarters, TriPlus and X-Parts. if i remember correctly those are made for AMD by other companies overseas. I have used AMD full quarters on some of the second-generation Camaros i have restored. in fact, some of the AMD stuff is better than NOS GM parts. but from my own personal experience, I love working with the AMD branded stuff they fit almost perfect. not even the NOS GM stuff fits as well as the AMD stuff.
Ahh yes RUclips, where people who have zero experience in a field review products as though they do to make comparisons. 20 yrs in paint and body, I own a paintbooth. There isn't a single manufacturer out there making perfect panels. They all are aftermarket. The ford dies for dent sides went to south America at the end of 79.
Damn bro - you ramble on worse than sleepy Joe Biden! A few minutes editing the hundreds of repetitious narrations would have went a long way. Had to stop watching it was so hard to follow intelligently. Thumbs down. P.S. The industry STANDARD of gauge of the metal would tell us way more than the thickness in thousandths. - .052 = 17 gauge / .035 = 20 gauge
Thanks for the feedback. We appreciate it. Please feel free to reach out if you ever have any issues with any of your purchases. We are here to help. Keep up the good work.
In his video..... He shows how your panels don't fit correctly..... What are you going to do to solve the issues with the defects?
I would use the panel with the sharper body lines. I look at patch panels as something you cut up and only use as much as what you need to repair. If it were me, I would only replace the lip and leave as much original metal as possible. Since you are not going to do final finishing, I can see why you would want to hide the weld seam behind the trim. Your way is not the wrong way, I just see too many people thinking they have to use the entire patch when they don’t have to.
Thanks for the input! Yeah I’m not intending to use the entire panel but on the wheel arch panels I’m making more of an aesthetic choice to carry the panels up to the trim line. Leaving the weld lines exposed this should leave me with 4 vertical weld lines. One at the front where I cut the bed down two at the patch panel then 1 in the back where I’m bobbing the tail of the bed 4”. When o do some of the cab repairs I’ll definitely only be cutting out what is necessary. Thanks for watching!
I did the outer wheel arch on the bed sides of my 69 c10 and i bought from LMC and i only used the arch and cut away alot of the panel i always try to keep as much original metal as i can only cut out the rusted cancerous areas, plus wen u cut off un needed metal from the bought paneling u are left with spare metal that can be used in other places.
I have tried to explain THAT to so many people over the last few decades, but they still insist on using the entire patch panel.
I was interested in this video because of the content. I am a seventy four year old man who does fab work. If you want to learn how or what ways to straighten metal products, then look no further than a channel called Carter Auto Restyling. Kyle by leaps and bounds is the best body man and teaches every thing you addressed. His playlists are very informative and easy to follow. His playlist on a 36 chevy pickup is one that you can learn from as all of them do go over certain ways to make or fix metal. Don't let his sense of humor get to you as he is just different and most likely after being beat up in the comments, taken a different approach to teaching
Thank you for the recommendation! I’ll be sure to check it out.
You may also want to check out the work of Scott at Cold War Motors. He is quite the master of fabricating sheet metal by hand, rather than trying to buy repair panels,...most of which are not available.
@@MikeyMack303 Love the heck out of Scotts work and been a subscriber of his since he started youtube many years ago. Very few men have that talent of seeing something as a finished project in their heads. The sixty Impala is a huge task at hand as we speak..
Most panels are stamped on a press and subject to the wear on the tooling the quality and accuracy of the part will suffer. Taiwan, has for decades generally made great quality tools and parts. I have some Blue Point/Snap On stuff (along with other brands) that are made in Taiwan and the quality of those air tools is superb. An interestnig video with an honest opinion based upon actual bought in parts for comparison, credit to you young man. There are some "manufacturers" here in the UK that source their parts from China, and 99% of it is junk.
Thanks for watching!
I have restored a 79 f250 I bought new.All panels came from LMC. VERY pleased with quality. Just happy they were available. Much better than what I could fabricate my self. No splitting hairs here.😊😊😊
Yes for some of these panels I’m just thankful they are available for purchase!
Hi Cody,
Not trying to be critical, just helpful, but a lot of the fitment problem with the AMD panel is because when rust happens it bulges the metal and therefore until the rust is cut out the new panel will not fit correctly whether your trying to overlap or butt weld.
Most patch panels are made to overlap, if you want to butt weld you will most likely have to modify the ends of the panel.
Jim E
Hey Jim. Thanks for the respectful response! I’m always willing to learn. One other thing I discovered after filming this is a considerable amount of body filler in the bed side. I’m sure that’s contributing to the poor fit as well. I’m going to attempt to install the AMD panel first. If that panel works I’ll be sure to talk about it in the video I shoot for the repair.
I have owned a garage and autobody shop for 37 years and the panels you get today are a lot better fitting today than 20 years ago. But very few fit right on the first time around also you can order the same parts a month apart and not get the same ones twice, Thats rust work!!!
I've bought a lot of product from LMC over many years, including panels. Most of the time it's good stuff. But I've had questionable panels from LMC as well. Like you said, it comes down to how much work you want to put into it, and what level of perfection. I think where LMC really shines is the amount of stuff they carry. For my 1960 Chevy Apache and my 1980 GMC pickup they have just about everything. I order new catalogs from them every year for all my trucks just to thumb through and drool over the pages. Well, and buy parts when needed, LOL.
Totally agree. It’s actually incredible how many parts they carry for classic trucks. Thanks for watching!
Im doing and 85 Suburban and Im sad to say that I've been disappointed in the products Ive gotten from LMC. One thing specific was window rubbers and felts. They just wad them up and stuff them in a box so when they arrive they look like they got run over by about 900 rail cars. It took 6 days of laying in the sun before they were even considersble for install and today, 3 years later they still show damage and I have to play with it to roll up the tail gate window. Some of their plastic parts are so hard a brittle that if you can install them without breaking them, you have to beg other passangers not to use them. Don't even think about giving drunk people a ride because anything they touch will end up in their hand and then on the floor. Once you open an LMC package and you smell that plastic you know you you've been fucked.
On the other hand, I ordered a grille from parts geek and I was surprised that it was sort of a rubbery flexible plastiic and so far has held up but its only been 5-6 months. It may just shatter with cold weather.
I guess the point is to not get your hopes up and don't take a restoration too seriously if you're buying chinese parts. You can be the guy that NEVER breaks bolts or tools and half of your order will be busted upon install. It's a shame.
Too much time telling us that you're going to tell us something. Just tell us. No hate, lots of RUclipsrs do it. This isnt a tv show where you have to stretch it to fit in more commercials. Otherwise, nice gararage, nice work.
Thanks for the info. I'm gonna need some panels soon. Your summery is very helpful.
Glad you found the video helpful! Thanks for watching!
Unfortunately American made doesn't mean better quality sometimes. Taiwan does make good tools for the most part.
Very useful video, thanks Cody.
No problem Malcolm!
I noticed wen i did my 69 c10 a company named "key parts" actually made better panels than both LMC and AMD i bought LMC floor pans driv side had waves ripples in it passenger side didnt but i bought from all 3 companys and found keyparts made way better panels wen it came to body lines and exact match quality to original.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that. I’m definitely going to look into it.
thanks I'm working on a 77 k5 I have used school panels way back but can find them
Key parts = Keystone
I installed both larger bed patch panels from lmc on my 79 Ranger. Yes there's scratches and few dings but panel was heavy and when welding seemed heavier that factory metal. It fit I think well being aftermarket . My doors I replaced with summit racing and they weighed more than factory door shells and other than some shipping dings fit really well
Good to know about the summit parts. Don’t think I have to replace the doors on my truck but it’s always good to know who sells quality parts.
That lmc panel thats wavy is stamped too. Those scratches in the well are from the pressing process
I was most disappointed in that panel being American made and having so many issues.
@CodyBuilds the American made stuff is hit and miss sometimes bud. I've noticed that myself. I'm like you I'd rather support American companies, but not at the cost of double the labor
that the made in usa one 'falls into place' and basically sits near flush over an existing panel is infinitely more concerning to me than the fitment of the AMD panel. they're not supposed to do that.
the top fold is noticeably higher than it should be. that panel is wayyy out of spec in almost all regards. the AMD panel is way closer.
with the arch seated, taking into account the rust, whatever screws, wheel well liners, age deformation of the arch lip, etc. you shouldn't be getting a near perfect flush fit when overlaying them. you should only get that if you have basically removed the arch and then lay it over the panel. the arch should continue with only the thickness of the metal in difference. at no point in time should they easily stack to a near perfect fit in that stacking.
when finding out if they actually properly fit, use some cardboard or large sheets of paper or paper roll, mark those distances on the panel to be replaced, then verify against the new panel. never trust an overlay method for full replacement panel measuring. nothing but headaches.
bet you the AMD was closer. (was, since its likely irrelevant now)
Thanks for the info. I am very new at this. I think I may have said that in the video and I’ve been stressing I’m a beginner in my other videos. I am aware the old metal gets removed and the panels are not supposed to perfectly align when overlayed. I probably should have made that more clear. I was genuinely surprised by how far “off” the AMD panel was though. It seems like the body line is further off than the offset of the panel. One thing I’ve discovered is the bed side is LOADED with filler. To your point, that could why it’s so far out of whack. We’ll see soon. I have not yet done the repair. My intention is so use the smaller of the two panels, the AMD panel first. If there is a fit issue I’ll move on to the Tabco panel and try to correct the other issues. I’ll be very open and honest about the fit of these panels when I make the actual repair in my video.
well, i'll put it into perspective. when they need to, graveyard carz out of springfield oregon (who rebuild/restore old mopars), can and have, built entire cars out of AMD original made everything. body, subframes, the works. (though that one was a tribute car, and not a restore).
but they do seem to use a fair number of AMD panels and such even in the regular restoring.
and given how anal retentive the owner is about detail, i can't see him signing off on iffy product. (he's cool about it, but things have to be right, or they get redone.)
not saying AMD is the best out there, but its gonna be relatively close to spec if mark is gonna let them be that much of a core supplier.
and sure, everyone starts out somewhere with this. learning is in the doing, and sometimes the feedback.
hopefully this project stays interesting and maybe even fun. this sort of hobby or even as a job can wear on people at times, which sucks, since it can also be quite enjoyable.
cheers though, and keep on keepin on. it's all good and it never hurts to learn a new skill or two.
Thank you for the video
when i ordered my panels through LMC about 2 years ago, i got the black wheel arches. Im not terribly impressed with the body lines, but other than that, its fixing the holes.
like you im doing a short box, had to replace the entire floor, all the crossmembers, the cross sill, the cross sill mounts, headboard, inner fenders, outer fenders, bolt holes and a few more holes in general. not super thrilled with the quality but it is metal
That sounds like a TON of work! Mine could use a new floor, but I'm sticking with the old one. I bought some patch panels for a few holes in the floor.
@@CodyBuilds it is, if you can patch what you have, I highly recommend it
Thank you for your comparison on the body panels
No problem and thanks for watching!
I’ve used this stuff for many years and I’ve always had to re-roll something or better define weak lines with a tipping wheel fix dents and one time recieved a panel mangled as bad as the one I was replacing it’s just a norm now
Thanks for doing this comparison it’s useful information.
No problem!
Nice review on both manufacturers! Great to hear your thoughts on what and why you liked or disliked each product as well.
Having sold Honda OEM sheetmetal for 33 years, I appreciate your observations!
Glad you found it useful! Thanks for watching.
I used LMC Very helpful and pleased that they had what I needed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
LMC does seem to have the largest selection of parts.
Good video about how if a company uses good, in spec dies an the correct gage metal makes a world of difference.
I bought a set of floor pans & cab corners for a 1979 F350 from Tabco after being told repeatedly that they're the best.
Took more than 2 months to receive the floor pans & they were less than an ok fit. Took a lot gentle massaging with a 3 pound sledge to get them to fit. Granted they are made from non E-coated 18ga material. Which is nice & was a pleasant surprise.
Now the cab corners on the other hand, I got those in a week. They're the run of the mill overseas tissue paper patch panels. They do seem to be "mostly" the correct shape. I've not burned them in yet.
I ❤️ the way you shortened this pickup bed. 😊
Thank you! This certainly isn’t the “easy” way to do it, but I’m really happy with how it’s turning out.
I appreciate your rewiew on this subject
No problem! Glad you found it useful.
I had to get cab corners for my OBS Sierra… AutoMetal Direct was out of the passenger side so I got one from LMC… the AutoMetal panel fit better due to better bends, but the LMC panel was still usable with a little more fabrication being required to match the door gaps. All in all, I was not unhappy with either!
Sounds like your experience lined up similarly with mine and some of the other commenters. I’ll be sure to talk about the final fit of the panels when I film the repair episode.
AMD clearly states which panels that they make and which ones are Tri Plus in catalog. In Mopars pieces have been at least 95% great fit.
This is actually a great piece of info to have. I was working off the website and did not see the distinction between manufacturers. I could have missed it though. I’m going to order a catalog for future reference! Thanks!
Good walk thru, thanks dude! I just wish some of the parts weren’t so freaking expensive… truck bed header panels aren’t that complicated… why are they so much 💵????
I hear ya! It all adds up. It’s even more frustrating when you spend money and the parts don’t meet your expectations.
I’ve used a few Sherman Made in the USA panels on my 69 Camaro and I’m very happy to say they fit perfectly!
Awesome content!
Thank you and thanks for watching!
I've never used AMD. But I have used lmc. And IMO. If I had known then about how bad the lmc stuff was I never have bought them. They where just panels to fix the bed floor of my 1967 Ford F-100 SWB. And I didn't how sorry you can stamp out the bed floor but they did it somehow. Never going to use them for anything.
Oh no! Not what I wanted to hear. I picked up two floor patch panels from them. I haven’t set them in the bed yet to see how they fit. I’ll cross my fingers.
@@CodyBuilds If I had know they were gonna that bad. I would have been better off going to my local jy which has several 67/72 Bump sides. And had them cut the bed floor out. Hopefully you will have netter luck than I did.
Any Taiwan product will always be better not Japan quality but darn good. I was in the motorcycle industry for a few decades so i have seen my share of product's from Taiwanese manufactures over the years quality has been consistent. Overall I think your correct what are you more skilled at fitting panel's or Bodywork what comes easier for you pick your company accordingly LOL .
This video is so good with excellent information. I subscribed. Many thanks! I agree about Taiwanese products being better quality than mainland Chinese ones.
Glad you found the video useful! Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Nice informative video. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Hey guy i actually have run presses before when i worked husqvarna
that crease you mention at 10:00 is just something that happens occasionally its not a problem with the press press operator or the die
couldve been excess oil on the die small shards of metal some inconsistency in the coil of metal (yep most stamped things you buy start off as about a 3ft tall coil (roll of metal in various widths for various different things) it should also be noted that some factorys have the presses operated by robots (we had them husqvarna theyre huge and terrifying) the problems with the bots is they generally dont have a way to inspect the parts that responsibilty still goes to humans so ill close by saying that part should have been sold as a blemished but repairable part so the qc employee fell down on his/her/its job
Great info! I love hearing from people with first hand experience. Yeah one way or another the QC was lacking for those panels.
AMD is my choice if I have one complaint it would be the online option I prefer a printed catalog the quality is impeccable and the shipping is reasonable LMC has issues with body lines
Yep that’s what I noticed with the panels as well.
Thanks for that video.
I'm surprised the TABCO panel had stamping issues. I've used their stuff for quite some time and never had an issue with fit or finish. They were always some of the heavier panels made and don't come with that E-coat crap on them that has to be sanded off. I've seen people leave that stuff on and really had problems very shortly after painting. It's really just a cheap primer/sealer to get them out the door. So many of the coated panels have rust under the primer if you pay attention as you sand it off and some you can see it without even sanding. That happens mostly with the Wing Wong Chineseium panels that are absolute junk in every aspect.
I did a little research on Tabco. What I noticed was a sharp increase in customer complaints starting about 2 years ago. Seemed like I noticed quite a few similar complaints to mine but that could have been confirmation bias. Maybe something within the company changed recently.
thank you for the info. i will add that having to work the panel(fine tune) is to be expected thats why they call it body work or patch panels you are the one that has to make them fit
That crease in the arch on the tabco panel is minor enough you can correct it with a high build primer and light blocking before color stage, far as the waves go all I can suggest is pick a spot and pull the slack with a ballpeen or cross peen to shrink it and doctor the spot you crease with some glazing putty or filler, or try blocking it out with some high build primer and see where it gets you.
The marking on the inside of the curve however is a result of the tooling and while I agree is ugly, is just a reality of how they're made unfortunately and can usually be corrected again in the primer stage.
Just a body guy's 2 cents to help you make use of what you've got in the future if you haven't used it already, your video was very informative and appreciated.
Thanks I appreciate feedback from guys with experience! I’m in the very early stages of learning and gaining experience.
I just done a 67 C10 for a customer and waited weeks to get AMD fenders because they are supposed to be licensed by GM, What I got was sheet metal from tri star. If I wanted to star sheet metal I could have gotten that weeks earlier from any number of suppliers
I can imagine that was pretty frustrating. Were the fenders any good?
I was curious why you didn’t mention Dynacorn? My son & I do autobody repair and custom painting. We’re interested in dynacorn vs AMD lol
Honestly, I’m new at sheet metal repair and wasn’t aware of Dynacorn as an option. I’ll look into them as an option for the cab repair panels. If feasible I can do a comparison between AMD and Dynacorn for the cab parts.
@@CodyBuilds Lol I was thinking you haven’t heard of Dynacorn. I remember when they 1st came out but wasn’t into body repair then.
Not sure where brothers is stamped but I tried lmc and amd but brothers went right in and my truck came from Arizona original paint just needed rockers
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll check them out.
Have you or know any one that has used Dennis Carpenter seen some things they say they are using Ford stampings or National Parts Depot just wondering how there parts compare.
Thanks
COOP
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That's a really low 4 digit number on that truck plate. The plate on my truck started its life on a 91 Silverado reg cab, now on a 07 new body style Silverado. 4 digit starting with an 8.
Good eyes! I was confused at first but realized you were talking about the plate tucked in the top of the tool box. My grandpa would have registered those plates in the mid to late eighty's. He may have transferred them off a previous vehicle, that I'm not sure about.
You should try C&G Ford Parts from Escondido, California. They deal with everything from 1932 to 1979.
Awesome! Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll check it out.
A little long winded but I threw you a Sub to help you get over that magic 1K threshold. Sounds like a great project.
Thanks for the sub!
I think the scratches in the wheel well are from a metal shrinker.
I actually figured out they are from the panel being pressed. They are scoring marks from between the press and the die. Seems like a quality control issue. One of the other coated panels had similar marks that weren’t as noticeable because of the coating.
Certified? Or not ?
LMC in my experience is hit or miss. Some door shells line up pretty good, some are way off. The bed side panels didn’t line up with bottom of the cab so it looks kinda goofy. But front fenders, rocker panels, and floor pans worked great. However, do not use anything from LMC thar is like door latches, window regulators or hood springs. None of them worked. Hood springs wouldn’t hold up hood, window regulator broke while rolling up window for the first time, and door latches have broke to where it won’t hold door shut.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing!
That panel with waves that has no paint. Has no paint so you can't see the waves as good. I understand what you said about black coating being shipped overseas. just makes me wonder why no coating at all on other one .Potato chip panel .
You might be right about the paint 😂. The panel that was uncoated had a light coat of mineral oil on it to keep the panel from flash rusting.
Body shop price out of Connecticut
Look up body shop prices i have bought a few things from Brian and they fit really well
Thanks for the recommendation!
None of it is made in the US. If you call AMD they will tell you, they are great people. AMD sources out and has way better quality control and they use 19 gauge steel, like OEM. When you look through their catalog any part that they don’t oversee has an X at the beginning of the part number. They carry companies parts if they don’t offer it themselves. As far as I know they are the only ones producing SWB bedsides for the dents. I bought a pair and they are of amazing quality.
Have tried Browns of Two Rivers? Their quality use to be better, but I haven't tried them in years. Body panel parts are a crap shoot and require a lot more work than the average person thinks. If it is a work vehicle then things don't have to be perfect. They are better than rust. Body filler has a bad rep. You almost always have to use it. The problem is with misuse. People do that and blame their bad decisions on the product. Worse is the flipper hacks which I have seen many in my years.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll look into those companies!
The wheel well crease issue is negligent. You’re not going to put that panel in with a MIG welder without, at a minimum, some planishing with a hammer and dolly which is an extra 5-10 minutes to planish out the crease on the wheel lip. Most likely, you’re going to use a skim coat of filler on the welded area so the wheel lip crease is again negligible. It comes down to metal thickness and price. As for me, thicker metal can be a plus but something to consider is if a panel is too thick to get my pneumatic hole punch on vs having a panel too thick for it and having to drill my plug weld holes. I’ve installed rocker panels on crew cab GM trucks that were extra thick and they have two rows of spot welds about 1 1/2” apart and that’s not counting the weather strip lip. That’s a pain to drill all of those.
Great point about the hole punch. I don’t have one and spent a large portion of my night drilling out plug weld holes on the header panel and back filler panels last night. It is a huge pain!
Right tw seems to have better QC
Yep I’ve had really good luck with tools made in Taiwan. Tekton, Icon, and Gearwrench to name a few brands.
Nothing dishonest about using filler on top of a good repair. It's using excessive amounts of it or using it to fill rust holes that's a problem.
Yeah dishonest probably wasn’t the right term. I was using it more in the sense of letting all the scars hang out since I’m not doing a full restoration on the truck and it’s staying a “patina” truck.
30,000 words and 50 cents worth of info.
The seller should be responsible for the quality of the products they sell. They are not, its all about $$ raking in. I do not think they care because we unfortunately suck it up make right or chuck it in another pile. If they were known for quality you would hear about it.
The ONLY way to get these problems fixed is to return the products and cost the company money. Theyll start fixing the issues then
Scratches are caused by the shrinker
The scratches..from the shrinker
CJ’s pony parts has some sheet metals for ford trucks, but their customer service and delivery is a bit sketchy
Good to know. I’ve been on their website a few times but haven’t ordered anything from them yet.
Dynacorn is good stuff generally.
@CodyBuilds AMD actually has several different brands that they sell. AMD does not make everything themselves. My understanding is that anything AMD branded is made in USA and is their highest Quality product. they have 3 other brands as well Classic Headquarters, TriPlus and X-Parts. if i remember correctly those are made for AMD by other companies overseas. I have used AMD full quarters on some of the second-generation Camaros i have restored. in fact, some of the AMD stuff is better than NOS GM parts. but from my own personal experience, I love working with the AMD branded stuff they fit almost perfect. not even the NOS GM stuff fits as well as the AMD stuff.
Great to hear. The AMD branded inner wheel houses I got are super high quality. Glad to see my observations were confirmed. Thanks for watching!
LMC - Likely Manufactured Cheaply
Good mark and Sherman those are the actual makers for the panels
Those panels are dirt cheap those 4 panels for a 55 Chevy would set you back around 500 bucks.
Bought a core support from LMC the fit was terrible and it wasn't even close to looking like an original, very disappointing!
You say uhmm a lot 😮 very informative.
You should see how many uhms I edit out 😂It’s a bad habit I’m trying very hard to break. Thanks for watching!
@@CodyBuilds sure 👍
It's all made in Taiwan 🇹🇼 😂
ruclips.net/video/vzxAMR-K-EI/видео.htmlsi=tw7Da7QCzyxVfZdP
Thanks for the link!
Ahh yes RUclips, where people who have zero experience in a field review products as though they do to make comparisons. 20 yrs in paint and body, I own a paintbooth. There isn't a single manufacturer out there making perfect panels. They all are aftermarket. The ford dies for dent sides went to south America at the end of 79.
Panels have poor quality steel sinc3 they rust so easily.
TEKTON TOOLS GRAND RAPIDS Michigan
Both companies are shit
I'm 23 seconds in and already appalled by the music. Just leave that shit out.
Damn bro - you ramble on worse than sleepy Joe Biden! A few minutes editing the hundreds of repetitious narrations would have went a long way. Had to stop watching it was so hard to follow intelligently. Thumbs down. P.S. The industry STANDARD of gauge of the metal would tell us way more than the thickness in thousandths. - .052 = 17 gauge / .035 = 20 gauge
Worsr company is us made...classic2current