Ill fitting repro sheet metal

mrtexas

mrtexas

Well-known member
I just got back from one of the sheet metal shops that makes a lot of the repro panels sold by most of the vendors. The 29 Roadster panel under the rumble seat took about 1/2 hour of fiddling by the owner of the shop with a metal stretcher and shrinker to fit correctly. As bought, the panel couldn't be used. The difference being that the originals were stamped and the repro are bent/shrunk. I'm lucky to live in the same town as the supplier. The floor panels I bought fit pretty good. What does anyone else do with these repro sheet metal panels to make them fit?

Panel after fitting:

RoadsterSheetMetal.jpg
 
Lots of four letter words. A cut off wheel and a welder. Why can't they ever make them so they at least fit let alone look original???
 
Howells is known for making ill fitting panels.

Brookville would have been better fitting.
 
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A friend bought a gas tank for his 46 Ford & 1 mounting bracket was too short & the other too long. He called the manufacturer, spoke with the owner who informed him that he had never had a complaint about that application & implied my friend was and idiot. A week later he got a call from the gentleman who apologized, because he called the shops he had been supplying the tank to and asked how the fit? The answer was.."they don't!!" Why didn't you guys tell me they didn't fit??? The answer... "Because none of your guys aftermarket #*#*ever fits & we have to rework it!!!!
 
I bought an unusable patch panel from Howell's in TX. I can't get him to reply to an E mail or return a phone call. BEWARE OF HOWELL's.:mad:
 
Greybeard said:
A week later he got a call from the gentleman who apologized, because he called the shops he had been supplying the tank to and asked how the fit? The answer was.."they don't!!" Why didn't you guys tell me they didn't fit??? The answer... "Because none of your guys aftermarket #*#*ever fits & we have to rework it!!!!
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I have to hand it to the owner of the shoip that made the stuff. He did not have to call the shops to whom he supplied the parts and he did not have to call the buyer back. I would now think he has corrected the parts he sells.
 
hi; i bought stuff from howells in tx myself.... after a lot of waiting most of my stuff finally arrived ... i said most of my stuff, as some of the panels were missing that i paid for... i work a lot out of town ,so after years waiting and several inquirys, i guess ive just got to be happy with what i got... not really professional buisiness practices.. ive had other suppliers do the same stuff. you got to watch them,and stay after them. pay my postal money orders, and hope for the best... had good luck with the postal inspector getting on a supplier...kevin
 
Dennis..The trunk/rumble platform looks nice, is it a repop? I also can't figure out what kind of car, early 30? Thanks, Dudley
 
30cabriolet said:
If you want to get Ryan to respond, email him at home or call his cell: ryanwalton@att.net 409-658-9584. He still won't respond, but when he sees his caller id, you might get some action. Also, what really worked for me was I used Paypal to request money from him and filed with the BBB and the Texas atty General; I had a refund in a week.

If Howell's is the only place that makes a part you need, then buy through a supplier and let the supplier deal with the problems.
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Bought some 28 29 pick up cab corners from Mac's for my Express truck. Turns out they buy them from Howell's. Mac's sent me a note that they would have to be shipped direct from the manufacturer and that could take 5 to 6 weeks. I immediately suspect they are coming from Howell's. They actually show up in about a week and sure enough they are from Howell's.

Problem is that one of the beads is stamped poorly and that for the money I paid I sent pictures to Mac's and asked for a replacement. The people in customer service at Mac's are great and I am patting myself on the back for placing my order with them instead of Howell's. I really don't need the headache.

Turns out that Howell's treats Mac's just like they treat joe blow off the street. They won't return their calls or emails and Mac's ends up giving me a full refund and I keep the parts.

Kudos to Mac's and I can buy another set from another vendor now and I am not out the original purchace price. If it was Howell's I was dealing with I would be screwed.

I also forwarded Ryans cell phone number & email to Mac's so they can continue to pursue this matter.
 
pisses me off when their is such a low level of quality control considering the price they ask for the panels plus shipping. sure would nice to "back bill" the supplier for the time and money spent "fitting" their product.
 
I didn't have luck with Howell's either, they go by the user name "09-40" on ebay.

I bought a pair of 28/29 roadster cowl side panels. There was absolutely no way I could have make them fit as-is. I ended up tossing them and repairing the original ones I already had. Exactly what I should have do in the first place!http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/09-40/
 
This is a common theme on the HAMB as wel. It appears that Howell's used to be very good and now doesn't produce the quality of panel that they used to and also has extremely poor customer "service" Too bad,really.

I've only bought one repair panel-from Mac's, and it required just a bit of work to fit. I figured on a 75 year old car that wasn't too bad.

The moral here is to always go through a supplier like Mac's, check that the part is in stock and be prepared for it to be far from what Henry made-but at least you will get it. I think, generally, the Model A suppliers are pretty honest about the sheet metal they carry/represent and know how it fits and looks. You'd be wise to ask to talk to a shop guy and ask those questions before ordering and paying shipping on something that looked it was made during "bring your kid to work day".

How places like these sheet metal manufacturers can get up in the morning and look themselves in the mirror is beyond me.
 
I just installed a pair of '31 cowl patch panels from Bill Stipe and they fit PERFECT!!. Easy, 1 hour per side install.
We hope to fire the Phaeton this Saturday, Bonneville is getting closer!
 
I have also installed the Stipe 30-31 cowl patches with very good results. However on the same project a 1930 68B I installed a set of lower rear quarter patches that were supposedly made specifically for the Cabriolet. They were completely wrong in the door jamb area I had to make my own nailing flange. Also they had to be sectioned because they were about an inch and a half too long. This required many hours of extra work. Good thing or else I wouldn't have had enough metal to reform the jamb. I believe they were from "Texas" I am not sure as I installed them for another member of our club. He was surprised when he found out how bad they really were. "Aren't they just supposed to fit?"
 
I bought several patch panels from Howells. I had to cut and adjust them to be able to use them. But at least I could work with them to make them fit,they were close. I bought a back cab panel from Wolf that must have been made for a huge semi truck because all of the beads and ribs were at least an inch too wide to match up. I was in a hurry so I cut the panel in several pieces and rewelded it.Ended up junking over half of it. I won't ever buy anything else from that clown.
If I were in business making these panels, I would be ashamed to advertise the crap they claim is a good fit.I don't think they ever had to use any of them.
 
If you can get them, at least you got some ting to work with. If they fit just right, we probably couldn't afford them. Door panels for my 29 Pk Up took 9 months delivery. Was glad they came, not perfect but the doors are solid and don't look bad for a truck. Iceman
 
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