Anyone have an aftermarket console top set?

[timmycharger]

Ive given up on trying to find a nice used top and door, so Ive been looking at ones from PG, and other vendors such as this ebay one : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mopar-66-67-68-Coronet-GTX-Roadrunner-Console-Top-Plate-3-Piece-Set-NEW-/360810002196?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1968%7CModel%3ACharger&hash=item5401f3b714&vxp=mtr

Anyone try these? I have a fear of snapping off a stud on the door hinge from an inferior piece of pot metal or whatever its made of..They look really nice though..

[68 RT]

I'm wandering the same thing, and are repos as heavy as orginals? Fitment issues? Thanks

[bull]

I'm about 99% sure all of these top plate sets are made by PG Classic. If you see one sold by someone other than PG Classic you can bet they bought it from PG Classic to resell.

That said, I was able to get a set made by someone else and I got a first-run 4 speed set for a lot less than they usually sell for (although $600 is pretty good).http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,93694.0.html This company no longer makes/sells them so PG is the sole supplier know as far as I know. The back piece is not included in that auction you linked though.

As far as fitment is concerned I am also 99% sure, based on experience, that there will be fitment issues with any aftermarket part you buy. I don't think I've bought a single aftermarket part that just bolted right in place without any fuss. I even had to carve some metal off bth ends of the lid with a belt sander to get it to fit between the back piece and the shifter cover. But it's all good now. Here's a pic of when I was almost finished.

[Charger_Dart]

I replaced my pitted top console panels with a set from PG Classic 2 years ago. I put them on my original console and they fit very nicely. I did not have to modify them to fit at all and have been very happy with the quality so far. The weight was about the same as the originals and seemed to made out of similar type of material. The chrome was excellent with no flaws that I can find and the painted parts look nice. I would recommend them 

[timmycharger]

Great info guys, thanks for the replies. Much appreciated..

[Dino]

To be honest, the stock console tops don't fit all that great either and usually can stand some tweaking as well.   

[Ghoste]

Yep, mass production buddy.

[Dino]

Yep, mass production buddy.

If only they bolted the first one in right and made a nice jig we wouldn't be in this mess!   

[Mopar Nut]

Call Mike at BE&A (same as PG Classic, but located in the U.S.A.), that's where I bought my whole set.   

[68 RT]

I replaced my pitted top console panels with a set from PG Classic 2 years ago. I put them on my original console and they fit very nicely. I did not have to modify them to fit at all and have been very happy with the quality so far. The weight was about the same as the originals and seemed to made out of similar type of material. The chrome was excellent with no flaws that I can find and the painted parts look nice. I would recommend them 

Thanks, that helps out alot. 

[bull]

Back when PG Classic was trying customer service on for size I would have been more apt to trust them with this sort of thing. I talked to a moparts member who runs a restoration shop and he's had lots of problems with them lately (past year or so). He says they are planning to stop taking credit cards so people are less able to get their money back. Although PG and BEA share the same parts, Mike at BEA is the only one I would trust to take care of me. Until last week I was unable to get anyone at PG Classic to answer the phone for about three months.

Long story short, my advice is to pay the extra and get your stuff from BEA.

[timmycharger]

Thanks guys, just checked out the B, E, A site, about $140 more than the ones I flagged on Ebay.  So understand correctly, there are more than one manufacturer of these parts or do they call come from the same place?  I will shell out the extra coin if Im getting a superior product, no doubt, but based on the pics, they look identical.  Awesome feedback guys, thanks.

[Dino]

Back when PG Classic was trying customer service on for size I would have been more apt to trust them with this sort of thing. I talked to a moparts member who runs a restoration shop and he's had lots of problems with them lately (past year or so). He says they are planning to stop taking credit cards so people are less able to get their money back. Although PG and BEA share the same parts, Mike at BEA is the only one I would trust to take care of me. Until last week I was unable to get anyone at PG Classic to answer the phone for about three months.

Long story short, my advice is to pay the extra and get your stuff from BEA.

What the heck!  Who runs this place?  Ben Dover?

Thanks for the heads up, I'll steer clear of these guys.

[bull]

Thanks guys, just checked out the B, E, A site, about $140 more than the ones I flagged on Ebay.  So understand correctly, there are more than one manufacturer of these parts or do they call come from the same place?   I will shell out the extra coin if Im getting a superior product, no doubt, but based on the pics, they look identical.  Awesome feedback guys, thanks.

There's only one manufacturer now and that's the suppliers for BE&A/PG Classic. My top plate set was a one-off production that someone else tried and failed at (they didn't fail at making the part, they failed at making a profit). PG Classic will be cheaper because they don't pay the licensing fees or brand their parts with Mopar part numbers like BE&A does, but the parts to both places are identical otherwise and are coming out of China. PG is Peter G who works with the Chinese to make these parts but his customer service is the problem. Mike at BE&A will work with people but it will cost more money as you discovered.

I don't know, it's a gamble with some of these places. If the Ebay deal is not PG Classic it's definitely a safer bet but at the same time the PG parts are often so much cheaper they're hard to ignore. I have purchased several items from them and was pretty nervous every time, but it's worked out so far. The one thing I bought from them that didn't work so well was a set of 68 tail light bezels. I had to take a carbide grinder bit to them to get them to fit right. It was easier than trying to send them back and cheaper than having my originals rechromed. They've kind of got you where they want you on a lot of this stuff.

[68 RT]

I bought the ones off ebay, just got them in. Fit and finish was great.

[timmycharger]

Well, I pulled the trigger last week and ended up buying the ones from Vans auto on ebay. Package came today, Ive got to say, these look flawless. They are the right weight, feel, and finish as the original. Im very happy with them, $600 isn't cheap but considering a decent set of used ones are hard to find for a reasonable price, its worth it to me.  Ill likely recoup about $150 with my old set after I clean them up more and put them up for sale. They are not terribly pitted, but have holes drilled where the factory tach should have been on a 67.  Cant wait to put this on my freshly restored console!   

[timmycharger]

Well, I pulled the trigger last week and ended up buying the ones from Vans auto on ebay. Package came today, Ive got to say, these look flawless. They are the right weight, feel, and finish as the original. Im very happy with them, $600 isn't cheap but considering a decent set of used ones are hard to find for a reasonable price, its worth it to me.  Ill likely recoup about $150 with my old set after I clean them up more and put them up for sale. They are not terribly pitted, but have holes drilled where the factory tach should have been on a 67.  Cant wait to put this on my freshly restored console!   

Well, probably should have examined these parts a bit closer before giving them positive praise.  This weekend I took them out of the box again to see how they look on the console and now Im less than pleased with these.  The rectangle area where the upper shift boot bolts to on the top plate has some issues. On one side, the chrome is perfect, but on the other, its imperfect and sort of buldges out a bit. its not something that jumps right at you but not what I expected.  Secondly, the door looks wavy, if you look at it from a few angles, it looks very noticible, as if they polished it too hard or something.  Yes, I know, you get what you pay for, but for $600 i was probably expecting something better. The good news is that they fit perfectly, even on an aftermarket console shell.  Im going to see if the seller will do anything for me, Ill be happy with an exchange but Im not holding my breath...

[bull]

Bummer. Now what? I will say this, there have been several times when I have come close to bawling someone out over an ill-fitting part only to discover it only needed a little more massaging to get it to work. Also, parts that look shoddy in your hands can often look fine once installed. On the other hand it's my opinion that some vendors will try "dumping" a known bad part every time it's ordered until they find someone whose standards aren't as high and won't request an exchange. The parts you have now may have been rejected several times already.

[Mike DC]

Anything rechromed by the Chinese is suspect in terms of durability.  I've heard it said that their outside mirrors get chalky in a year or so. 

[Ghoste]

I haven't heard that about chalky mirrors (I really hope not) but I agree with you Mike, quality is not fundamental tenet of Chinese manufacturing from what I've seen.

[timmycharger]

I ended up talking to the seller who told me to send them back for a refund. After I did that, I called him for the status of my refund and after talking to him with the parts in front of him, I was able to get him to aknowledge that the parts had issues because at first he kept saying he didnt see any flaws.  He then immediately refunded my money but I agree that I think he will just pack them up again and sell it to someone else. I will try my luck with another vendor as suggested by others, B,E, A parts.

[timmycharger]

I know this is an old topic, but I wanted to update in case anyone is going through this as well. Since returning the top plates to Vans Auto, I ended up picking up another set from PG classics, got the complete set.  These are better looking than the prior ones, but I think they all come from the same place as the door was a bit wavy and there were small imperfections. Since my car is far from perfect, im going with it.

I don't know if the fitment would have been better on an original console, however mine is not ideal as I have an aftermarket console shell.  The top plate needed to be pushed forward about 1/8 of an inch and new holes drilled into the plastic shell in order for the console door to fit and close properly. 

Another thing I noticed was the acorn nuts stripped easily on two of the console door studs. 

[bull]

Another thing I noticed was the acorn nuts stripped easily on two of the console door studs. 

I threw those acorn nuts in the garbage after trying for a half hour to get them to work. About 1/4" broke off one of the studs in the process too. I ended up buying some real, stainless acorn nuts at the hardware store and cutting threads onto the studs so they actually fit and hold tight. No problems after that.

[timmycharger]

Thanks Bull, I'll check out my local hardware store for the same, 2 of them are stripped now and the door is not tight anymore 

[Brock Lee]

I tapped my originals for real nuts.

I hate dealing with consoles. I always felt the issues were primarily in the console bodies. They twist, flex, warp, and settle. They get used to a very particular alignment of each components. Take one apart and reassemble and it can take forever to get it back to how it was. One I have likes to occasionally pop open when you hit a bump.

[Mike DC]

   
The OEM plastic console bodies are a cheap flimsy design.  That's the real issue. 

[bull]

Maybe. But if by saying that you mean to say the aftermarket consoles are better I can say that is definitely not the case.

[charger Downunder]

I dont have an after market one but the studs that the acorn nuts go onto are soft metal on the original. So you think they would improve on this in the repro ones. I reckon the original spring has to much tension for the console shell and puts extra strain on the acorn nuts.

[Brock Lee]

Maybe. But if by saying that you mean to say the aftermarket consoles are better I can say that is definitely not the case.

They are just as crappy as the originals. But what is worse, you can see they used a typically warped original as their base. So you not only are dealing with the same flimsy plastic, but it was molded pre-warped.

[Mike DC]

                      
                                       
The only way to make these consoles non-shitty is a much more reinforced version of the shell.  Something heavier in weight and probably different looking underneath.  


Any low/flat console between two front bucket seats needs to be much stronger than this thing ever was.  Especially on a 2dr car.  Consoles ALWAYS  get sat upon & climbed over by passengers periodically.  It's standard treatment for cars that live in the real world.  If the factory didn't build the console strong enough for that treatment then they under-built it.