Body repair panels

[kev100]

Quick question, I have been comparing prices for repair panels, and the three retailers, Rimmers, Paddocks and SOC Spares have different prices (some prices reasonably big), is there a reason for this ?.. I presume the panels come from the same manufacturer,

I understand there are a couple manufacturers including the SOC tooling fund.

What are your thoughts as to the best panels and the best place to purchase them, are there other suppliers ?

I dont mind paying more for panels if they are a better fit or quality.

cheers.

[Goldstar]

I’m guessing not all the pattern panel come from the same place although most of them are not great. You can see in floor panels for example there’s a panel in red oxide and another in bare metal which seem to come from different sources.

I tend to get all my panels from the same place (I’ll recommend by pm if you want) but I always, and I mean always, buy SOCTFL ones where available. Yes, they are more expensive but they fit and a lot of the pattern ones just don’t fit. I have just spent 12 hours fettling a repro inner sill because it was so rubbish. Wrong angle at the front, wrong profile at the back by the turret and I still have to sort out the flange at the back that fits to the rear arch as it is also wrong. Luckily I have a pair of original stanpart inners to compare against otherwise it would have been even more difficult.

Obviously I’m biased being on the tooling fund but I’m not just saying they’re the best fit, they just are. We liaised with the manufacturer to sort out the profile of the arch that another member had an issue with so I’m pretty confident that all of our panels are now the best they can be.

It’s obvious that you will need to buy non SOCTFL panels and really I think just sticking with one supplier where you can helps you get a relationship so if you do get a bad one they will be helpful in sorting it for you.

hope that helps
paul

[kev100]

I’m guessing not all the pattern panel come from the same place although most of them are not great. You can see in floor panels for example there’s a panel in red oxide and another in bare metal which seem to come from different sources.

I tend to get all my panels from the same place (I’ll recommend by pm if you want) but I always, and I mean always, buy SOCTFL ones where available. Yes, they are more expensive but they fit and a lot of the pattern ones just don’t fit. I have just spent 12 hours fettling a repro inner sill because it was so rubbish. Wrong angle at the front, wrong profile at the back by the turret and I still have to sort out the flange at the back that fits to the rear arch as it is also wrong. Luckily I have a pair of original stanpart inners to compare against otherwise it would have been even more difficult.

Obviously I’m biased being on the tooling fund but I’m not just saying they’re the best fit, they just are. We liaised with the manufacturer to sort out the profile of the arch that another member had an issue with so I’m pretty confident that all of our panels are now the best they can be.

It’s obvious that you will need to buy non SOCTFL panels and really I think just sticking with one supplier where you can helps you get a relationship so if you do get a bad one they will be helpful in sorting it for you.

hope that helps
paul

Hi Paul,

Yes please pm me with your supplier,

I had heard that the SOCTFL panels were superior to others. a lot of the panels I will be using just part of the panels to repair sections, my metal fabrication skills are pretty much non existent at the moment, so where possible butchering new replacement panels for the sections I need is my best option, of course when it comes to the full panels I will need then the best fit is what I want.

I do have two original front wings, and a passenger side outer sill, still with the holograms on I bought way back in 2017, will try hunt down other original panels if I can find some

[Philip Wardle]

As Paul says, a huge amount of effort goes into the design and manufacture of the SOCTFL panels, and SOCTFL has been working with the same industry authority on production engineering and quality control despite him having worked for a succession of industrial enterprises over the years. Panels from other sources can be made to fit, as with Paul's example here, but you are always trading cost (£) and effort (hours). Tye individual's balance point on this trade off is will depend on individual circumstances, their skill and experience in modifying or fabricating panel work, and their appetite to resolve problems that may arise and delay progress. In the end its a personal decision.

[Goldstar]

IMG_8411.jpg IMG_8408.jpg This is how far out the front flange was on the inner sill. The yellow line is the original fold line and the blue line is where, having flattened it out, I had to cut to make and add a new flange. Not ideal but better than having no panel at all which I think we sometimes forget.

[NeilR]

"Not ideal but better than having no panel at all which I think we sometimes forget."

Never a truer word spoken, we should be grateful for having something thats approx the right shape & can be made to fit.

[Goldstar]

"Not ideal but better than having no panel at all which I think we sometimes forget."

Never a truer word spoken, we should be grateful for having something thats approx the right shape & can be made to fit.

I will feed back via the retailer though just in case 1. Nobody has ever told them and 2. The manufacturer might want to do something about it, which they can only do if they know.

[Philip Wardle]

Yes indeed Neil, sadly for inner sills we don't have the luxury of choice between a SOCTFL panel and others. The proposed SOCTFL project to produce them wasn't approved at the time (~ 20 years ago?), ISTR quotes for rubber press tooling were around £18,000. Part of the rationale for that decision was that most rot occurs below the level of the wiring loom channel, and that it's reasonably practical to make repair pieces as needed (e.g. no compound curvature).

SOCTFL was able to borrow a pair of original inner sills, and we did take take the flashes from them against the possibility that the project might be approved in the future. But AFAIK we no longer have access to a rubber press as would be needed to achieve quality panels, to a repeatable standard, in low volume, and at an affordable price. So inner sills from other sources will get us part of the way there but will often need fettling.

[kev100]

Thanks for all the comments ..