Body Repair Panels for Square Boxes

[89Suburban]

Where is the cheapest place to get body panels on-line? Most of us know the all familiar LMC truck and JC Whitney. Anybody know where to get good prices on repair panels?

 

[Old77]

Not sure. I always just go to LMC. The cheapest place may be eBay or CL. When doing my truck I ran across someone selling the doors, hood and fenders all for 400. They were originally from LMC but never installed and they came with a truck he bought but he wasn't going to use them. That's by far the best deal I got.

 

[89Suburban]

Not sure. I always just go to LMC. The cheapest place may be eBay or CL. When doing my truck I ran across someone selling the doors, hood and fenders all for 400. They were originally from LMC but never installed and they came with a truck he bought but he wasn't going to use them. That's by far the best deal I got.

I was thinking ebay and CL too, I just haven;t got around to it yet. Want to hear the experienced opinions here, I'm not big on the sheet metal thing.

 

[Old77]

I hear ya man. Another option is www.classicparts.com. You might check it out. I've found that most repo parts are about the same price from place to place.

 

[crazy4offroad]

In my area we have a place called D.A.R. Collision Parts, I think they have a website and may ship stuff out. They are average price for imported body panels.

 

[89Suburban]

Do you really have to cut all the old **** out, even if it is good metal, or just cut the rust off and leave good metal to cover?

 

[bucket]

I get them from Keystone, they deliver to my shop and the prices are cheaper than LMC. They are usually the best quality patch panels on the market too.

 

[Old77]

Make sure you cut the rust out but with things like rockers you're better off cuttng the whole rocker out and replacing the whole rocker. For fenders, you'll be ahead of the game to just replace the whole fender. You'll spend way more time than it's worth patching a fender up. The rust on those doors will be a problem to patch as well. Comb the yards for doors to just replace them with. They'll be cheap and a lot faster to just replace.

 

[Old77]

The more and more we post a donor vehicle just may be he best way to go if you can find one that has what you need. May be he cheapest route...

 

[crazy4offroad]

Most repair panels follow body lines, I usually cut as much as possible out of the truck except for 1", then drill holes every 2 or 3 inches along the repair panel so that when it overlaps the inch you left, you have a flange to spot weld to.

 

[89Suburban]

The more and more we post a donor vehicle just may be he best way to go if you can find one that has what you need. May be he cheapest route...

****......

 

[Old77]

Most repair panels follow body lines, I usually cut as much as possible out of the truck except for 1", then drill holes every 2 or 3 inches along the repair panel so that when it overlaps the inch you left, you have a flange to spot weld to.

Well said....Have you ever tried the panel adhesive?

 

[crazy4offroad]

No I believe in welds. It may be ok for a street truck but I flex mine too bad I would hate to get laughed off the trail if a panel popped off I just spot weld, fiberglass, and prime. If it's the floor I spot weld, prime and caulk with 100% pure silicone.

 

[bucket]

Well said....Have you ever tried the panel adhesive?

It works well, but you still need a tack weld here and there. You want to do it while the glue is still soft, otherwise the tack weld will melt the cured glue and cause it to lose it's grip on the metal.

 

[89Suburban]

Can tack welding be done with a propane torch?