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Who all have used AMD panels? Not happy

Aftermarket sheetmetal is like a barrel of rotten apples. You got to dig for the best ones. None are going to be perfect, but some are are close enough to eat. AMD for Mopars is probably the best apple in the barrel. By far, there are worse panels out there. Way worse. The sad truth is that you need to take it with a grain of salt. Yup, they're expensive. Yup, you'd have better luck talking with the oak tree in the backyard about your issues than their tech line, but in the end what choice do you have? Goodmark or Sherman you're definitely worse off on quarters and trying to find decent donors would be like discovering diamonds in your box of Wheaties, or cost you a box of diamonds. So......after that you're pretty much left with zilch.

There's a few kinds of folks that will tell you AMD panels are pretty decent stuff. Those that have been dealing with aftermarket sheetmetal for a while, and have dealt with some of the other E-coated monstrosities someone's trying to pawn off as a panel. AMD really doesn't seem so bad to those fellas. Another group that has replaced just a couple panels here and there, and really didn't hammer into any real issues. Then, the other folks are those that buy the panels, but really don't spend any time installing them. They look pretty in the box, but a quick stare and out the door to the body shop they go. In the end, wrapped in paint & clearcoat, the AMD panels look pretty top notch.

For those guys in between, they're an overpriced, poor quality hunk of tin from Taiwan that just seem to emanate headaches and swear words. Bottom line is that you have to pay to play & your choices are pretty limited.....Panels that fit fairly well but still require work,....horrid panels that look like they're for an entirely different car,.....goldmine decent OEM/donor panels delivered by the lottery commission or....no panels at all.

I totally get where you're coming from. Take it from a guy who has a car primarily made up of AMD panels. It's a tough pill to swallow, but in the end it sure beats the hell out of your other options.
 
That ain't what AMD claims, though. They claim it is their parts and their presses are in China! Just call and ask them! I bought 68 Camaro quarters, and when they showed up they had a sticker on the back of them that says "Made in Tiawain". I called right away, and asked them about that sticker. They told me it is AMD's tooling, but we have them stamped over there! They used to say "Made in USA", but I don't see that listed that way, now.

- - - Updated - - -

AMD Logo
Our panels are made from proper gauge steel and include all correct-as-original clips, tabs, flanges, bends and seams. Each time a prototype body panel comes off of a new tooling, we test fit it on a car. The marked up prototype is then used to change and improve the tools, and a new prototype is produced. This procedure might be repeated multiple times but, once the part is finally approved, you can be assured of a quality part.

- - - Updated - - -

Has anyone used the 69 Coronet quarters? If so, how do they fit? Are they even close to being decent? What about the 69 Coronet Doors? Any good? Would I be better off to find a used door?
 
On my 71 roadrunner the driver side lowere rear patch is a good fit, the passenger is too long
 
AMD, Sherman, Goodmark, Dynacorn - all brand names, sometimes one and the same, tied to a parent company that owns tooling currently in China or Taiwan stamping this stuff out. This tooling may be either worn-out ex-USA dies maintained as best as possible (and may be getting gradually worse with age), or - in the case of recent product additions - brand-new dies created by laser-scanning NOS panels (a relatively new process that probably wasn't used for most of the panels that have been out on the market for more than 5 years).

My bet is that any two of the same panel offered under both the AMD and Sherman names are identical. By that, I mean the same exact panel, such as an AMD '69 Charger quarter skin vs. a Sherman '69 Charger quarter skin. Chances are the parts are identical and may even be marked with the same Taiwanese die stamper's sticker in the back.

However, I would not be in the least surprised to witness a complete difference in the fit and quality of, say, an AMD '69 Charger quarter skin to that of an AMD '69 Charger full quarter. Depending on the source of the tooling, ONE brand may offer two versions of what should be identical panels when, in reality, the full quarter may be superior to the skin (or vise-versa) depending on the source of the tooling.

There is a perfect example of this in regards to 1971-73 Mustang quarter panel skins vs. full quarters. Original tooling for full quarters disappeared into oblivion, so someone tooled up new quarter panel skins sometime in the '80s or '90s. These skins are reasonable for patching a section of a quarter (better than the truly terrible lower quarter patches made by Spectra), but used as a full skin, they are a disaster (body curve is off, all flanges are cut way too deep, panel-to-rocker joint is 40 degrees off and needs to be bent in a metal brake to get it right, etc). These skins are now sold primarily under the Dynacorn name, but are also sold as Goodmark panels. The brand is irrelevant, as both the Dynacorn and Goodmark panel are one and the same. I'm not entirely privy to the exact relationship of Goodmark to Dynacorn, but fact is, it's the exact same panel that can be bought under two different names.

What's more, about a year or two ago, Dynacorn got their hands on NOS quarters for the '71-73s, and designed brand-new FULL quarter tooling based on these NOS quarters. The new full quarters are as perfect as an NOS Ford panel, and slide on beautifully. Yet, this is the same brand that offers the aforementioned skins that barely fit for the same car, and continue to do so willingly (concurrent with the release of the full quarters was the introduction of a 1973 version of the ill-fitting skin. Two extra holes, same crappy skin. Whoopee...not).

Every panel is different. Before bashing one brand over another, ask someone who has replaced the SAME exact panel what they used, how it fit, and what they did to make it fit. If it didn't fit well, are there other possible options? Once you've found something that should work, follow the usual advice for panel fit already mentioned here - sheet metal screws to tack the fit, and mock it up with all the other adjoining body panels installed.

One other good rule of thumb: If you need a skin from door jamb to end cap, it's best to cut one out of a full quarter. Even easier to just swap the whole quarter to avoid seams on the beltline entirely.

-Kurt
 
I guess I’m not the only one having issues with the full quarter panel not fitting the Dutchman panel. This is going to stick out like a sore thumb. My 69 RR is a late production car. The left side quarter is original and fits the Dutchman panel nicely. I’ve yet to contact the supplier but wanted to ask the group if different years / production runs had different dimensions like the pic.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

IMG_5488.jpeg
 
I've dealt with that before. I just sliced it, moved the flange over to meet the quarter and fill it in with weld...... these parts are a great to have access to, but often times need to be "customized"........

you can move the flange, weld up the cut, and grind the backside before final install...... it'll cost you an hour
 
eldubb440 said:
I've dealt with that before. I just sliced it, moved the flange over to meet the quarter and fill it in with weld...... these parts are a great to have access to, but often times need to be "customized"........

you can move the flange, weld up the cut, and grind the backside before final install...... it'll cost you an hour
Click to expand...
It’s the difference in the dimension of the step on the new quarter panel in relation to the new Dutchman panel step. The original quarter panel on the other side has the same step dimension as the new Dutchman panel. It’s a die issue.
 
That is a very common fitment issue with AMD Dutchman panels. Like stated above, slice it and reweld.
 
any one hear with a 69 rear right low quarter panel i need a lower patch on the right lower any one have a quarter they want to sell ?
 
slice and dice, ...... also check the rear window trim fit on the dutchman, that could be the bigger issue
 
eldubb440 said:
slice and dice, ...... also check the rear window trim fit on the dutchman, that could be the bigger issue
Click to expand...
Looking at the picture I was just thinking that... It will look nice but the rear glass or trim won't fit...
 
If you watch Chris Birdsongs "junkerup" you tube vids, you will see he has to cut, slice and reweld ALOT of panels to achieve good fitment alignment. While we are glad to have panels to work with, sadly, I don't think they will make the effort to "tweak" them for a better fit.
 
Here is my AMD Dutchman panel I put in last week. It took some trimming and fitting to get it just right. Still need to install the window trim to check the fit. No where near the same bend sharpness as the OE panel.

I am also in need of a RT lower quarter patch panel. No one makes it any more. Any good used metal out there?

20230831_195253.jpg


20231020_192951.jpg


20231025_184138.jpg
 
cudak888 said:
AMD, Sherman, Goodmark, Dynacorn - all brand names, sometimes one and the same, tied to a parent company that owns tooling currently in China or Taiwan stamping this stuff out. This tooling may be either worn-out ex-USA dies maintained as best as possible (and may be getting gradually worse with age), or - in the case of recent product additions - brand-new dies created by laser-scanning NOS panels (a relatively new process that probably wasn't used for most of the panels that have been out on the market for more than 5 years).

My bet is that any two of the same panel offered under both the AMD and Sherman names are identical. By that, I mean the same exact panel, such as an AMD '69 Charger quarter skin vs. a Sherman '69 Charger quarter skin. Chances are the parts are identical and may even be marked with the same Taiwanese die stamper's sticker in the back.

However, I would not be in the least surprised to witness a complete difference in the fit and quality of, say, an AMD '69 Charger quarter skin to that of an AMD '69 Charger full quarter. Depending on the source of the tooling, ONE brand may offer two versions of what should be identical panels when, in reality, the full quarter may be superior to the skin (or vise-versa) depending on the source of the tooling.

There is a perfect example of this in regards to 1971-73 Mustang quarter panel skins vs. full quarters. Original tooling for full quarters disappeared into oblivion, so someone tooled up new quarter panel skins sometime in the '80s or '90s. These skins are reasonable for patching a section of a quarter (better than the truly terrible lower quarter patches made by Spectra), but used as a full skin, they are a disaster (body curve is off, all flanges are cut way too deep, panel-to-rocker joint is 40 degrees off and needs to be bent in a metal brake to get it right, etc). These skins are now sold primarily under the Dynacorn name, but are also sold as Goodmark panels. The brand is irrelevant, as both the Dynacorn and Goodmark panel are one and the same. I'm not entirely privy to the exact relationship of Goodmark to Dynacorn, but fact is, it's the exact same panel that can be bought under two different names.

What's more, about a year or two ago, Dynacorn got their hands on NOS quarters for the '71-73s, and designed brand-new FULL quarter tooling based on these NOS quarters. The new full quarters are as perfect as an NOS Ford panel, and slide on beautifully. Yet, this is the same brand that offers the aforementioned skins that barely fit for the same car, and continue to do so willingly (concurrent with the release of the full quarters was the introduction of a 1973 version of the ill-fitting skin. Two extra holes, same crappy skin. Whoopee...not).

Every panel is different. Before bashing one brand over another, ask someone who has replaced the SAME exact panel what they used, how it fit, and what they did to make it fit. If it didn't fit well, are there other possible options? Once you've found something that should work, follow the usual advice for panel fit already mentioned here - sheet metal screws to tack the fit, and mock it up with all the other adjoining body panels installed.

One other good rule of thumb: If you need a skin from door jamb to end cap, it's best to cut one out of a full quarter. Even easier to just swap the whole quarter to avoid seams on the beltline entirely.

-Kurt
Click to expand...
Sherman and AMD are not the same. Goodmark and AMD are connected. Mark who owns AMD is the same Mark in Good-mark.
 
To us guys that have early B-bodies, that nobody makes full quarters for, this sounds like a lot of wah, wah, wah. Try building a car that only crude Sherman patch panels are available for.
 
Never bought replacement panels, the few cars I have done I repaired the original metal. I just don't pick really rusty projects; dents I can deal with. I just started a 65 coronet it has rusty floors but the rest of the body is fixable. And as far as the gaps and fitment go, the cars from the factory did not fit or have consistent gaps. They fit like crap. Replaced the driver's front fender with an OEM used fender and it has to be massaged to fit correctly.
Quality on older cars whatever the brand was just not that good in the 60's and 70's I see lots of show cars that look 100% better than original survivors in the gap and fitment department.
 
I put a 1/4 skin on my Charger that was on another car before mine. It fit so well it just fell right on the car, no filler at all, it was perfect.
 
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