or lack thereof. any input appreciated. looking to get floorpan and rocker stuff. worth it?

 

Their whole business is based on getting left-overs and overstock from various suppliers. Unless they list the manufacturer, it would be hard to predict what you are getting, quality might vary greatly.

That being said, I don't think there are too many different manufacturers of sheetmetal anyway. Guarantee it's from China no matter what you get.

 

5 years ago i got some patch panels (unknown brand) .bought through my body shops jobber supplier.the back wheel well lowers are already paper thin and rotted through(even with rust bullet).next springs project

 

Rock Auto's quality is going to be as good as any of the distributor's at this point, LMC, NPD, etc. They all source replacement parts from the same manufacturers for resale which are considered LKQ (Like Kind Quality). Truth told, 90% are stamped overseas. Your local body shop does the same thing when repairing a newer vehicle. Insurance adjusters will always write a claim for LKQ parts. Regardless of the parts used...it's all in the prep. Test fit and plan for proper fitment.

 

Most aftermarket stuff is thinner. That way they don't have to hit it very many times to form the body lines.

I read somewhere that a aftermarket fender may have to be hit 4 to 5 times in different operations to get it fully formed, while the factory OEM fenders would need to be hit with the various dies up to 20 times to form them correctly.

And when you hit a piece of sheetmetal with a die that does a lot of the work all at once, it stretches the metal very thin in some areas.

 

It's a pretty good indication when you receive body parts wrapped in thin cardboard stamped with Asian markings.

 

I was vary pleased with the floors, cab corners, rockers & rear door posts from Tabco.Com

They were thick and fir vary good on a beat up old 81 truck.
Dave - - - -

 

I know this thread is a little old, but I've been meaning to share my experience with Tabco. I ordered rockers and inner wheel wells from them in mid July. They emailed me and told me to call them about my order. The driver's side wheel well was out of stock. They were going to look for one. 2 weeks later, I email them again, he said they were still looking but they could send my rockers and the passenger side now. I told them to do it. No response from them. Email them again. They said they will have the driver's side in a week and will ship the whole thing then, but shipping will cost me more than what I have already paid. I told them I was going to refuse to pay more.

By this time over a month has gone by. He finally emailed me again 11 days later saying the parts had finally came in and if I still wanted them. Of course I do, I already paid for them! Parts finally arrive September 4th! I ordered them July 16th! When I got them, they are nothing like the pictures on their site. What I received was cheap China made parts that look exactly like what LMC sells. They were nothing like the pictures Dave (FuzzFace2) has in his thread.

The rockers have been installed now, and do not extend down far enough to meet the factory ones. Haven't tried the wheel wells yet. Maybe they have changed suppliers? I am not very happy with my experience with Tabco.

 

A shame for sure but it doesn't surprise me. When you take into consideration all of the panels that China is stamping out for the Russian market (have you seen some of the Russian accident videos ) When a Country mandates vehicle drive cams...phew .
It's about quantity for them....not quality. And shame on some U.S. based companies for knowingly passing this stuff on.

 

we order a bed fender for our 92, and it was really good thick metal.

no thin places iv seen

 

Tabco disappointed me again The whole fuel door area isn't indented as much as the factory one we are grafting in, and the finger cup area is not as defined as the factory one.

 

It may be just my perspective, or the angle of the pictures but...the forward fuel filler opening looks more defined with pleasing corners. Whether the fuel filler door fits those corners may be another thing but, in my opinion, i prefer the forward over the rearward.

 

The forward one is the factory Ford one I cut out of a truck bed. The rearward one is Tabco's

 

That's disappointing to hear about Tabco, I thought they were supposed to be a better quality than that.

 

That's why