Re: j c whitney side panels....what gives?

[jwynne2@domain.elided]

Goodmorning John,
I bought a pair of the rear panels and was very disappointed with them.
Not only don't they go all the way to the top, but the shape was wrong.
There were two areas that were bent wrong.

The first was at the top of the panel where they placed a sharp horizontal
crease to match the original body.  They put the bend in the right place,
but it should have been a smooth curve, like the orinal body had.

The second problem was that they put a smooth curve where the sharp bend
should have been down towards the bottom of the panel.  Again, this was a
horizontal line.  As far as I could tell, whoever made the panel got the
two bends mixed up.

The last problem I found was the bottom of the panel located behind the
wheel opening.  The replacement panel had that area almost level with the
ground, instead of tapering up towards the rear.

I finally replaced the whole mess with a set of fiberglass rear quarters
from Howerton(I think it was them).  The price was great, and except for
some very minor mold flaws, I was very impressed with the product.

I guess the bottom line is that you might want to return those panels you
already got, unless you have access to a sheetmetal brake and can rebend
the panel with the correct bends.

Take care,
John W.