China Sheetmetal vs. Ford Sheetmetal

[jonathan]

lol

 

[DragRag]

You're in california man, there's all kinds of rust free premium quality panels out there!

Agreed there, check on craigslist for trucks being parted. Plenty of good metal to choose from out there. No need to buy an after market.

 

[Agnem]

You might consider a U.S. made hood that is not Ford, but is of very good quality. I've had a fiberglass hood on the Moose Truck from USBodySource.com for about a decade. It's been great!

 

[Optikalillushun]

Put an aftermarket hood and bed side on my 93...fit is horrible and its at least 1/2 as thick it seems.

Ur logic is kind of counteractive. UR still going to need to have the aftermarket hood painted...just like a junkyard hood...

Due to the influx of C2C trucks locally, i found 50 great hoods and doors at the junkyard. Even though they are supposed to crush em after 90 days it seems most yard keep em so finding one wouldnt be a problem.

 

[psychohawk]

Agreed there, check on craigslist for trucks being parted. Plenty of good metal to choose from out there. No need to buy an after market.

Yeah, find 'em all the time, just always the wrong color!

 

[psychohawk]

Ur logic is kind of counteractive. UR still going to need to have the aftermarket hood painted...just like a junkyard hood...
/QUOTE]

Sorry for not being clear ... yep, know that ... was considering the cost of junkyard hood with paint vs cost of china hood with paint ... only about $100 difference hence indecision.

 

[trackspeeder]

Ur logic is kind of counteractive. UR still going to need to have the aftermarket hood painted...just like a junkyard hood...
/QUOTE]

Sorry for not being clear ... yep, know that ... was considering the cost of junkyard hood with paint vs cost of china hood with paint ... only about $100 difference hence indecision.

Go with the salvage part. You know it will fit without too much cussing.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I will second what franklin2 has already said.

My area being the wrecked car rebuilding capitol of the world, just about everybody and his brother has a body-shop and I hear this talk all the time.

If YOU want a fender replaced they are all "NO; don't buy no foreign-made parts; they won't fit right and are just junk".

Then, go into their shop and watch what they are actually buying/using on ALL the vehicles that they are rebuilding to sell themselves; you will not see a made-in-the-USA box in their burn-pile.

If these guys are doing the work for someone else, of course they want something that is gonna be a perfect fit and not require any tweaking to get things lined up; it's just less work for them; they don't use their own advice when the money is coming from their pocket, though.


I have used several foreign-made body parts over the years, doors, fenders, etc., and once the bolts are in and the paint is on, I can tell no difference whatsoever, either in quality or durability.