Best and worst aftermarket parts you have found?

[vikingsandpintos]

We all know aftermarket parts are hit and miss in quality. But many times they are the only practical replacement for a needed part.

Just curious what are some of the best, and the worst parts you have came across?

Good, I was pleased with the taillight assemblies I bought. Nice and clear, seemed to fit good, makes the rear end look nice!

Bad, probably the worst was the front fender extension trim I got. The shape doesn't fit the fenders at all. I got them in primer, cause I wanted to paint them body color. But the fit was so bad, I just sanded my original chrome ones to paint. Side note, if anyone needs some poor fitting aftermarket ones, let me know! lol

 

[72conv]

Well... this could be an interesting thread!

The bad:

A pair of repro '65-'66 Mustang front fenders caused my body man a lot of grief back in the late 1980s. He spent a ton of labor hours making them fit properly. I should have bought NOS Ford parts for 3 times the price; I would have saved money! A lot of the repro weatherstripping was junk, too.

Most of the repro weatherstripping that I bought when I restored my '72 convertible back in 1990/1991 was ill-fitting junk. I ended up throwing a lot of it away and buying NOS (which is still on the car and in good nick!). I went through three repro convertible top boot covers before I found one that fit well enough to at least get by with. The repro carpet was nothing to write home about, either. The repro console compartment lid went to sh*t in less than a year; I found a decent used one in a salvage yard to replace it.

I restored a numbers-matching big-block '71 Corvette convertible many years ago. ALL of the repro parts for the interior, and I do mean >ALL< of them, were absolute junk. Nothing fit right and the end result was "20 foot" at best.

The good:

I recently replaced all of the weatherstripping, window track runs and felts, and vent window weatherstripping on my '73 Ford F100 Explorer Special pickup truck. It all fit perfectly and looks great. I also installed a repro headliner, and it fit perfectly and looks great. The repro rear step bumper I bought is a real piece of crap. The mounting bolt holes did not match up right with the factory brackets, and the bumper started rusting almost immediately.

The repro comfortweave upholstery I installed in my '72 convertible back in '91 looked great and fit perfectly. It's a bit weathered now, but it's still holding up amazingly well. I recently installed a new trunk weather strip from Dennis Carpenter. It's a great quality part that fit perfectly with no hassle. A few years ago I bought a set of US-made repro Magnum 500 wheels. The chrome looks superb and the build quality is excellent.

 

[Bentworker]

Dennis carpenter = good
Scott Drake = bad
Most repop sheetmetal is an approximation of the original.

And I am with you on the front fender extensions, just garbage. The ones I bought looked like they would have been okay if the person in charge of removing the casting flash wouldn’t have used a 10hp belt sander.