Reproduction parts evaluation

[Absinth]

I have seen these on Ebay for $30ea and figured they were probably crap for that price but decided to buy a couple and see just what they were like..... if they're crap I'd just fit them to spare consoles..

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOLDEN-HJ-Z-C...-/130430239451

I ordered a Slate black one and one in Gazelle. Pretty sure he sent me black and not slate black as it is no where near my original Nos Slate Black vinyl in the middle or the original cover to the left..


The Gazelle however is pretty close to the original cover (in colour anyway)


First thing to do is remove the old cover....


The armrest is thick foam with a thin 5mm thick foam covering it.... it is a good idea to replace the thin cover with some new foam... I haven't done it in these pics as I don't have any left but will do so later when I get some more.


The recovered armrests.... some quick grip glue to glue down the back flaps and screw the metal plate over them and they will be done..


The vinyl is a bit thinner than the original stuff and the grain while not too bad is not overly close to being correct..... but for 30 bucks I reckon they are pretty good for a relatively cheap reproduction.... the fit is not perfect but a bit of pulling and stretching gets it pretty close....

If they last a couple of years only...... who cares... for 30 bucks I'll just buy another one and replace it..... if they last longer... bargain.

[wbute]

Thats the same cover I used. I thought they were pretty good also as far as workmanship and fit went. $30 that was good value

Nice job also Absinth.

[adam perth]

HJ-Z front indicator housings are crap.
the chrome paint falls off after about 3 years.

[GTS]

I bought a rear outer beaver panel for my van. The fit was OK but there is no recess around the hole where the spare tyre winch handle goes through. The hole itself is not a biggy, the problem is that when you go to spot weld around the hole its too far away from the inner panel. I ended up cutting the recessed area out of the original beaver panel and welded it into the new one. It turned out to be a bit more work than I'd anticipated but fitted pretty good nonetheless.