So for the guys who fit issues with AMD panels

[Ghoste]

Did you calculate how many man hours went into making them fit like NOS ones?  Not on the whole job but just on each individual panel?

[Cooter]

See that's the misconception with fitment...Even NOS panels will NEVER fit EVERY car like Factory. Every one was different even if just a little.
To expect an aftermarket panel to fit YOUR car as well as EVERY OTHER car out there Perfectly is ludacris, and those who cannot comprehend this fact, shouldn't be messin with cars at all. ALL panels need SOME "messaging" to fit....

[Ghoste]

I agree but there seems to be some opinion out there that the AMD panels require MORE than a normal fitment.  I'd like to find out how much more if a typical amount can be found.

[pandamarie]

I just finished replacing my whole trunk floor on my 70 challenger with AMD panels. Im disabled with a bad back and can only work on things like this for about 2-3 hours a day, it took me three weeks to get the old one out due to it being hit in the back probably in the 70s because everything was brazed together, that made it hard as hell to save the metal,
Putting the new panels in took me about 10 hours, that is the trunk floor plus the two drop offs. looking at it now that its done (besides some body work and paint to the outside) you would never know the trunk was replaced. I did put bed liner on it when I was finished and will paint the underside when body gets painted just to keep rust from setting in again.
Know to get it back on daily driver status like it use to be.

[Patronus]

I'll add as far as quarters are concerned, I have approx 5-6 hrs per side in figment issues. That's total, at lest to bring it back to blocking. This is qtrs only, no valence or corner work.

[Cooter]

Also, people today seem to want a 196?Whatever, to have the fit and finish of a new car. Door gaps perfectly lined, all trunk gaps perfect, etc.
Thing is, AMD might actually be onto the ACTUAL fit and finish of these cars when new. They didn't have fit worth a sh*t. Gaps all off, doors closed halfass, wind noises, water leaks, etc. Today, it would seem people want their cake and want to eat it as well...Well, in that case, you WILL HAVE TO fit each replacement panel like YOU prefer. This means ALOT of time in the ever popular, but rarely achieved, persuit of perfection.....

[Patronus]

I do not pursue perfection, if follows me around like a puppy.

[elitecustombody]

See that's the misconception with fitment...Even NOS panels will NEVER fit EVERY car like Factory. Every one was different even if just a little.
To expect an aftermarket panel to fit YOUR car as well as EVERY OTHER car out there Perfectly is ludacris, and those who cannot comprehend this fact, shouldn't be messin with cars at all. ALL panels need SOME "messaging" to fit....

Cooter, you hit nail on the head!

People do not realize that 40 years ago car makers didn't have quality control like they do now,that most of these cars  were used,abused,banged up,wrecked and repaired by who knows who and they never had perfect fitting panels to begin with when they were new. To top it off ,a lot of guys that try to restore old cars may have basic mechanic skills,but don't have no real experience dealing with panel replacement and just go by what they see online expecting everything to just pop in place.

OP, just so you know, not all NOS parts are perfect fitting. AMD is hands down the best choice out of all brands available. When you see and feel the difference between paperthin flimsy Goodmark part and AMD part, you will know.

I also want to add that I talked to Alan at AMD on numerous occasions about valance corners and FWIW he tells me that their tooling was made from NOS valance corners.

[Ryan]

Agreed, as far as the aftermarket stuff goes AMD is the best out there. Yes it needs help in plenty of areas but when its the only thing on the market that's even usable what else can you do? I will say if you can find good usable factory sheetmetal or NOS sheetmetal and you can afford it then buy it. There is no comparison.

How many hours do I have in making everything fit...... I have no idea and I'd rather not figure it out.

As far as the valance corners go its not the corners that are the problem guys. Its the trunk extensions and the quarter panels that make it seem like the corners don't fit. I have compared them to my originals that were in great shape and they are very accurate. You need to rebend the trunk extensions to tuck them in more and then slice the quarters to make them fit the corners. 

[Ghoste]

So ultimately, even with the extra fitting the AMD panels require, they still end up cheaper than NOS?

[Ryan]

That depends on who is doing the work.
If you are having a shop do your work those few hours of tweaking add up very quickly. If you are doing the work you may be ahead of the game with the AMD over the NOS stuff.

For me I went OEM / NOS on a few pieces. The doors, front valance, rear valance and tail panel.

The doors were a no brainer for me. I found a mint set that needed zero body work and they were cheaper than new AMD doors.
The front valance new was $250 from AMD. I found a mint used one for $300. Unfortunately it was after purchasing the AMD part but oh well. The amd valance needed to be slit at every mounting point and the used one bolted right up.
The rear valance was a bit of a nightmare. I purchased the AMD one, it fit like trash. AMD was aware of this and said a new one would be out in 6 months time and they would send me one. I didnt want to wait so I tried the good mark part. The fit was much better. The car got put on hold for a while and AMD ended up sending me the retooled part. The recently retooled rear valance would have needed a few hours in a pros hands to get it just right. However I stumbled on a NOS one and had to have it. It was over $600 delivered to my house but when restoring these cars you cant always do whatever is cheaper. If you want it a certain way then that is what you need to pursue otherwise you will not be happy. However after purchasing the AMD valance and the Goodmark valance I was out close to $500.
The AMD tailpanel was a joke and would have required significant work. I could have made it work and many people have but again I found NOS and that is what I am using. I wont even tell you how much the tailpanel cost.

[Cooter]

See another problem with the "Holy Grail" people seem to think NOS stuff is, ALOT of times that "NOS" stuff you just paid out the azz for was some "Defect" that was taken off and stuffed in the warranty bin, left for dead when dealer closed, some "Flipper" got his hands on it and sees it hasn't had much use if any and sells as NOS. This happens mainly with electrical parts, but still. A buddy bought Two NOS fenders for his 1970 Cuda. Got 'em cheap as they were still in the attack of an old dealer. ok, so he goes home and tries 'em on his Cuda. Well, we both thought for NOS stuff, these fit like sh*t...Then, we thought maybe they were in that attack for a reason.

[NorwayCharger]

See that's the misconception with fitment...Even NOS panels will NEVER fit EVERY car like Factory. Every one was different even if just a little.
To expect an aftermarket panel to fit YOUR car as well as EVERY OTHER car out there Perfectly is ludacris, and those who cannot comprehend this fact, shouldn't be messin with cars at all. ALL panels need SOME "messaging" to fit....

You`ve so right

Here is a couple of vids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnVCOzTW1lU&feature=channel&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyl7EDpbEqw&feature=channel&list=UL

[Ghoste]

Have you tried any of the AMD panels Cooter?  And if so, I guess did you find them the same then as your NOS experiences?

[hemi-hampton]

I've found alot of times people wont listen & they have to find out for themselves by doing it themselves. LEON.