Quality parts?
 

Has anyone had good luck buying quality parts? I just ordered a new tailgate for my 53, and I was very disapointed. I expected to use a little filler on the pinch weld spots, and maybe a couple dings, but this has 12 big spot welds on the face where the back rolls over the top and bottom and meets the front. They are across above and below the Chevrolet script on the seam. Each one is about 1/4 wide, 1/4 high, and 1/2 long. I will need to grinde them all out. Is everyone out there selling this poor quality parts? I did not know if I should name the company where I got it, but the box said made in Tiwan.

Re: Quality parts?
 

Have you contacted the vendor to see if they will exchange it? A lot of times spot weld issues are specific to the part not the batch of parts. One could look perfect and the next on the line look like yours. Send them a picture of the problem and see what they can do.

Re: Quality parts?
 

I had the same question about the spot welds on a tailgate myself, contacted the vendor and was told that the tailgate was made to OEM specs. They told me to grind the spot welds down and fill them which is exactly what I did.

I think that answer will be the standard answer you will receive when you talk to the vendor.

Tri5

Re: Quality parts?
 

For bed parts call Mar-K in Oklahoma City

Re: Quality parts?
 

The spot welds are what I expected. These are extra welds where there should not be any.

Re: Quality parts?
 

My exact thought too. Made in USA, I've never had a problem with their parts. It sounds like "made to manufacturers OEM specs" means "right after they are fabed before any finish work". I'm relatively sure Fisher Body had to deliver paint ready panels to GM.

Re: Quality parts?
 

Got a pair of doors for my 57 from Dynacor [Spelling?] from a vendor in GA. They do not have the contour of the original doors and it is taking some extensive work on the body to get them to fit. True there is no rust in my doors now but this welding and grinding is wearing me out. [I HATE GRINDING].

Bought a pair of the steps with the built in rockers, cab corners and front hinge pillar repair pieces. I have markedly modified my floors so the pillar pieces understandably had to be reworked.

The steps and cab corners were from a so-called reputable vendor but were pathetic. Have taken a bunch of fabricating to fit - even more than the doors have taken. Again - at least there is no rust in those areas now.

Looking at costs so far I probably would have been better off just waiting to find a rust free truck to begin with. Hindsight, you know!

Re: Quality parts?
 

PDW - I say name drop. I'm not too far from ordering the same parts and I don't want to be in the same shoes you are in. We are more than happy to drop names for great products so we need to do the same for bad ones. Looking out for the other guy is a great thing in my opinion.

Re: Quality parts?
 

I do know from experince that the cab corners on 55-59 from Dynacorn are a much better fit than the others. It seems that the Dynacorn right corner has a much better contour and it closer to the original where the rocker meets the corner.

Re: Quality parts?
 

You have a valid point there PDW. From the pic of the ad and what I recieved was like you said, not ready to be painted with a bunch of spot welds to fill. I dont think it matters where they were made cause the ones I have were made right here in the U.S.A.

I was not so pleased that I would have to bodywork a new body part to this extent but what can you do. The only other difference is that they arent bent or rusty like my originals:lol::lol:

Re: Quality parts?
 

Your tailgate looks better than mine. I got mine from Classic Industries. Those pinch welds can be filled, these extra 12 welds need no be completly ground off. I have seen repop tailgates before, but not this. I tried to test fit it tonight. My original fits fine. I could not even bolt this one on. With one hing on the truck, hold the tailgate on, and try to line up the other hing, it is about 1/4 wide at the bottom. I am using origonal hinges also. I emailed Classic Industries and got no response. I just spent over $500 there, and they did not even reply. Maybe I will shop somewhere else.

Re: Quality parts?
 

You're starting to worry me now. I was gonna wait till I finished my cab to start on the bed. I guess in the evening I will put everything on hold a bit and tackle the bed just to see if everything fits. I shopped at Mar-k for the bed and never really heard anything bad about them. I guess I will soon find out

Re: Quality parts?
 

Are you guys talking about the row of the welds right under the top roll and above the bottom roll across the entire width? If so, those very same welds existed on factory tailgates.

As for it not fitting, are you sure your bedsides are aligned completely?

I often think people rebuilding 50 year old trucks seem to expect gap tolerances that equate those seen in $80K luxury vehicles today. Understand 50 years ago a truck was a truck and precise fit was not exactly high on the list of to-do's for manufacturers.

Re: Quality parts?
 

There was a thread within the last few months about assembling and aligning the bed and tail gate. One of the members had an issue with the top of the side rails flaring out. MartinSR also has a really good "basics" article on fitting panels too. I agree with the gaps and alignment comment. I am finding stuff I never noticed before including places where underlying panels were literally beat with a ball peen hammer on the assembly line to provide clearance for outer panels.

Something else to remember is these trucks are relatively flexible by design. They were made so the frame and body panels could move independently running across fields and ditches, crawling up hills, etc. You can spend days aligning stuff just to have it move the first time you take it out on the street and run through a dip in the street or go across a steep drive at an angle. I've had mine with the opposite corners of the frame offset 6-8"+ crawling over water-bars and stream bed sides. I even cracked the weld where the A pillar attachs to the cowl, still don't know how the windshield stayed intact. Take a look at the 4x4 forum on this site for a thread on frame tweaking photos. Another reason I haven't welded any of my brackets to the frame, I was told years ago that welding would just create a weak point next to the weld that over time could develop into a crack.

Re: Quality parts?
 

PDW - Thanks for the info on that company. Wont be sending them any of my hard earned cash. Customer service is almost as important as the product it self in my opinion.

Re: Quality parts?
 

I know the spot welds are on factory ones. These are welds that should not be there. I dont know how to post pics here, or I would. I have had good luck with Classic Industries in the past. I probably would have gone to Mar-k (good company) but I needed other parts that they dont sell. All my other parts looked good. I know about factory tolerances, that is why I mentioned that my stock tailgate fit fine, it is just dented up.

Re: Quality parts?
 

Don't be reluctant to drop names, especially if there is a problem. Companies make changes to improve when customers let them know they miss the mark.

Re: Quality parts?
 

55-59 trucks have a lot of flash on the original spot welds as well as a
lot of ill fitting body parts. I noticed it for years from the first 55 and
56 chevy pickups I used to check out of the motor pool during my time
in the navy. I have a after market 59 fender that the headlight trim
wont fit in with out reshaping, so I redid my original fender. Factory
didn't do it right and neither do the re-popers.

Re: Quality parts?
 

I agree! I bought most of my bed parts from Mar-K, its top quality all made in the USA, not China. I bought the front panel for the box of my bed from LMC, man that thing was warped so bad the bolt holes would not line up. In the garbage that panel went and I ordered a new one from Mar-k. It was a perfect fit.

Re: Quality parts?
 

I bought a pair of bedsides last weekend from LMC for my 48 not realizing they were China made. The box was in good condition and I glanced at the panel and it looked straight, so home I went. Once I got home and totally unpacked the bedside the bedside stake stamped portion was very wavy and was going to take a ton of bodywork to fix. The more I thought about it this week, the more disappointed I became. So in the morning I am taking them back to KC a 3 hour drive and picking up a set of American made from Classic Parts. Anyone used their bedsides? I hope they are better stampings on the stake holders.

Re: Quality parts?
 

Classic Parts says they get their bedsides from Mar K

Re: Quality parts?
 

Making those stake pockets without any wavy areas is a difficult tooling job. Ours have some waves on the sides near the top that we were unable to get out. I hope you have a chance to look at the parts before you purchase to make sure they are satisfactory. Also, check that the fender holes and angle holes are punched. This can save you a lot of time.

We can also put the fuel filler hole in the 48 bedside in case you are running the original type under the bed fuel tank/filler. Classic Parts can special order that for you. Good luck with your project.

Mar-Ktech

Re: Quality parts?
 

I have not seen the Mar K part yet. I ended up unable to go to KC today as I planned. I am betting the Mar K part is much better than the China panel, but I could be wrong. I don't really want to drive 6 hour round trip to exchange these, but I don't want to have to fill and block these for a day or two either. I may try to post some pictures of what I have and let you folks tell me if this is typical. If so, I will get the hammer, dolly and filler out. Thanks

Re: Quality parts?
 

Here are the import bedsides I am thinking of returning and getting the Mar k. Tell me if I am being to pickey with how much work needs to be done on the stake holders. The rest of the panel is nice and flat. Maybe this is to be expected, but trying to fill the contour of the rolled edge on the stake holder seems like a lot of work for a new part. The pictures don't really show the wavy areas as bad as they are, but tell me what you think.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e6...5/P1010222.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e6...5/P1010223.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e6...5/P1010220.jpg

Re: Quality parts?
 

It is kind of hard to see the detail on the black parts, but the wrinkles and dents you mention are visible and Mar-K parts do not have those features. The stake pockets in the picture earlier in this thread are Mar-K parts, to give you an idea of the quality. We have not had anybody return their bedsides so they could go buy China made parts instead. Try to find a vendor that carries our bedsides in stock so you can inspect them before paying. Check Classic Parts or Jim Carter in the KC area.

Mar-Ktech