Poor quality reproduction crap....

[Springer Tom]

Everything that I have bought for my '69, no matter what company made it, I've have to modify the part to fit the car or modify the car so the part fits.....un freakin' believable....Kudos to you guys who's cars look so good.....I can't possibly be the only one going through this crap

[lakeholme]

I hear you...
So, what are you buying, from who, and what's the problem?
I'm still hunting junk yards for parts, but parts cars are disappearing.

[Springer Tom]

Don't want to name the vendors, they are not making the stuff....so far, firewall pad fits like crap, not sure if I have the right heater core, lower tube is real close to fender skirt,passenger grab rail mounting plate doesn't fit the dash, I'm assuming the cowl vent panel is a repro because the wiper arms mounting arms aren't centered so there's no room for adjustment, stay tuned, I'm just gettin' goin'

[68camaroz28]

Feel your pain & know exactly what you state! We are all glad the stuff is being made but some of it is really just not too good. It helps to do searches to note what is working and what is not working. But sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised how well the repro matches the original, but that's when its time to have a beer to celebrate. What upsets me is when it's stated as being correct or exact and it is not. Luckily I have been able to return several things that were not correct but it still costs us to ship it back and then follow-up with making sure we are credited.
Boy did I have fun getting the 4 piston front brake caliber brake lines hooked up recently...... Right side was just the pits!

[mopar346]

Do everything you can to source original parts even if they need some repair, the rest, listen to the crowd as to what is the best. Avoid buying cheap if you can, there is usually a reason.

[restore-z28]

This is why I buy used parts or re-condition original items. Not worth the fight or hassle of returning parts that are not quality. There are some aftermarket parts that fit fine but I notice finishing type items such as door panels, weatherstrip and trim just does not fit right. 

[lcmc]

Do what I do. Buy good used or NOS.

[BillOhio]

Man that's a good looking car lcmc!
I got a distributor cap for my car and i will name the vendor. Online Ricks catalog made it sound like a great  repro.  Thing showed up and it was light gray!  The heater core had a dent in the box and smashed place on the core. I got a core from heart beat city and it is a nice heavy core. Shipping is too high to return stuff

[BlackoutSteve]

I've found that a great deal of reproduction stuff is sh!t. Almost everything by OER especially.
"Better than back then" is their motto.. What a load of rubbish.

[keech]

i agree.   seems like 10 years ago Ricks always had everthing and would give you the choice on repop parts such as ... NOS, show quality or standard reproduction.
It was your choice.       Now they have been bought out and the company well..... not so good in my opinion.   My personal car has next to NO repop parts.
           I see cars at shows that look like an import version of a 69 camaro due to the quality of the parts they used on the resto.     More times than not they never fit right and alot of times wont even work !    I'll pay 4X the price for nos but at least I know my car is right.     Just venting...  my opinion.     Steve

[Springer Tom]

Yeah, i got it with the original or NOS parts, part of my problem is I bought an unfinished project and a lot of stuff came with the car....

[Sauron327]

I'm assuming the cowl vent panel is a repro because the wiper arms mounting arms aren't centered so there's no room for adjustment, stay tuned, I'm just gettin' goin'

You can still buy a GM cowl panel new. GM used are easy to find as well. Not following you on the centering problem. Hole center to center wrong dimension?

[Springer Tom]

The splined shafts from the wiper transmission aren't centered in the holes of the panel. The panel is tight at the rear and against the shafts so i can't move it forward. The panel is real clean and already painted with the rest of the car so I'm assuming it's not an original.

[69pace]

The situation is that most parts have at least one vendor still doing it right. But in some cases not so much. That's why forums like here, TC and the others are so important.

Research takes time and energy I know but I vet out any part I want to purchase buy searching TC, and here, most times I'm not the first one down that road and there is a solution or recommendation for me to evaluate. If not  posting the question and someone quickly will post experiences and photos if possible of their solutions.

The fire wall pad is a great example - there is only one pad out there that feels & looks the same as the originals, but it is missing the look and feel of the original factory rubber coating. The reproduction has a thinner coating with low rubber content or maybe it is vinyl based. The thread here on CRG shows how to correct that defect using over the counter spray. Detailed and perfect solution to a common problem.

[Sauron327]

Tom, Nose and hood location affect the cowl panel position. Not unsual for the wiper arm shafts not to be perfectly centered in the holes. Also not unusual to see a clean GM cowl panel. My original one is and so are 2 other spares. There are small triagular reinforcements in the cowl panel. I can't recall with certainty but repros may not have them.