Anyone thinking of buying a cowl replacement panel?

**Absinth** · 05-07-2010, 04:45 PM

Be interesting to see how much better the new tooled ones are in comparison to the old ones????

**ozbox** · 05-07-2010, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by Absinth

Be interesting to see how much better the new tooled ones are in comparison to the old ones????

i dont think its much better to tell you the truth...ive got a new old stock complete hq one in the roof at home and they are like chalk and cheese..its mainly the pressing into and under the screen and next to the door which is the problem...the flat bits are really good...

**Absinth** · 05-07-2010, 05:06 PM

Glad mine is totally rust free than...

Complete with WB laminated windscreen...... bet I don't get it out without cracking it either...

**ozbox** · 05-07-2010, 05:12 PM

see how your chamber lines up nicely with your door....

go over to fastlane and have a gander at the pics jim put up and in one pic he has a door on..also note the gap in the chrome mould under the screen...i know that these may be not fitted up correctly in his pic but ...they wont look like yours ever...:eek:

**GTS** · 09-07-2010, 07:47 PM

The ebay ad was mine.:eek: I received an email via ebay from Dave Ryan at Rare Spares asking me to call him....which I did. Rares have given me a credit to the value of what I paid to one of their Qld distributors for the panel.
We discussed a few other issues along the lines of fit and finish of their products etc. Dave was very helpfull and I would advise anyone with an issue regarding Rares products to call them.
I couldn't be happier...they have turned a potential $220.00 loss into something worthwhile.... all because of a $5.00 ebay ad.

**L31 Sandman** · 10-07-2010, 08:50 PM

I have one of these and it would the most awful piece of sh#t i have ever seen. It is not going onto the van as even if it did actually fit, i would have to use a sh#t load of filler to get all the fold lines close to being right. I will do as above has suggest and make a phone call to try and get a credit. i have tracked down 3 original ones in good nic and was planning to make one good one out of them, so the credit would be handy.:knockout:

**Absinth** · 11-07-2010, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by ozbox

see how your chamber lines up nicely with your door....

go over to fastlane and have a gander at the pics jim put up and in one pic he has a door on..also note the gap in the chrome mould under the screen...i know that these may be not fitted up correctly in his pic but ...they wont look like yours ever...:eek:

Yes I saw the difference. Do you get many good rust free cowl panels on your wrecks Greg? A decent one would have to be worth $300 to $400 I would think... although cutting them out is lots of fun...;)

Nice to see Rares making the effort to at least resolve the situation with unhappy customers and issue refunds..... dosen't help with restoring your car though unless you can get another panel that is acceptable..:errf:

**ozbox** · 11-07-2010, 02:44 PM

sean,cutting them is simple because i dont use oxy so i can leave all the wiring a/c etc in place and then strip it out later when its on a bench...{as you get older you get smarter}...i dont see as many as i would like to but i have a firewall/plenum cut off a wb statesman that just needs to be stripped out and i have a couple of hz there that look clean but still attached..the main reason i sell them is not for the top plenum but for the lowers..but if you have a clean top section then the powers are the same....hj to wb i get $385 for a firewall cut...hq when i see a clean one i usually get $550..i still have a complete nos hq one in the roof of my shed..

**Absinth** · 11-07-2010, 03:00 PM

Hehe, I stopped using an oxy many moons ago and now have a good stock of 1mm 4" cut off discs and a couple of spot weld cutters for removing panels, repairs etc...

I now have a Henrob oxy which is excellent for rust repairs and general panel work... CIG 200 mig for the heavier stuff and fabricating metal posts, privacy screens etc. for my building work...

Been considering getting a Tig for Stainless steel handrail fabrication as I do a bit of it and the oxy is not real neat...

I should have cut up the HZ sedan I had as it was rust free and I could have tripple the money for the panels then I got for the whole car... doors were no good to me for the Sandman as they had intrusion bars....