Searching for Classic Car Replacement Parts

 

You probably spent a good amount of time and effort searching for just the right classic car or truck to own. Hopefully, you will not have to search high and low for replacement parts. Here is a list of places to look when searching for a replacement part for your classic car or truck.

Part Stores
Even in the modern age of online shopping, classic car part stores still exist. These specialty stores are also going to have knowledgeable staff that can help guide you in the right direction if they do not have the part you need. We suggest making a phone call first to see if they carry what you need. It can save you a trip.

 

Wrecking Services and Salvage Yards
Both of these businesses are an excellent source for finding parts locally. These guys are usually aware of what parts are hard to find or valuable and will have pulled them for resale well before the car reaches the junkyard. Making a few phone calls can yield you the part you are looking for. Situations arise however where you may need to grab your tools and head to the salvage yard yourself to hunt for the part that you need. The challenge with this is that you better know what you are looking for and be able to evaluate the part’s condition. If you have any reluctance, you are better off leaving this to the professionals. 

 

Aftermarket Manufacturers
There are plenty of companies out there that sell knock off replacement parts for classic cars and trucks. The problem sometimes comes down to quality. These parts are sometimes made with less desirable materials and quality than the originals. If you think you can get away with an aftermarket part without compromising the build, then we say go for it. If it must be all original, then keep looking.

 

Car Clubs, Shows and Swap Meets
An event that brings classic car enthusiasts to one place is an excellent opportunity to look and ask for those hard-to-find parts. You may run into a fellow collector with the same car who just might have the part you are looking for. If the car show does not pan out the swap meet will. These traveling car part carnivals are filled with knowledgeable car guys and hard to find parts. Swap meet vendors are not going to bring along a part that can be easily found online. They usually have the rare stuff or at least know where to find it.

 

Magazines
While many magazines are all available online, there is something special about flipping through pages the old-fashioned way. Magazines are a wonderful place to look for new and used replacement parts. As a bonus you are also going to get expert tips and other great reading material as well.

 

Online Forums
Our first online option are Forums. Simply search your vehicle’s make and model with the word forum and you are almost guaranteed to find a forum full of conversations pertaining to your specific vehicle. Forums are not only a wonderful place to ask for parts, but a great resource of experts in case you have any problems with your restoration process.

 

Online Dealers and Auctions
Our last and most obvious resource is the Internet. One search for the part you need, and you are likely to find plenty of websites that will sell and ship it directly to you. One problem with online shopping is that it tends to be the most expensive route. Another common issue is part quality. Be sure to find a website that offers a no hassle return policy in case what they deliver is not what you expected. If you do not have a huge budget and are not pressed for time, we suggest exhausting the options above before searching online. You are likely to get a better deal and learn a thing or two from your fellow enthusiasts and other classic car restoration professionals.

 

Classic Car Autobody Metalwork

 

If a body panel has rust spots but no collision damage, replacing the whole panel may not be necessary. An alternative is to cut out only the rusted area, then make a template, trace it onto sheet metal, cut it out, and weld it in. This is a time-consuming process but having the right tools will save you time (providing that you use them correctly).

What A Body Shop Will Do

If you bring your car to a body shop, they will want to replace the entire panel, regardless of whether it can be repaired. This is simple economics - it is quicker and more cost-effective for them to replace the whole panel. The labor may be less, but overall, you will pay more once you include the cost of the replacement panel. This often puts the repair out of a person's restoration budget.

Provided you are a decent welder, you can save money by cutting out the bad metal, making a patch panel, and welding it in. If you are just getting started with automotive body repair, MIG welding is an excellent choice. They are easiest welding process to learn, and they are also cheapest to buy. Most people can produce quality, good looking welds with minimal practice.

You need to bring the panel down to bare metal. A DA sander works best for this. An angle grinder with a wire brush can also be used.

Before cutting out the rusted metal, take a wire brush and/or scraper and remove any loose rust on the body panel to be worked on. Then take masking tape and mark out about one inch beyond the rusted-through part. You want to remove as little good metal as possible.

Cutting and Removing Rusty Panels

Cutting out damaged metal can be done several ways. An air compressor and cut off wheel is one popular method.

Once the bad metal is cut away, a sander can be used to bring the area down to bare metal.

Sand beyond the rusted area an inch or so. A 36-grit sanding disc works the fastest. Clean the exposed metal area with a 60 or 80-grit disc. You should now have a shiny, solid rust-free surface.

Patch Panel Template

After carefully cutting out all the rusted metal from the panel, the next step is to make a patch template. Take measurements and transfer them to a piece of cardboard (the kind you can cut with a scissor). Draw and cut a template of the patch panel needed.

Start larger than you need. Scribe or mark the cardboard template onto a piece the piece of sheet metal. You can use a black marker to mark the cut, remembering to add about a 1/eighth" or so to the line for trimming.

It is easy to remove metal - much more difficult to add it!

Cutting Sheet Metal

Sheet metal can be cut in a number of ways. Hand-held nibblers and tinsnips work fine for smaller patches, but electric shears will save time on larger patches. Once you have the rough patch cut out, carefully trim it down with hand-held snips.

Stop and check against the car for an exact fit. It is easy to remove metal - much more difficult to add it! You want to end up with a gap of no more than one-eighth".

Welding new metal to old metal is always tricky, especially after grinding the rust off old sections, which thins the metal even more. Burning through the old metal is always a worry.

Best Metal for Patch Panel

You can buy a new piece of sheet metal stock or use an old piece of panel from a donor car, if it is grinded clean and the same thickness.

Curved Patch Panels

Patching into a curved area of the car body will take more time and skill than a simple flat patch. Before cutting out the old metal, study the damaged area and think through the repair process.

You may decide to remove the entire section to make the patch and welding more accessible. Cutting the panel bigger than the damaged area may give you a cleaner and easier butt weld.