For years, restoring a car meant trying to find good, used sheetmetal to replace the rusted stuff that always seemed to be included with a recently acquired project car. Over the last couple of years, more and more "new" sheetmetal has begun to show up with vendors, making restorations a lot easier than in the past. But, is this "new" metal as good as the old stuff? I mean, you may not have to fix rust, but what's the quality like?
We recently found out that Auto Metal Direct (AMD) was ready to deliver brand new front sheetmetal for '68-'70 Satellites, Road Runners, and GTXs. When we found out about it, our ears perked up as we just happen to know of a certain '68 GTX that needed to have the front fenders and hood replaced because of rust.
By looking at the headlight area of the fenders, you can notice small details that are not a big deal as far as function and one that might even make things a little easier during the resto of your car.
We found out a few things about re-pop metal, and what to expect when installing it, because in this instance, some changes between early and later production cars meant that small changes like hood latch location could present a problem. We also found a couple really small deviations from original sheetmetal in our "new" stuff, but some of the difference may actually be a help. We can sit here and write about the good and the bad, but instead, we'll just shut up and show you.
