Best body part for a 69RS camaro

T

tonysturbo

Need to get some input on what place has the best fitment for body parts for a Camaro. I just had quarter, rockers, Door skins, fenders and hood that came from D&R out of IL that seemed fine until the fender were installed. It seems that the fender main body line does not match up with the door body lines very well. It's almost a 1/4 difference. I subbed out some of the sheet metal work out to a shop to help me get this project done faster and they really messed up the car for sure. I'm not very happy at all, and all they said this was as good as they can get it. Keep in mind this is a Custom body shop that only does street rods and work like this all the time. I was very unhappy with the work to say the least. This is going to be settled in court for sure. Any help would be great. D&R was the place that the body shop had recommended for the parts. Thanks
 
Has anyone used Yearone body parts? There prices seem a little more, I just want it to match the main body line better then it does already without having to split the fender in order for it to line up. It just seems like there should be someplace that makes them. Thanks
 
Here is some pictures

Here you go. IMAG1269.jpg

IMAG1268.jpg
 
They also used a come along to pull the front together and bowed the fenders so now I have bigger gaps between the hood and fenders in the middle and tighter at the front and rear. They also fit and welded the quarters before fitting the NOS deck lid and had to cut the entire top half of the trunk lid in order for it to fit the jam. Just real sloppy work for $5500.00 and that's just for the labor no parts. I went there three different times to except the car because he said it was done, and all three times I expressed my concerns that it was not good enough. We decided to pay for it and so that the car would not become a hostage and sit in a snow bank until we could settle this problem. I'm just sick about this.
 
Your best choice if at all possible would be original gm . We try to source nos stuff if customer can budget it. If we need aftermarket panels we have used amd at our shop. Also we try to deal with heartbeatcity on a lot of the other parts we need to get for Camaro's. We work on quite a few Camaro's and found out what works and what doesn't. If I can be of any help let me know . pm me or your welcome to come by our shop and check out the Camaro's we have at shop. Joe
 
With the great popularity of the first gen Camaros I would think it would be a profitable endeavor for GM to manufacture door skins, fenders, q panels hoods and trunk lids. I do not think a 25% premium would be unreasonable to get a decent repo part.
Hell GM builds cars in China, shouldn't be to hard for them to do some Genuine Metal reproductions ;)
 
I've had the best luck with AMD parts myself. Doing a re-body on a Chevelle right now and the parts fit really good.
 
I've decided to remove the entire front end and doors and start over. Did some measurements and the front was not squared up before it was installed. I can't even get the wiper cowl to fit because the fenders are pulled in way to far. I'm even going to loosen the core support to realign everything before going forward. I'm really glad this pays twice to do the work again....NOT!
Next time Chad I will try AMD parts. Seems like it's the place most use. Thanks
 
tonysturbo;33094 said:
I've decided to remove the entire front end and doors and start over. Did some measurements and the front was not squared up before it was installed. I can't even get the wiper cowl to fit because the fenders are pulled in way to far. I'm even going to loosen the core support to realign everything before going forward. I'm really glad this pays twice to do the work again....NOT!
Next time Chad I will try AMD parts. Seems like it's the place most use. Thanks
Click to expand...

But keep in mind even the better of the available parts will still require work to make them fit as they should.
 
The last two Camaros I've done, I've even had to cut and fab original fenders/doors to get the gaps and lines good. Have to remember the factory tolerances were horrible to begin with, so you can't expect an aftermarket part to fit better. Although I have run across, from time to time, a part that will fit better than original with some of the mopar sheet metal from AMD. But it isn't enough to bank on it every time.

Even though I have limited experience with AMD with the GM stuff, their Chrysler stuff is top notch.
 
I have one original fender but I can' t remember the side. Leftover from a job. The blaster warped the top of it a little but it's easilly fixable. I'd take a 100 bucks for it as is or for some extra I'd fix the warp. Or, I'm close enough you can borrow it and see what it looks like.

If you have deep pockets Camaro Country in Marshall would have more but watch him, he's sticky.

Those gaps look about right from the aftermarket stuff I've messed with. I haven't used any of that stuff in years but I do remember tightening gaps with the welder and shaping them to look satisfactory. I did it with nos stuff before because it isn't exactly precise.
 
The original camaro fenders on the 69 model aren't designed to fit flush with the door, they are spec'd to be out from the door .060 to .110" I think. You can make them fit flush but it usually takes some trimming of the inner flange for door clearance when it opens. fit to the rocker panel is always poor at the lower corner and needs work. Expect to spend some time and expect some modifications with both NOS and repro parts if you're looking for good panel alignment.
 
Yep.. So many people think panels will just bolt on.. Some of the cars we do I spend weeks adjusting body lines and cutting and trimming to get lines right.
 
ive cut/spliced/added/subtracted metal to get my gaps to be even (both AMD fenders)
Body (106).jpg

Body (109).jpg
 
Just ordered some AMD nova quarters, my fingers are crossed but I bet they'll need a lot of work.
 
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