body patch panels
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 245
Likes: 120
From: Southern Alabama
body patch panels
So, I'm going to order some patch panels for my 55 F100 and was wondering where is the best place to purchase them from. Just the typical pp like cab corners, floor panels, etc. Any suggestions? Any warnings or concerns?
Thanks
Patrick
Thanks
Patrick
Lead Driver
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,093
Likes: 652
From: Brentwood, TN
I have found it to be a crapshoot...different vendors carry different manufacturers panels, no particular rhyme nor reason as to the quality on any given day. All seem to need some amount of massaging to get the fit just right.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,328
Likes: 124
From: Iowa
Agree with Charlie. They are stamped out approximately the correct shape. Time spent massaging them is well spent before you light up the welder. I found my quarter panel patch panels to be pretty good. Lower door panel patches were ridiculous. I would have been no worse off buying $100 worth of sheet metal and just figured it out in a few hours.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,644
Likes: 55
From: Moro Bay, AR
I'm pretty sure that all of the patch panels come off of the same dies, just different vendors name on them. When I bought the cowl panels for my '53 there was paper vendor tags stuck over several other vendors tags, so they had been swapped around for a while.
FTE Legend
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 283,261
Likes: 8,159
From: northwestern Ontario
Best thing to do is buy them as close to you as possible to cut the cost of shipping, they are all the same, as Jeff has said peel of the layers of stickers and you'll find the original source...
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Mountain Pass
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From: Southern Alabama
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 535
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From: Scotland
I got my repair panels from Mid Fifty mostly and nothing at all matches so far without serious rework. I have just finished doing the rear cab mounts and they were the worst example so far. The base plate I just wouldn't use because it was too hard to fix and had to repair the old one. The Rear Bracket had every critical dimension off by 1/8 " and took me 2 weeks to move all the hole positions and weld in a packer.
It's all very frustrating but don't cut too much away or throw original sections out because you think you have replacements because it can save a lot of time to make a hybrid of old/new.
It's all very frustrating but don't cut too much away or throw original sections out because you think you have replacements because it can save a lot of time to make a hybrid of old/new.
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