FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

i HAVE OWNED AN 1959 fc UTE FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS NOW, THE LAST TEN OF WHICH IT HAS SPENT IN A SHED AS i COULD NEVER BRING MYSELF TO SELL IT. I AM NOW PLANNING TO RETORE IT. THE MAIN WORK WILL BE IN RUST REPAIRS.
COULD ANYONE TELL ME WHERE I CAN GET SOME REPLACEMENT PANELS FOR THE DOOR SILLS AS WELL THE PANEL BETWEEN THE DOORS AND THE BACK WHEEL.
I LIVE IN NEWCASTLE NSW.
REGARDS
ROB

Try Rare Spares Rob.

Rare Spares Newcastle
219 Darby Street,
Newcastle NSW 2300
Ph: (02) 4929 4711
Fax: (02) 4925 3408

Good luck with the resto.
Regards
Alex

rare spares stuff are crap try craig vane sheet metal in Maryborough, we have used rare spare sills and they are not even the right shape or length, i dont  have the address for Craig vane but it shouldnt be to hard to find on the net.

Don't suppose you're talking about Maryborough in Qld are you, if yes do they do floor pans.
                                Pedro

g'day
sent ya  PM....
mr crashbox

Craig vaynes site is called rustaproblem and is roughly half the price of rare spares on sills.

Craig Vayne  268 Three Mile Road Tinana 4650 Phone 07  4122 2326 or mob 0438 726697  the outer sill $66 my catalogue may be a little old .......FC427.....

Retro Rods also do rust repair panels. Have found them very good to deal with. Here is their website http://www.retrorods.net.au/index.html  Cheers Jack

Just rang rustaproblem and outer sill panels are $88.00 each as compared to $168.34. a bloody huge difference in price and ute tailgate skin is also $88.00 as compared to $250.69 thats a bloody whopping $162.69 cheaper how can rares justify the huge difference in price it is so so true that shopping around is the way to go. I am not trying to piss rares devotees off but just comparing for the forum members.
Jason

Don't get me wrong, I believe that value for money is important. I would like a comparison of quality and if the cheaper panels are just as good then I am all for purchasing from them as it is a competitive market out there and you need to spread your dollar out as far as it can go.
So well done for finding the supplier and advertising them.

What I don't like is bagging companies for the sake of bagging them and not offering any alternative.
This clearly is not the case here.

Ken

Thanks Ken it was just a shock to see the price difference and I just had to share it with the members so they can benefit from the savings and as you said hopefully the quality is also good. I am a big believer in cars being an affordable past time so I spend a fair bit of time looking for cost effective ways for both myself and other people to enjoy our hobby and that's why I also posted the details to the wrecker that sold me the HR front end for $50.00 as well.
Jason

Have just returned a LH outer sill to a Rare Spares stockist here in Toowoomba Qld, due to the profile being pretty disimilar to the (rotten) sill still on my FC van.
It wasn't the first time he had taken back a Rare's replacement panel, in short he's a bit frustrated with some panels he gets and sells.

I'm not knocking Rares, I think. Have been happy with parts I've bought for a number of Holdens over the years. But this sill I bought was expensive and just plain off.  :(

In this thread is contact details for other suppliers.  Can anyone tell me if they have bought FC outer sills from either Craig Vayne or Retro Rods and what they were like??

thanks
Cam

Cam where is the toowoomba stockist located and name of business so I can get other parts through them.
cheers jason

Jason  talk to Chris at Evan's Trim Shop in Mann St  (in behind Toyota)  4632 7499

What part Tmba are you?

Cam

I'm in Kingsthorpe mate just outside toowoomba but work in town. Thanks for the info we should catch up for a beer some time.
Jason

I also agree that the Rares sills were not the best but has anyone mentioned here that the sills that Craig Vayne supplies do not have the shaped ends them?Or has he changed that now?This might not be a problem for some but for me ,I would rather modify the rares ones than trying to make them from scratch especially when mine were non existant to start with.Just my opinion. ???

I found the outer sills from Craig Vayne to be very good in regards to the profile but as Ken said they do not have the ends. The front end is not a problem as it is a straight rh bend but the rear end can be a bit tricky as it has to blend into the dogleg. If the rear end of your existing sill is ok then you can cut the old sill off a little further forward which makes the join fairly straightforward.Cheers , Jack

My ends are very good so I will be able to use them

I've ordered LH + RH outer sills from Gaven at Retro Rods, being folded up today.
I'll post again when I get them to advise on profile and fit etc. 

Gaven said they don't have formed ends on them, but these can be fabricated later anyhow.

Good price and cheap postage

I think that the fabrication you speak of will take quite a lot of work to do becuase the steel thickness is greater than floor pan steel.
I look forward to seeing how you go making the ends up.

I would venture to state that my opinion is that the Rares sills with pressed ends would be better value. Even if they do need some work to fit perfectly.

Ken

Why can't Rares make them  properly so they fit with out the need to have work done on them they certainly have a market for the item and they fit more than one model FE FC FB EK they must have gone to a fair amount of expense in making them ...it doesent make sense to make a product that seem to draw so much criticism .....I have a NOS set that I would gladly loan to them if they need an original set to correct what they are presently making .......FC427.....

Couldn't agree more if it's worth doing it's worth doing right

I took a drivers side sill back to Rares here in SA thinking that it was a defective one as it was quite different to the other side.They had ordered me in another which when I got down there (An hour and a bit drive later) was exactly the same.The answer I got was that "the die they use to press them is very old now".I can appreciate this but I would have thought that the cost they sell these panels for would have paid for a new die by now.This is only my opinion.I have nothing bad to say about the service though.They were quick to get in another panel and didn't give me a hard time.I still think it is easier to have the ends on them even if it was only the dogleg end as it was hard enough to get this to fit up nicely without having to make it from scratch then try to get it to look original.Of the 5 FC's I have,all would have needed this to be fabricated by hand.That is fine for those who have the skills but that's not for everyone.I think I just concluded my own point  ???.That is if you don't need the ends or can make new ones,get one of the others.If you can't,get the Rares ones....That really wasn't so hard.... ::) :D

I sent an email to Les from Rares thinking he might be interested in this thread, long story short, Rares updated the tooling last year and invites you to compare and return if not happy.