[unruhjonny]

I am going to probably test the local supplier that I have been buying parts from;
They are goodmark distributor.

I believe an order was placed with them last week, and (one part being local not withstanding) I have understood I am waiting probably six weeks... ugg.

Last evening I was scraping an area that I though to be solid, and found a large perforation (in addition to repairs needed in the forward lower edge where they connect to the rocker);
I previously saw it was crusty inside the wheel well, but didn't think it went through;
Well, sure enough near the top of the seatback there is a 1/4" gap about three inches long...
but otherwise there's beautiful shiney original primer (under the tar and glue that held the tar paper there) on the inside, and nice original paint (under the tar coating) on the outside... so I am now considering getting rear wheel houses.

I am looking on ebay right now (I am guessing that if I order something on ebay with their global shipping it will get here exponentially quicker than the locals), and can see the same part, from the same seller, but two brands;
In this case it's AMD & Goodmark.

AMD:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39256345132...6&toolid=10001

Goodmark:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39268958028...6&toolid=10001

What really caught my eye was the price difference of over $100!?

I had previously thought that the market was such that the two were essentially the same, and quite probably all made at the same place.
I'd earnestly appreciate hearing thoughts and/or opinions.

Are the two not the same?

Is one brand thinner gauge?

Does one brand have more authentic stamping?

Is this just a matter of AMD is running with lower supply, and can charge more at this time because their network is a little overextended considering supply??

[Formulajones]

I prefer AMD over Goodmark. I've had a few Goodmark pieces. Okay but fitment and gauge were better with AMD from my experiences.

Problem right now, and has been for a while, is supply.

I waited 3 months for my quarter panels and 4 months for outer wheel houses. That was a few months ago. But that's how everything has been.

What I found interesting, was when I ordered a hood. AMD showed it in stock at their warehouse. However several vendors that sold AMD products that were actually closer to me said out of stock with no ETA. They showed a cheaper price for it too, but no idea how long I'd have to wait. I ended up paying a higher price for the hood direct from AMD and paid more for shipping to get it here, but I had it in a week. Weird times.

[Formulabruce]

Installing that part is a considerable amount of work.
Consider Tiawan is under extreme pressure from mainland China and Tiawan is where the better repops
are made vs mainland china.

[unruhjonny]

so am I to understand:
AMD = Tiawan
Goodmark = China

Anyone know where OER is made?

[Formulabruce]

OER= Goodmark as far as I understand.

[unruhjonny]

/\ thanks - this was my suspicion.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

so am I to understand:
AMD = Tiawan
Goodmark = China

Anyone know where OER is made?

Wrong, both Taiwan, many times out of same facility.
One of my suppliers has personally been to the facilities in Taiwan.
The large stamping operation is family owned, the Chinese name escapes me right now.
__________________
Buzzards gotta eat... same as worms.

['ol Pinion head]

"What really caught my eye was the price difference of over $100!? "

Biggest issue on repro sheetmetal for the last year has been lack of shipping containers coming in. Containers managing to make it to the states come with an extremly higher price for the shipping of a container loads of parts. Example: repro Goodmark boxed GTO hood (unmodified, it's a '68), my cost went up $50 from early March til end of May. That particular hood ended up being the last one at a large regional whls repro sheetmetal facility.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by 'ol Pinion head

Wrong, both Taiwan, many times out of same facility.
One of my suppliers has personally been to the facilities in Taiwan.
The large stamping operation is family owned, the Chinese name escapes me right now.

wow - really!?

Do you know, if they are stamped at the same facility, if each company has unique prerequisites for their parts?

It looked to me as though the stamps for the two wheel houses in the linked auctions had slightly different shaped cavities at the top towards the back window area.

['ol Pinion head]

Johnny, on higher volume smaller parts like partial floor pans, 3 piece trunk pans, early Mustang sheetmetal, '67-69 F body trunklids, there are often different sets of dies & different levels of mediocrity. The inherant cost to produce that die is not obscene like it is for a large intricately shaped hood, or one for a low demand small part. On larger items that incur a massive cost to reproduce there is typically one set of dies & it gets "shared".

Am not acquainted with the offerings of a repro outer wheel housings for an early 2nd Gen, If one marketed stamping fits better than another company's boxed product that would be a question for the owners of several professional restoration facilities. One of PY's long term members had the '70-73 Bird rear 1/4's, outer tail panel, & inner tail panel reproduced in Taiwan, & those panels were, & are marketed by Goodmark. Am glad we have those parts.

[unruhjonny]

I too am glad we have those parts.

I started searching for sheet metal long before anything more than the partial quarter was out there - I even have a paper template still in it's mailer tube to create a tail panel that a member here sent me, then I nearly pooped my pants when I heard that the tail panel was getting made - I bought what was probably one from the first shipment that Classic Industries received;
I have the inner tail panel coming right now too.

I have come to understand that the way things go in China, is that many items (sheetmetal included) are reverse engineered and copied, so I had expected that one was a copy of the other - maybe from the discussion that has been had here, the AMD parts can be seen as more refined Goodmark parts(??).

Thanks for saying this, it lends to giving me more confidence in which ever parts I decide to purchase.

[Aus78Formula]

Remember Taiwan is part of China, although can be labelled as either.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

Installing that part is a considerable amount of work.
...

Of that I had no doubt when I started this discussion.



I am now debating if I am going to replace the whole outer roof panel because of:
1) rust at the forward windshield edge
2) mangling from the 1980's install of quarters that put the roof UNDER the quarter (strips of the original tack'd on quarter is still under the roof); I have mangled it back to roughly where it should be, but I need to get that old strip out - and then there's the gross end of it at the rear window corner which is where water was coming into my interior through.

Removing it would make getting that brace out easier - since I don't know (at this time) how it's connected up at the top.

[22687]

"I am now debating if I am going to replace the whole outer roof panel because..."

You could just hold up the rad cap and run a whole different car underneath.

Seriously though, this is a fascinating project. More photos please or do you already have a separate thread documenting this project?

Tail panels (inner and outer), outer wheelhouses, 1/4s, maybe the roof. How much of the floor and frame rails are you doing?

[unruhjonny]

I'm doing alot;
More than I would wager most would attempt - especially at my skill level.

I figure finding another 70 Formula in Carousel Red on black, stick, with gauges, would be a most improbible find.
I got this car in 1995, and very quickly realized it had serious rust issues.
It's a Winnipeg car, that I only took out of Manitoba in 1997 when I moved myself back to Alberta.
I spoke to a couple past owners, and I can trace it as far back as late 1985, so I know the car had two full quarters done before that time.

It was 'prettied up' in '00;

Then in early '04 I got in a small fender bender that mangled the front bumper and I decided to stop driving it before there was nothing left to weld to.

When I had a cardomain page my car was repeatedly at the top of 70 Firebird google searches, and I believe that the mangled bumper picture (taken from a discussion here) is easily found via a google search now.

At least with just the mangled bumper picture being easy to find, I don't have to worry about unscrupulous resellers selling a car with my car's picture (which is actually a thing that I dealt with).

There are some really fascinating videos out there;
This one is the first of several that are REALLY great... but there are tons of other videos showing how people go about repairing other areas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu311ngOduA

[bird72]

I admire and respect anyone that takes on body surgery such as this. It must be a source of pride when done. AAA+++

This why I wussed out on getting a Formula or TA when I bought my car as all in my $ range were beyond my abilities and stamina.

[Nobuddy]

Originally Posted by Aus78Formula

Remember Taiwan is part of China, although can be labelled as either.

I'm pretty sure anything exported to USA from Taiwan is still labeled "Made in Republic of China," "Made in Taiwan, Republic of China," or "Made in Taiwan" and nothing from the mainland (Peoples Republic of China) will ever be labeled that way.