Buying sheet metal from MAC's

F

FordToughChevyStuff

Member
Just curious if anyone has bought sheet metal from MAC's online? I am thinking about buying 2 new fenders and a hood assembly and want to make sure they have quality sheet metal products. I am mainly wanting to make sure they are quality pieces of metal and fit good. The current fenders I have right now are in pretty good shape but I am in the market for new ones.

Any insight from you guys would be great! Thanks
 
You can buy the front fenders from anybody you like,they are only made by one manufacturer.Everybody's front fenders are Gaslights,whether you buy them from Macs,Snyders,Brookeville,etc.I don't know if there is more than one manufacturer for the hoods or not at this time.
 
All of the Model A sheet metal I have bought from Macs is one to three gages too thin compared to original. The stampings are often nice and sharp, looking good/proper, but overall dimensions are mostly too small (bad), a few too big (good). Mostly they have been floor pan and similar mostly out of sight pieces that I reworked, but some I just had to return. ...all within last two years.

Fenders and PU bed, I have gotten from Snyders, hood from Rootlieb, but years ago. They were all good quality.

I recently (August 2013) bought miscellaneous parts for multiple cars from Macs, rubber and rivets, no complaints. Also noted, a couple tail lights in the order were from Vintique, which others here have noted are generally not restoration quality, but that was not a problem for my use.
 
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I purchased front & rear fenders for my 28. They appear to be ok. The freight can be a killer. Be ready to clean, prime & paint as they come bare metal.
 
Mac's has been fine for me, shipped on time good prices Iff'n I was buying fenders and lived within 500 miles of them, I would drive over and make a road trip if it though. Not sure how the freight companies would handle them. 'Course I like road trips anyway, just came back from vacation, drove cross country, did 7500 miles and 22 States in 13 days.
 
They all have to be made to fit, that's a given. I bought my panels for the lower cowl, doors and the back of the truck cab from Howells in Texas. I made it work and look right but Im done purchasing from them. This is my first A build, if there is one thing Ive learned its not to be cheap. Spend the extra $ for the parts that are known to fit and work. With that said, I need to buy another one so I can try that out lol...As far as Macs gows? They do ship on time, its one stop shopping and that's nice. But if its a part that needs to be high quality do some research and buy the better part. 80% of my truck has been put together from Macs, so I cant poo poo em too bad.
 
If you have fenders that are in rough shape, then my vote is to rework them, either by a competent body guy or try it yourself. Very satisfying and old ford tin is far better than anything new on the market. Jack
 
metalho said:
They all have to be made to fit, that's a given. I bought my panels for the lower cowl, doors and the back of the truck cab from Howells in Texas. I made it work and look right but Im done purchasing from them. This is my first A build, if there is one thing Ive learned its not to be cheap. Spend the extra $ for the parts that are known to fit and work. With that said, I need to buy another one so I can try that out lol...As far as Macs gows? They do ship on time, its one stop shopping and that's nice. But if its a part that needs to be high quality do some research and buy the better part. 80% of my truck has been put together from Macs, so I cant poo poo em too bad.
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Who else are you going to buy panels from???
 
spdway1 said:
Who else are you going to buy panels from???
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Must be years gone by now. Thought I heard of someone making repair panels that had a better belt line, not so squared off. Looking on the puter just now I see your right. They all come from Howell's?
 
Your best insurance for a good fit is to pay the price for good original ford parts . Or just keep throwing away hard earned cash on parts that almost fit .
 
I agree with Dennis - original parts are best even though some work may be required to get the original sheetmetal in good shape. Of course, some original parts are extremely hard to find and repro sheetmetal must be used. It seems like most sheetmetal makers get their sheetmetal part 85% to 90% correct an then stop. The exception is Antique Auto Sheetmetal (Brookville Roadster) for many of their parts - especially the panel under the front seat of many 28/29 car witch is die stamped is excellent quality. I am not a big fan of Mac's. Maybe they have changed with the new owners, but they probably have the same workers. Policywise, there might be a change for the better. As I have posted before, two times several years ago, seperated by a year or two, I was looking to purchase some sheetmetal parts. Both times I ask the person the answered the phone, different person each time, what vendor made the sheetmetal part. Both times they said they don't divulge their suppliers. I didn't want to buy anything for Howell's in TX. Needless to say I didn't purchase from them. Bratton's and Bert's will tell you who made the part you are considering. There are plenty of model A suppliers available, and therefore I don't use Mac's anymore. Like I mentioned before, maybe they have changed, but I probably will never know.
Rusty Nelson
 
I bought front and rear quarter patch panels from Macs. Shipment was fast. I did receive two right hand cowl panels. I called and they said they are shipping the other one tomorrow and to keep the wrong one. Customer service is important to me. As for fit of the panels, looks ok to me.
 
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