Howell's Sheetmetal Company

Leathernek

Leathernek

Senior Member
I saw some sheetmetal patch panels offered by this company on Ebay. Supposedly they are made in the USA. Anyone ever use these panels? Good pricing.......Any thoughts?
 
I have sworn off Howell's a long time ago after purchasing some of their splash aprons and a couple of other sheetmetal parts. Many of their parts a poorly made and don't replicate original parts. I don't believe any of their parts are die stamped, always rolled. You might be lucky and these panels are OK, but personally I would never purchase any Howell product.
 
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I used their door bottom patches and their cowl and rear quarter patches for a pick up truck. Just like anybody else's that are not stamped, you have to make them work, they are not exact. In my opinion, they are as good as you get for the money.They fit better than some sorry crap I bought from Wolf manufacturing which wasn't even usable at all.I don't think anyone makes excellent panels.. that I know of anyway.
 
Cool deal, thanks for the info..... Do ya'll have any recommendations on any company who has good patch panels?
 
I bought a trunk lid from Howells few years back it was very nice but I was told came from Brookfield,that might be a choice I don't know about patches,Snyders has always been there for me just bought motor mount pads got them in 2 days
 
Brittons is an excelent company. I am not certian who builds there parts but they are nice parts and excelent people to work with.
Walter
 
maybe I'm a lucky one, but I have nothing but good things to say about them. All parts I used fit well and were shipped promptly. I like the USA made too. Thumbs up here
 
Shipping has always been a problem with them. If they don't have it in stock it could take up to two months for them to ship. That is if you are buying direct. I have heard that if you purchase thru Ebay they ship it out relatively quickly. I have had fast shipping and I have had poor shipping with them. The poor shipping side is a nightmare because they will lie to you that it has shipped and then when you call back they won't answer the phone even.

Quality of product is average. You need to work with everybodies panels that I have seen so far.
 
Replaced the rear panel below my decklid on my 27 roadster and it fit fine. Also bought a complete decklid from them. Just ordered lower cowl panels and quarters for my 27 pickup. Waiting for them now. Not many people making 26-27 t panels and i do believe they make them for all the big name suppliers. I would think that if Brookville makes their own panels for A's, then they should fit good.
 
Have door bottom and cowl panels from Brattons. They dont have a correct bead for the bottom, altough I dont think "any" mfg has the correct bead on the replacement panels. If you look closely, the original bead is a compound radius and not flat like the replacement. I am working with an experienced machinest to duplicate the bead curvature on dies for a bead roller. But I am a picky old f__t and want the replacement to match from front to back.
 
If you want Perfect panels i would say go to a WELL KNOWN RESTORATION SHOP and pay the price or buy junk and complain. I have worked with 2 such restoration shops dating back to the late 70's and just about every Model "A" built for FINE POINT Judging came home with a Henry Ford Award. I have seen them make a complete floor and 6 inches up from the bottom of a complete body on a Deluxe Black roadster and won a Henry. ,1-400A , 2- Deluxe Roadsters , 2-Standard roadsters ,1-30 coupe,all won Henry Ford Award's out of these shops ... And no one can tell if they had floors replaced or panels done.You will be surprised what a locale shop can do...
 
I've had enough bad luck trying to buy from Howell's that I simply will not attempt to buy direct from them anymore. Some of the stuff they make is good and some is just junk. They are probably the primary supplier for most of the patch panels sold by the parts houses. I've learned that if I want a patch panel I will go to a stocking dealer as I believe Howell's does not want to deal directly with the public. If they are advertising on ebay they probably have the part in hand and you will most likely get it quickly but if you call them to order directly you can't trust them when they say they have it in stock.

I believe that all patch panels are just close replicas of the original part and you are going to have to make it fit. I'm repairing both quarter panels for a friend on his 28 roadster. He bought patch panels from a well known, parts house and supplied them to me to replace the bottom 2 1/2" of the wheel wells. Here's an example of what was supplied and what I am making instead of using the parts that neither fit nor replicate the original part
 

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Howells was an absolute nightmare for me. I ordered door skins, lower quarters, complete back panel and lower rockers for a T tudor and it took more than 4 months for me to get them. They only came after I started a claim with paypal. One of door skins was a 1/4 inch short too. Never again. Burts has some nice sheetmetal. I always try to use original metal whenever possible.
 
I started with a 28-29 cowl, sold my first born for a pair of doors and then bought the rear panels and corner panels from Bert's in Denver. However, I talked to Howell's to find out how much I could stretch the corners. Went 6-1/2". After talking to Howell's, I ordered them from Steve and the price was exactly the same as ebay and direct. I agree with someone here that they don't want to screw with direct orders. BTW, the panels were correct and went together without any problems. I always try to order through Bert's, Snyders, etc. as they (the dealers) are in a better position to deal with vendor problems.
 

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The best luck I've had is with Gaslight Antique Auto. There panels are good and workable. No one seems to be able to get the cowl and 1/4 patch panels right though. Always the wrong shape of bead.

The Old Tinbasher
 
Vic in E-TN said:
The louvers on the side of the cab are interesting. Why did you put them in? What about rain?
Vic
Click to expand...

The cab is extended 6-1/2" and I own a louver press! There is a panel covering the louvers inside to prevent leaks. It was very easy to punch the louvers before I assembled the cab.
 
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