I'd like to get some opinions on some reproduction parts for a 66 SS chevelle.

If a person were to buy the same reproduction part from different vendors (OPG, Year One, Ground Up, Ect.), are they the same part, ie. manufactured by the same manufacturer? In other words, should I be concerned about whom I buy from, in the reguard of the quality of the reproduction part?

Please give your opinions on these reproduction parts. Please give info on quality, correctness, any modifications you may have to make to get them to work, ect.

All parts would be for a 66 ss 396 Convertible
1.) SS grill
2.) Dash strip
3.) Dash pad
4.) Front end moldings
5.) Wheel opening moldings
6.) Convertible top - who has a good one - who's to avoid
7.) SS Hood scoops and inserts
8.) Floor and Trunk pans

Any input on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

from what I heard is for sheet metal it is either made by goodmark or dynacorn. so I put dynacorn floor in my 66 and not too bad

actually for the sheet metal having more than one set of tooling is extremely costly, so there generally is one manufacturer with the others buying from that manufacturer the pieces which meet their Quality control standards. Dynacorn, golden legion, from research of others who have used them have lower QC standards, which merely means you are more likely to recieve a part from these companies which is inferior in quality than you would from Goodmark IND. But most of the items available reproduction come from the same tooling, so all though they have different names it all comes from the same place, unless specified it is manufactured elsewhere. IE: made in US. The thing to look out for on sheet metal items is whether it is stamped item,via heavy press; or hand formed. Ask, it makes a gigantic difference in quality.

Here is what I have to say about the repo parts I've delt with for a '67. I've been pretty vocal about bashing repo parts in the past, but there are some ok repos, it depends on the type of part. I'm not sure how many different repo manufacturers there are out there, I know Corvex is a big moulding and trim manufacturer. Goodmark I think has a trim line, but who knows, could be all made by the same outfit. Ground up sells Corvex, and the stuff is so-so, probably as good as any other. I'll give you an example, I had to go the repo route on a grill for my '67, now keep in mind I pretty much expect crap when I resort to buying a repo. Now the grill fit as good as I could expect, most of the holes lined up, a couple I had to elongate and two weren't even close. But I expected worse so I was ok with it. I've used repo headlight bezels, and they were acceptable, a little sloppy on the paining but the factory stuff wasn't perfect in that area either. My experience with emblems has so far been very positive, in fact, most of your repo emblems appear nicer that an original, and the fit has been good on the stuff I have used. And then there are those items that I wouldn't reccommend to anyone, one such was the repo blinker tachs for '67's. The ones I had in my hands were pitiful, but that was a couple of years ago and the quality could have changed by now (I doubt it though). Interior trim that I have used has been alright (dash plastic), no experience with dashpads though. The sheetmetal I've used had been mostly Goodmark stuff, and it's decent, but there is allways going to be someone who has had a bad experience with sheetmetal. Don't expect to buy a repo fender, shoot paint on it and hang it in an afternoon and you will be allright.

Hope this helps

I look at it another way ..... every mfg has some good parts and some bad ones, so IMO no one mfg. is better than another some Dynacorn stuff is better than Goodmark and vice versa and yes some parts are made by the same mfg. the people who really know what companies to buy certain parts from are the resellers .... pick a reseller who knows your year of car well and does installs at his shop he will steer you toward the best quality items .....for 66/67 you can't get much better than James Hinshaw , he will tell you what brands are better than others for certain parts etcetc ..... the big resellers your dealing with a sales guy who only wants to quote you the lowest price and rarely sees the stuff much less installs it FWIW

I haven't bought any repro sheetmetal, so no opinions there...

I did by some repro "chrome inserts" for the SS hood scoops, and they did NOT fit the stock hood bulges (I also compared to 5 sets of original chrome inserts)... I guess they must fit the repro bulges, but then will the repro bulges fit an original hood? Or are you going with a repro hood?

As for the convertible top, I'd find an installer/upholstery shop first, and ask about them getting the top for you. I bought a top from a Chevelle supplier, and most shops wouldn't install (or wouldn't guarantee) the finished product... IF they supply the top, then they will guarantee the final product (or they should)...

The corvex wheel well moldings I got from opg for my 72 are junk. The only good thing is they are so thin you can mold them like aluminum foil.

Dont buy repro stainless trim if you can help it. I had a box of original stuff and a bunch of older but new repro stuff.. there was no comparison. The repro stuff was like tin foil. I wound up going through all the original pieces, picking the best, then having a buddy polish out most of the scratches, and do a bit of straightening..it was worth an extra buck.