Is this re-pop madness or?

65Rob · Feb 15, 2011

Hi guys, I haven't been around in a while, still picking away at the 65 vert as time permits. I've had more than my fair share of horrific re-pop parts not fitting even remotely close so far but this is before my time. Before I got the car it was restored to some degree by some shop full of chimps so I keep finding new surprises . Anyway, I welded in a new trunk piece in and while hammering my welds on the drop down panel, near the rear corner, a chunk of filler cracked. After some picking, and then a whole lot of grinding I was left with this massive gap. The quarter was replaced at some time, is this really how bad the re-pop bits actually fit? Not that I would be surprised, it's about what I've had with everything else but still. I'm going to add metal to the quarter I suppose, just wondering if any of you have had anything this far off? It's a good 1/2" apart

EP429 · Feb 15, 2011

What you've got there is a bad fitting rear valance. The re-pops are notoriously poor fitting, most more so than yours.

Bitter · Feb 15, 2011

As far as aftermarket parts are concerned, I can't think of any that fit as poorly as the rear valance. Anyone that can add 3/4" to them would corner the market.

dennis112 · Feb 16, 2011

Bitter said:
As far as aftermarket parts are concerned, I can't think of any that fit as poorly as the rear valance. Anyone that can add 3/4" to them would corner the market.

Somebody does it. I bought a repo standard 65' panel from CJ Pony parts and it is a little too wide--wants to overlap the quarters slightly. I guess it is better to have too much than to not have enough. LOL

2+2GT · Feb 16, 2011

I'm not aware of any rear valence that fits as well as OEM. Perhaps Carpenter will produce an 'original tool' version.

65Rob · Feb 16, 2011

Well that's good to know and disturbing as well. I really can't get over how bad everything they re-pop is. So it's the valance I shall add metal to not the quarter

Thanks guys

KMatch · Feb 16, 2011

Actually on mine it was the quarters that were the problem and not the valance as I reused my old valance. I made a patch panel and welded them together with no seam.

69gmachine · Feb 16, 2011

My repop 69 rear valance fits just as poorly. I could only get three of the original holes to line up to attach it, although I can slide it left and right enough so that I can get a variety of 3 holes to line up.

65Rob · Feb 16, 2011

KMatch said:
I made a patch panel and welded them together with no seam.

I thought about doing that too, not sure at this point. One thing I'm not doing is putting in a 1/2" of filler to close the gap like the previous guy did

Good to know I'm not alone with this mess

2+2GT · Feb 16, 2011

65Rob said:
Well that's good to know and disturbing as well. I really can't get over how bad everything they re-pop is.

Be careful with that "everything". The hood in these photos is original. The fenders are "original tool". Everything else that's blue, white, "wood", or black is repro. You have to know which sources are best, and deal with the ones that don't measure up. Some repro stuff is actually better than original.

65Rob · Feb 16, 2011

2+2GT said:
Be careful with that "everything". You have to know which sources are best, and deal with the ones that don't measure up. Some repro stuff is actually better than original.

Well come on man, spill the beans on these good repro parts

I do know what you mean about original parts being pretty brutal in their own right though. I have my share of issues with that too, but all the repro stuff I have ever got is genuinely terrible, to the point of ridiculous.

2+2GT · Feb 17, 2011

65Rob said:
Well come on man, spill the beans on these good repro parts

The repro 4-speed shift levers I have seen make originals look like junk. The antenna I have could be passed off as NOS. I checked out a 67 deluxe instrument bezel for someone the other day, and it was at least as good as OEM. Anything from Dead Nuts or Scott Fuller is probably better than original. Alloy Metal wiring harnesses. Only one tiny detail makes them distinguishable from NOS.

On the other hand, the last few years of Ford fenders were often not welded together right, and the dies were so shot the creases were too soft. The last few years of Ford bumpers were absolute crap. My Nordans, purchased when the Fords were still available, were excellent. Sadly, Nordan has gone down the crapper.

65Rob · Feb 17, 2011

Thanks for those references. I don't recall ever getting a part that didn't need heavy modification to fit for any vehicle I've built. Actually replacement fenders for 1974 - 1987 Chev trucks are pretty good, I rebuilt one of those a while back and was pleasantly surprised.

robbz28 · Feb 17, 2011

My 67 is full of repop....fenders, passenger door, hood, trunk lid, quarter extensions, front and rear valance. The only thing that fit properly was the door. Everything else required modification, some slight (hood, trunk lid) some heavy (quarter extensions and rear valance). The fenders I had to find a happy medium with the gaps, but they look OK. The patch panels were complete crap. When you can find it, get the original tooling, you will save money in terms of time and you won't have anything modified.

2+2GT · Feb 17, 2011

robbz28 said:
When you can find it, get the original tooling, you will save money in terms of time and you won't have anything modified.

Yep. 65-68 fenders, hoods, and front valence. 69-70, hoods. Well worth it.

65Rob · Feb 17, 2011

I don't recall ever hearing anyone advertise original tooling parts, I certainly would have jumped all over that.

2+2GT · Feb 17, 2011

65Rob said:
I don't recall ever hearing anyone advertise original tooling parts, I certainly would have jumped all over that.

There's plenty of that stuff. Sheetmetal, interior and exterior trim, etc.

http://www.mustangbarn.com/catalog.pdf

bgs66 · Feb 18, 2011

Wow, that's the exact same thing I'm going through now. I forgot to get the rear valence to the painter while he had the car. So I go to NPD in Ocala to get a valence like the one above among other parts. I did not pre fit it to the car before taking it to the painter and when i tried to fit it after paint it was a gap of 3/8 to 7/16 on the right side as well. Semi-expensive lesson learned to pre fit before paint but I must admit that most other repop peices that I got fit rather well including the doors and trunk lid (the second one) so I thought I might take a chance. I ended up repairing an unwanted hole on stock valence and right hand bracket as it did not meet the repop lower quarter panel very well. It all fits well now with stock valence.

2+2GT · Feb 18, 2011

bgs66 said:
I did not pre fit it to the car before taking it to the painter…

That's critical. Prefitting is the key to excellent results. A car should be fully assembled before any serious body work is attempted.

65Rob · Feb 18, 2011

2+2GT said:
That's critical. Prefitting is the key to excellent results. A car should be fully assembled before any serious body work is attempted.

That's what I'm doing, but I'm also learning that some of the stuff that looked good from before isn't at all when I strip it right down. Not a big deal, just more work and the good news is I'm also the painter. It'll be totally reassembled as I do the bodywork, then blown up for painting jambs, under hoods, trunk and doors, then reassembled for final paint.

I don't think my supplier goes through anyone that has access to much in the way of original tooling parts. I live on an island on the west coast of Canada so shipping costs are pretty bad if you don't have a huge order.

Is this re-pop madness or?

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