I am going to have to put bed sides on my 97 HDF250. It is the short bed with Dual tanks.

Ford Obsoleted them and I can't find any dealers with them in stock. SO it looks like aftermarket is my only route.

LMC, NPD and Rock Auto all show sides but all price differently. I am just wondering if anyone has used any of their stuff and compared the quality between them. LMC is the cheapest by almost $100 per side but is their quality poor compared to NPD? How about Rock Autos stuff?

NPD also lists OEM ones as well, but they are more than twice the cost and I don't know how updated their info is, if they can even get the OEM ones

 

I don't have much experience with NPD truck sheet metal replacement...yet! I do have a lot of experience with NPD sheet metal on a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. I replaced floor pans, torque boxes, etc. using their parts. It was good quality and excellent fit. I do know the one LMC panel I did install seemed lighter and less sturdy that the original but it was only a 'patch panel'. Hope this helps.
Mel

 

Thanks for the insite

 

Brad, no experience yet, but fwiw, I'm expecting delivery in a couple of days, on wheel arch repair panels for my 95. I bought them at Auto Body Panels | Autobody Parts | Rust Repair Panels | Floor PansClassic 2 Current Fabrication . They seem to have good reviews, and the panels are made in Detroit. Decent pricing also.

I'm going to need more sheetmetal soon enough, but I figured a small purchase like this would be a cheap way to check their quality before ordering everything else.

And yes, I know I should do bedsides as opposed to patch panels.

 

I ended up going thru NPD for bedsides. I am still on the hunt for the inner wheel well arch

 

I think i got my inners from that crappy Lmc i dont like speaking of, but they were really stout, and i cut the drain holes in mine and blasted and coated em in por

They worked for me and were a worlds cheaper than the ford oem ones npd has, i cant imagine what the difference would be, since they are both ribber and contoured which gives it the strength id imagine, They were not flimsy at all

 

Got my wheel arch panels today. Sticker on the back says made in Taiwan, which I was trying to avoid. Oh well, for $50 they'll do.

Fit seems decent, and they're 18ga.

 

Yeah, I kinda figured they were not made in the US .

MATT, yeah LMC has them but I will be damed to pay $50 each then ALSO have to pay $20 per arch support for an oversize fee. COMPLETE BS

NDP lists them, but no longer carries them

 

Yeah I know I hate that place lol

I think when i was looking for them NPD only had ford ones that were like 200+ a piece

 

For the price, I assumed they were overseas too. I was happy to see that they're 18ga though.

Didn't you have a rust free shortbed in your parts arsenal? I remember talking to you about buying it.

 

I had one. But one side was already changed(from accident) and it was installed incorrectly. It would of needed to come off and get reinstalled. The other side needed at least 5 hours worth of body work.

Then I would to need to sandblast the under side, POR15 then tractor paint. Also, I would need to do a spray in berliner as well. SO I sold it 2 years ago

I will have a lot less into my original bed just putting sides on and know what it is

 

Gotcha. Looking forward to seeing the final outcome.

 

Ended up going with jeffs Bronco Graveyard for the inner wheel well arches. $5 a piece cheaper than LMC, NO $20 EACH oversize fee and freight was about $24 total

 

I am going to check out the arch panels from LMC for my 96 F150 next week...
Advantage -- I will just drive over to their warehouse and look. No oversize charge
Mel

 

DieselBrad,

Did you end up using those inner wheel arches from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard? If so, how are they holding up? Thanks.