body panels AMD

[1973]

wondering if the AMD panels are worth the extra money??

 

[burdar]

Most people think so. My car has Goodmark panels. The fenders needed some work but I think everything is going to need some work. I know a guy who just got done restoring a 73 that needed a lot of panels. He bought all AMD. The fit was so poor, his body man used them as patch panels instead of installing them complete.

 

[1973]

how about that they claim they are thicker sheet metal? while at the recent Mopar show i found a goodmark trunk lid and a AMD, the AMd, to me and a friend seemed much heavier- also Stevens swore by them - i bought the AMD deck lid, a rear tail pan, qtr skins (as stevens claimed the body lines were much crisper), and also a outer wheel house and 2- trunk drop downs, they gave me a good discount on them , so the drop downs were like 8 bucks more apiece,(then year one) the lid was actually cheaper than the year one K704B lid--as i saved the shipping by picking up at the MN show. the qtr skins were 509.00 for the pair and year one was 293.72 pr + ? shipping (KQ526LHRH) so wondering if i made a good choice, i did not get the floor pan AMD-- they only offered the complete side (stevens) and i just need the front piece.

 

[Rotax]

It's all a gamble .I recently rebuilt a 70 challenger .from seats back all new metal .AMD and year one. EVERY piece needed work . If you want it nice you have to make it nice.

 

[moparleo]

I think that its agreed that any panel will need some work. They didn't all fit right when they made the cars. But it is pretty much understood the AMD panels are better and require less work to fit. Its your money. Check to see what the restorers use.

 

[tomps]

I recently purchased two AMD panles for my 70 Challenger. A rear taillight panel and rear crossmember. I am not a body man so I did not install. However, in talking with the body expert that is re-doing the panles, he was pleased with the panels. Yes, they required some minimal working, but that is too be expected. Both he and the body shop owner I know very well both commented on the seemingly good quality of the metal. Overall no issues with the fit and form as they saw. Would definetely use again...hope this helps!

-Mark

 

[ramenth]

I think that its agreed that any panel will need some work. They didn't all fit right when they made the cars.

And anything OE coming through the factory for modern collision panels need tweaking, too. Why do you think the panels are boxed for collision shops instead of being hung on the car on the line?

Personally, I'm satisfied with anything that actually has even a close fit.

Years of hanging aftermarket Jip skins on antiques is worse than poking a sharp stick in your eye.

25+ hours to hang one quarter panel on a '57 Chevy. Measure, cut, hang, mark, cut, hang, mark, cut, hang, mark. And don't even get me going on a couple of Jip quarters for a '69 Firebird convertible we did ages ago.

Truth of it is, anything on the market now -AMD or Goodmark - is light years ahead of what was available even ten years ago.

 

[Avalanche]

I installed an AMD hood and the lines were perfect. The only complaint the body guy had is it had a couple of ripples that needed to be fixed. All aftermarket metal will be a thinner gauge than original but AMD still has the best.

 

[jfreakofkorn]

from what and see, AMD is the way to go at the moment ( until another company come with a technique in making panels )

what i noticed with the other brands, needs a bit more attention to them installing than with an AMD ( not as much hours at the shop )

 

[BarrsRestoration]

I'm doing a 70 Challenger that is very rough. The roof, tail light panel and rockers are the only things not being replaced. Someone else cut it up and put floors in. Using AMD parts, I've hung the 1/4's in place and skinned the doors. The skins were very knotty and wavy out of the box, the 1/4's pretty good. I've discovered :
The angle/contour on the new trunk lid lip does not match the 1/4's. WAY off. The lid sat low in the center at the orig. dutchman panel, at least a quarter of an inch. Hinge bolt plates don't align with holes, holes had to be enlarged considerably to adjust lid height.
The contour of the 1/4 panel does not match that of the door where they meet behind the door handle. Solution will be remove 1/4 and run the door opening flange thru the shrinker/stretcher.
The contour (of the rt. 1/4) in the lower portion of the rear window opening was off. Required cutting and reshaping.
Rear valance and trunk lock support seem okay at this point.
Still have to replace windshield "A" pillars, cowl top, firewall, inner fenders and all exterior bolt on pieces.
Anyone have feedback on those pieces I've yet to tackle? In the past I've usually worked with OEM panels, never so much aftermarket stuff on an E body.

 

[moper]

I finished the floor portion of the '70 I'm doing - all AMD parts: compelte floor, rear floors, torsion bar cross, inner rockers, and left rear frame rail. the parts fit "well". Not "perfect". You will always need to tweak and like Barrs - if you want it nice you need to know what to do to make them look really nice. but LIGHTYEARS ahead of what used to be around (cheap skins, patches, etc). The next phase (coing this fall) are both quarters, reapair of the reas window channel, and Dutchman but I was very satisfied with the AMD stuff. Yes- it takes some time and tweaking - but the results are good. The only issue I have is the gage is thick, but the steel is obviously softer and probably a certain percentage of that is recycled. So panel life may be less than a factory clean steel part and there's nothing you can do about metal impurities that are invisible.

Edit - I'll add - every car is an individual. So you may find yours is perfect, and the guys next to yours at the resto shop they have to scramble and mess with to get pretty, or vice versa.

 

[4sixty2fairlane]

I had got a pair of AMD fenders for a 70 Challenger a few months back, one side was great, the other looked like someone ground on it with a grinder and sent it back. I didn't even leave the wharehouse with it. Still have not got a drivers side fender yet and am still looking if anyone knows of one. I had called AMD about the fender and never really got any straight answer if another fender would be better.

 

[mopar440dad]

I just installed a set of AMD quarter panels on my 1968 Satellite and I was very pleased with their fit, crisp lines and everything worked out great. ccasion14: