Has anyone installed one of the headlight mounting panels from EMS. I got mine in today and looks like its going to be a major task fitting where it meets the fender side body line and the lines where it was pressed are not crisp and as sharp as needed to match. looks like it was pressed with a worn out press or dull stamp. Any suggestions from previous expriences?
Kerby...mine were not from ems and were probably alot worse than yours. The sharp corner radius that is required to get a nice tight looking seam on the outer portion of the fender was about a 3/8 radius on mine, with the backside bowl shaped..not flat. I figured the panels I had never received the final finessing. The problem was easy for me to resolve because I had already decided before I even got the panels that that was one of the seams I was going to eliminate. I just cut the back side off, spent a few hours with a hammer and football-shaped dolly held in my vise (Harbor freight..10 bucks), carefully ginding away the last of the metal to be removed and buttwelded the seam. I have a pic of it in the under construction ares of the gallery.. the second page.
I don't have a clue what peploe do when the're doing a factory spec restoration..I don't think they'd be usable without hours of hammer and dolly work by someone much more talented than I.
Rich
I am thinking I will have to but weld as you did. I am not against that since I am not restoring without other modifications. I appears I would need to do a considerable amount of dolly work. I have contacted a supplier that I have been purchasing parts from to see if he has a damaged fender I can get the piece from before I bit the bullet. I also considered cutting and fitting new and old to get what I need but some of the original parts are too far gone. I do appreciate your response and will look for your posted photos of what you ended up doing.. My condolences regarding your sister in law..
Crap...you guys are scaring me. I just passed up a chance to buy some pretty good orig. panels thinking that i would be ahead just buying new.
Remarkable job on the finished fender. I had repaired the original fender but was not content with the way it turned out, I thought I would be better off with the replacement.I like the looks of the seamless application and may end up that way. I too would have to pass if the seam were to go back as original, my metal fabrication skill are lacking. Much more than yours from what you were able to accomplish..I defiitely recommend originals to anyone needing the same repairs.
Quote from: Wirenut on 2012-02-09 06:45
Remarkable job on the finished fender. I had repaired the original fender but was not content with the way it turned out, I thought I would be better off with the replacement.I like the looks of the seamless application and may end up that way. I too would have to pass if the seam were to go back as original, my metal fabrication skill are lacking. Much more than yours from what you were able to accomplish..I defiitely recommend originals to anyone needing the same repairs.
I also tried a couple of aftermarket patch panels. I was very disappointed and sent them back. The radius on the patch panel to the front header panel is no where near a match and this joint can not be welded together unless you are not going to disassemble the front. I felt lucky to find a couple of NOS panels. I thought $125 was a little much. But since installing them, I think they were well worth the money. I have seen them sell for as much as $200.
Gasman is correct! The NOS stuff might be pricey but it is dead on with respect to fit and details. My 57s require nothing exotic (floor pans and rockers) but the 60 2dr wagon I am on right now needed a quarter, the NOS part I paid a pretty penny (and sveral hundred more) has all the details of the original wheel well opening which is very intricate. A piece I bought out of MI couldn't have been hammered into a correct fit. The bend radiuses were so large if you got them hamered down to factory the panel would have been too long! That part has been cut into several small patch panels.....
I just bought two off of them too, and the fit was terrible so I sent them back and asked them for OEM panels they said they had for 83.00 a piece more. When I got them they looked like the ones I sent back. I wish I would have put amark on the ones I sent back so I could have proven it. I just decided I would not buy panels from them any more and make the ones I have work.
The sad part about all this is you can buy a "new" 57 Chevy body. This months Hot Rod magazine has all the write up on it.
Mtwilsonboy...who did you order your panels from...sounds like a dealer rather than ems directly if they were offering two different panels.
Rich
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2012-02-09 19:24
Mtwilsonboy...who did you order your panels from...sounds like a dealer rather than ems directly if they were offering two different panels.
Rich
I ordered from EMS. I allways had some issue with my order when ever I ordered from them. I allways emailed EMS directly.
I'm confused, has anybody talked to EMS about their quality? The reason I didn't buy some orig. panels was because I had a good picture from their web page and the panel quality looked really good. From what you guys are saying ,it sounds like the actual product looks like something someone made in their back yard. Until I actually have to have the panels ,I think I will try hard to find some good stock pieces.
Here is a guy in Centerville Ohio with a few fenders for sale needing lower patch panels for $50. a piece.
http://dayton.craigslist.org/pts/2837652538.html
Thanks Roger, I sent him a message I appreciate the help..
After seeing the photos Rich showed i understand what you mean about the seam, to avoid this problem if it is not rusted near the seam cut the existing panel an inch or two from the seam then trim you new panel to match,it is a lot easier to make those edges fit each other without the fold in the panel, this way your seam stays original. If you can butt weld it, always try to avoid over laps but if you do over lap any where make sure you put weld through primer on both sides of overlap it will avoid it rusting after getting hot when welding. Just because you buy a patch panel you dont have put the whole panel in. We frequently just cut the rust back to where its solid and trim the new panel to suit.this way you can leave lots of your original seams, edges,body lines alone. I hope this makes sense guys, Im an autobody mech, writing was never high on my skills list. good luck Harold
Meteorman, yes you made sense. Most patch panels have excess material. Its there so they can be trimmed to fit just as you described.
The guys at EMS are approachable and really do want to provide us with a great product. Few months back I spent half hour or more talking with Alexander trying to find a source so he could make his current product better, Doesn't do any of us any good to sit here and badmouth his product. If there are issues that need addressing he's more than willing to do so. In fact he's a member here. Checks in once in awhile. He's good people and knows if his product is garbage he goes broke. He can only make his product better if we let him know. Really we're darn lucky someone is making these parts.
Zap- :unitedstates:
Harold is exactly correct. The pics I showed for the right side had a headlight panel too far gone to use the method Harold suggested, but the drivers side fender (from another car) I had was in much better shape, actually had no rust..only colision damage right on the crown of the "corner" of the fender, so I just cut out the damaged area rather than the whole headlight surround, and cut a patch from the new surround. Much easier and quicker.
I wanted to emphasize the fact that the headlight surrounds I used were NOT ems. I've seen ems, and though still a problem, they looked much better than what I had. As been said by others before...what's available to us is far from perfect but I'm grateful for the fact that they're at least available. Other than ems...who is making panels for our 57's...it's a real short list.
There is a differance between bad mouthing and inquiring and or informing. I have used a lot of the EMS parts and am also grateful for a parts source, however most of us working on a project such as a 40 or 50 year old car realize the challenges with fabricating and having to tweak or adjust a piece of metal for a proper fit. These panels are not the panel to replace but repair only. They are marketed as a (all of the correct shapes). The photo of the headlight mounting panel shows all of the edges turned but what you get does not have all of the edges turned. Therefore making this part fit as a replacement part requires alot of work and does not have the proper fabricating to align the factory edges.
Quote from: Wirenut on 2012-02-11 08:35
There is a differance between bad mouthing and inquiring and or informing. I have used a lot of the EMS parts and am also grateful for a parts source, however most of us working on a project such as a 40 or 50 year old car realize the challenges with fabricating and having to tweak or adjust a piece of metal for a proper fit. These panels are not the panel to replace but repair only. They are marketed as a (all of the correct shapes). The photo of the headlight mounting panel shows all of the edges turned but what you get does not have all of the edges turned. Therefore making this part fit as a replacement part requires alot of work and does not have the proper fabricating to align the factory edges.
If EMS is interested in improving their headlight panel, I would loan (LOAN...I want it back) them one of my NOS panels to model after.
Gasman, this is exactly what he asked for a couple months back when looking to improve his front fender lower patch panels. I'm sure if he was made aware of the current issues so far addressed here he would be interested in your offer.
Zap- :unitedstates: :deadhorse: