I have given up trying to repair the considerable rust and collision damage on the left front fender and left rear sheet metal on my '67 Chevelle. I notice that Ausley's Chevelle Parts and Ground Up Restorations offer replacement panels in their current catalogs. Has anyone had experience with either of these suppliers? How was your experience with them? Any comments on the quality of these replacement panels?

Thank you

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Dave M

Dave,

More important than the vendor is the fabricator. Goodmark seems to be one of the better (Best?) companies making sheetmetal these days. If you can't find NOS or good used, look for their stuff.

That said, call around and ask if they carry Goodmark. I know Year One does for sure as they supplied me with what I needed. Excellent service and product. Then ask about shipping costs as that'll potentially add quite a bit to the final costs.

Kurt

Dave,

I would get NOS if you can afford it and are planning to keep the car, I think 67 fenders are still available. I needed to replace the right front fender on my 68, to me it was worth spending the extra money on original GM.

Steve R.

Goodmark just bought the dies from GM for the 67 fenders. They are now in production so I think they would be as good as you can get. As for the left quarters, the skins are pretty good on the left side except where the front of the quarter meets the rocker panel. The quarter does not stop there but goes all the way down over the rocker panel. So it must be cut and bent where it meets the rocker. My quarters look pretty good in black and it there were problems in the quarters you would surely see them in a glossy black panel.

Don

I just put on a new right front fender from Paddock on my '67. And after working with some other over-seas sheetmetal for a truck that was junk, I was very surprised at how well the chevelle fender fit. I also installed an SS hood which also fit very well. I still believe that the metal might be a little thinner though but the contours were right.

From personal experience, after you finish patting yourself on the back for saving money using inferior quality sheetmetal, wait till you see the paint and body guys bill! I welded in the ROC quarters on a previous project and lost all my savings +$ on straighting prior to paint. Next time I would go NOS if available or the Goodmark alternatives. Ed C

I have heard/read a lot about Goodmark being as good as they come, the best in fact for repro parts.

My experience is recent. My old 67SS hood has seen the ravages of time. I choose to purchase a Goodmark repro. After getting it home & installed, I was a little disappointed. It is noticably flimsier than my original, which I think is due to the use of smaller guage metal. I worked many hours to get it to fit halfway descent, but not great. I had my body shop guy stop by to inspect it. He thinks that he may want to salvage the old hood instead.

The lesson this taught me is that if given a choice at all, choose used or NOS, if your pocket book can possibly afford it. Companies may purchase & use GM molds but if they do not adhere to the original build specifications, all you have is something that looks good off the car.

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Phil Wise
67 SS Convertible
(now on the down slope of the resto curve)