Hi,
I'm looking at purchasing quite a few parts for my 67 RS Convertible to complete the restoration. I'll have to order and then have it all shipped to Australia so will not be able to see the quality prior to order.
Major suppliers appear to be Classic Industries and Rick's First Gen, but would consider others. Appreciate any comments on the quality of parts, price, service etc.
Thanks.
Have used both those to ship parts down here, plus Heartbeat City (HBC), D&R, NPD, Firewheel Classics and more. HBC in particular has good parts, although a little pricey, but they do offer 'Made in USA' quality parts as well as the cheaper Taiwan/ROC repros. I've generally found parts made by CHQ to be very nice.
There used to be rumours that some vendors sent previously-returned parts overseas to get rid of them out of stock, knowing nobody would pay for returns outside of North America, but I've bought thousands of $ of parts over the years and never experienced that issue.
Best to contact the vendor first with specific questions if you have particular expectations though, since quality, fit and finish do not always correlate well with price. Also watch out for the GST threshhold, as it can be cheaper to place several orders rather than one; also allows you to see how a vendor performs before placing another order.
Thanks for the reply, very helpful. I've placed a small order with Classic Industries to test shipping, service and quality. Have you had any experience with the reproduction door shells? Mine are reasonable but doesn't take many panel beater hours to get to the $350 price of a new shell.
No worries. I haven't used repro door shells, so can't comment. Are your shells rusty, or just need re-skinning? I'd take an original GM door that needs work over a repro door every time, but that's just my preference - your budget may dictate which way you need to go.
What part of Aus are you in?
Repro door skins can be made of thinner metal. They give a lot when you pull on the door handle. Keep and patch original doors when ever possible IMHO.
AMD door skins are just as thick as originals and fit excellent.....at least for '67.
Mike