Repo Parts

[1976Booger]

Recently I  have been in contact with a company that produces repo body parts for the body shop my friend works at.  I am able to purchase these for a tremendous savings over   or others.  My question is this....Has anyone here bought repo parts.  I have always heard bad things, but never seen any one who actually has bought one.  I am also curious what is the difference between OEM and repo, exactly..  Is this rumor about repo being terrible true or just an old opinion that has gone too far.  Any help or comments  would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[captkaoscustoms]

If it was made in Taiwan, I can pretty much assure you that they will NOT line up with the factory stuff.  Be prepared to spend ALOT of time cutting holes to move mounting locations to get it to work.  Doors are THE worst as you really can't adjust them much.

If you don't mind alot of mis-alignment they are ok.

Chris Lucas
www.captkaoscustoms.com

[RegulatorInqInq]

Capt kaos is right.I bought a drivers door and after days of trying to get it right I threw it out back where it remains to this day.Definently go with OEM.You could always try to get some southern body parts.

[84 silverado]

Our body shop at work won't even use the aftermarket doors anymore. The understanding that I get is that to avoid copyright/patent laws, the A/M partsmakers had to intentionally make these things where they "just don't quite fit right". I have a buddy that's an insurance guru and he said that there were some lawsuits still ongoing about these infringments. From what I have personally seen the best fitting(if there is such a thing) doors that are non-OEM come from keystone. This is a hit and miss to get a decent door at best. The fenders aren't too bad but the hood's are terrible unless you don't have straight body lines to contend with  Chevrolet has gone up on their doors significantly in the last two years.... from about $125 apiece to well over $300. You can all thank the insurance folks for this one too. Most of them no longer allow A/M parts.... actually prefer salvage yard stuff now..... how ironic. I got lucky by finding a freind with two perfect, complete door's off of a 'burb for $200. That's glass and all. Good to have friends I guess. Talk to some reputable bodyfolks and see what they think about A/M stuff. Good luck finding good used stuff too. Have fun, Bill

[ChevyGuy]

I got 2 fenders for my 76 and the only problem was that the right bottom didnt line up exactly.... i didnt have to make holes bigger anything.... just takes alittle bench pressin to make it look right... now you have to stare at it for like 40 min to even know. Mine are repo by a company called Parts Net. And adjusting doors are always a pain in the ass. Even ones from junk yards.

[andyglines]

It depends on what you want the parts for.  My truck is for work not looks.  The repos that I have don't fit perfectly and there are some gaps.  I bet that there are some here who can tell you where to get higher quality repos and OEM parts.  Its up to you to decide if looks are worth the cost.  My fenders only cost $55.00 ea so I don't expect a perfect fit.

[1979blazer]

great stuff

Edited by: 1979blazer at: 4/21/04 11:52 pm

[Blazin]

I have used both and the factory stuff is better that is a no brainer. I buy Keystone aftermarket parts as I have had the best luck with them. I have found that somtimes you need to hog the holes in the hinges and the radiator suport out to get them to line up. I have also found that the door skins need to be tacked to the door frame on most after market doors as they are only piched on, and mabey two or three welds. I go all around the edges and tackweld them. The other places they are prone to cracking is around the outside handle and on the skin adjacent to the ventwindow pillar. Not much you can do about these.

[bowtieman73]

Im a body man and i to hate aftermarket parts i have installed alot of them and mostley keystone but i have
had to send them back and get another set of doors to get them to fit and still had to bend top and egg hinge holes out to fit the same whith fenders and i would not even mess whith the hoods i have had pretty good luck
whith the patch panels except for door skins there not curved right another advice glue them in rockers and cab corners if you weld them they wont last because of the heat . my self i would rather go used thats what i did  on my 84 chevy,i would rather fix a a big dent than
put up whith after market another tip i bought a pair of
used chevy doors and i sand blasted the inside on the bottom near the pinchweld and used por15 on them i did the same when i put my patchpanels in that was a tip i got from a freind that restores antique cars.