Whyyyy?

[68wannabe]

None of my aftermarket bed parts have fit right. Holes not lining up, sheet metal not fitting Right, and shipping damage. Should have just kept my original bed 😒

[mike16]

Thats a bit of a shocker. Good to know, I was going from a steel bed to a wood bed. the devil is in the details. I dont want to turn this into a pizzin match but can you pm me with details on which vendors are which

[Grumpy old man]

You can't expect an aftermarket Taiwanese manufactured part to have the fit and finish of an original 50 year old body panel .Always repair the original parts when possible . I've bought more than a few take off beds / doors / fenders only to have the seller call and want to buy them back

Just because it's new doesn't always mean it's better

[special-K]

I'd like to see pictures and more detail on the issues you are having. Are you going all new? Since the bed is it's own unit, I have found using the complete new bed to be a pretty sweet deal. All I've heard, till now, from others are the same results as I've had. Maybe a hole or two needing wallowed out. I don't know why repro parts come up short in any way at all. It is possible to make a perfect replica, isn't it?

[snipescastle2]

Yeah, Iv'e heard nothing but horror stories about reproduction bed parts. I searched for the patch I needed for my left bedside until I found a suitable piece, classic parts had it.
I enlisted the help of fellow board member Vic Cook to help me with the surgery. The area behind the wheel well had over 40+ slide hammer holes......better to stay with factory sheet metal,no matter how much it costs.
Just my two cents....
Ben

[FlameOut]

I bought a complete bed kit and it bolted together perfectly. Every hole lined up. No shipping damage. I did have some very minor body work to do, where the wheel tubs bolt to the bed sides. Were a bit wavy from the stamping. Maybe I've been lucky, but I put complete floors and quarters on a 67 Chevelle, all with very little tweaking, and my 72 K10 received a complete cab floor, cab corners, rockers and door. All fit perfectly, other than the doors. They needed a little more tweaking than I was hoping

[CC69Rat]

Regardless of where it's built, or who built it if the standards of the manufacturer are sub par, then the quality of the panels will also be sub par. If the plant is in Taiwan, China, Tanzania, Iraq or the good ole USA.. it makes absolutely no difference in the product if the Quality Control is not where it should be.

I have a repro bed on my truck, every bolt hole lined up, it was perfect (barely ANY bodywork) right out of the box, and it is as thick and heavy as an original panel. I have built original beds.. I know the difference.

What about all the rust on the insides of the panels of an original bed? All the cuts and welds that are impossible to address from the inside of the panel you're welding in place to repair that 50yr old rust?

It's all in the panel fellers. .. look at AMD or Woodall. I'm not sure where LMC gets theirs, but they are far inferior to some that are out there.

Repro bed for reference.

[57larry]

I have often found that "bolt in" parts don't just bolt in

[cleszkie]

I have always only used repop sheet metal to make patch panels on OEM steel panels when I can't find suitable OEM donor steel patches. I bought an entire OEM long bed box and got all the required quarter panel patch panels and floor sections to completely rehab the rear half of my K5 Blazer. This was before the Blazer bed floors and rear quarters were repopped, but I would do it the same way again. Much cheaper, and nothing beats OEM steel.

[68wannabe]

The front bed panel was twisted some and definitely isn't fitting Right on the drivers side. It dented the bed side up (hard to see) and still needs to come up to line up the upper holes. The rear cross sill is a mess. The tabs had to be bent out to get the cross sill to sit in there where it's supposed to. Holes still not even being close to lining up as seen in pics. Wheel tubs were bent pretty badly around the lower tab, but not too hard of a fix. Holes still don't like up great on them. The driver side bed side was damaged in shipping and was fixed.

[jeh]

I'll have to agree with Chad, I have a repro bed and it went together excellent. No bodywork, no dents, and no "RUST". I was very happy with it

[FlameOut]

The only drawback I found with my repop bed kit is the square cutouts for the carriage bolts are a little big, causing the bolt to spin when tightening the nut, if not careful

[swamp rat]

What CC69Rat said "look at AMD or Woodall"... I have read this here more than once the last 7 years.