LMC premium fenders. Anyone tried them?

[Gully]

Has anyone tried the premium fenders lmc offers? I’m looking for front end sheet metal for my 74 and would like originals but they’re hard to find not rusted out. Was wondering if anyone has used these and how the torment and overall quality is.

[franken]

LMC is a distributor of parts. They aren't a brand (of parts) and they make nothing. They sell other people's stuff. We can't tell who makes the stuff they sell, just as with Goodmark, etc.
Typically, Asia made parts are not as good and need more work than OEM parts. Body sheetmetal won't have as crisp lines as OEM, bolt holes may not line up, etc.

[S10Fan]

Originally Posted by franken

LMC is a distributor of parts. They aren't a brand (of parts) and they make nothing. They sell other people's stuff. We can't tell who makes the stuff they sell, just as with Goodmark, etc.
Typically, Asia made parts are not as good and need more work than OEM parts. Body sheetmetal won't have as crisp lines as OEM, bolt holes may not line up, etc.

Exactly!

Not with square body parts but I've had excellent experience with panels from AMD Direct, fit like factory.

[WyattTX]

With imported sheet metal, I've had 2 scenarios happen. The first scenario, the part fits perfectly, but is flimsy and dents easy. The second scenario is, the part is quite rigid, but is shaped incorrectly. Maybe you'll get lucky, but dont put a lot of faith in parts stamped from the finest quality Chinesium.

[Mattchu60]

I bought a "factory thickness" passenger fender last summer from a local shop (they had a standard repro and the kind I bought for $60 more). Its heavy and solid, but the body line where the fender meets the door is way off, it starts off tight at the top and there is a big gap at the bottom, however the rest of the fender looks ok. I'm probably going to look for a GM one instead rather than mess with trying to fix it. I am guessing what I have is the same as these
"premium" fenders.

[Gully]

Originally Posted by Mattchu60

I bought a "factory thickness" passenger fender last summer from a local shop (they had a standard repro and the kind I bought for $60 more). Its heavy and solid, but the body line where the fender meets the door is way off, it starts off tight at the top and there is a big gap at the bottom, however the rest of the fender looks ok. I'm probably going to look for a GM one instead rather than mess with trying to fix it. I am guessing what I have is the same as these
"premium" fenders.

Thank you that’s kinda what I was wondering. If the thicker more expensive ones are a better fit or just heavier steel

[gmachinz]

It’s always worth the hassle to find clean OE fenders and media blast them. If you want NOs fenders, they’re out there (I have a couple pairs of NOS 73-80 ones myself) but people have to realize the price for NOS squarebody sheetmetal is no longer a steal-you’re gonna pay for em now lol.

And AMD does NOT offer anything squarebody related-last I was told by a reputable source their sales dept wasnt even interested in offering anything because the market doesnt have enough demand-in their eyes. This was about 6-8 months back.

[rickit]

out of all the places ive bought from it seems lmc has beed the worst on everything ive got

[WyattTX]

It's a shame GM has to scrap the dies everytime they end production. If they would just sell them off instead, someone could make some more, instead of importing these poorly reverse engineered Chinese pieces.

[tucsonjwt]

A few years ago you could still find decent doors and beds in the southwest desert junkyards, but now there are almost none to be found. The few I have seen lately are rusted imports from "back east" which were driven to the desert.

You can still find mostly complete trucks on craigslist (search big cities in the SW) which I think is the best option for most people. There will likely be some small dents on these old trucks, but from what the body guys tell me all of the new aftermarket sheet metal parts usually need some minor work to get them looking acceptable, since they are just shipped loose or in flimsy cardboard boxes.

People seem to want more money for these old trucks lately, but there are still bargains to be found if you look long enough.

[WyattTX]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

A few years ago you could still find decent doors and beds in the southwest desert junkyards, but now there are almost none to be found. The few I have seen lately are rusted imports from "back east" which were driven to the desert.

You can still find mostly complete trucks on craigslist (search big cities in the SW) which I think is the best option for most people. There will likely be some small dents on these old trucks, but from what the body guys tell me all of the new aftermarket sheet metal parts usually need some minor work to get them looking acceptable, since they are just shipped loose or in flimsy cardboard boxes.

People seem to want more money for these old trucks lately, but there are still bargains to be found if you look long enough.

Where I live, people think their trash is made of gold. A good deal is like hen's teeth.