My friend's 1995 mustang gts needs a new radiator support (it was bent in a minor ditch-jumping incident due to being run off the road) He told me he went to kirmac collision and they quoted him a lot of cash, but I looked around for him on late model restoration supply (the new 5.0resto) and its 100 bucks there! The air dam also got trashed, and the site sells one for 13 bucks. Now, I hear these guys are great to deal with, and the quality is high. Is there any reason why you would recommend using ford parts instead? Also, we live in vancouver canada, is there any other companies you would recommend instead of 5.0resto? Thanks for any opinions, I told my buddy I would ask the gurus on stangnet
From my experience, aftermarket body parts don't fit properly. If there isn't a huge difference in price, you would be better off going OEM.
mine got was bent when i picked it up....i just straightened it out the best i could with a comealong and bfh...when the radiator is in you cant tell unless you know to look for a problem.
Im sorry, I dont really understand? Do you mean to say you're rad support from 50resto was bent when you picked it up? If true, that sucks The problem here is the hood wont sit flush because the radiator support is pushed up and inwards, so he needs a new one (unless the factory one can be straightened) btw, the ford ones seem to be around 250 bucks compared to 100 from aftermarkets. If they are acceptable, maybe the aftermarket ones will work. Its not like you see them anyways, and as long as they are straight, strong and do the job of supporting the radiator then I dont see the problem with it. Please keep comments coming, Im talking to the guy tomorrow
Aftermarket parts fit fine, you just need experience. The longer I have been working with them...(haven't used much of it) the better I have gotten. The aftermarket core supports are a perfect fit. You will be all day drilling welds from the old one, but the only difference I noticed is the weight. The aftermarket support is much much lighter. Used 4 of them on previous Mustang wrecks with no problem. The only time I bought a new one was in 2004, I had a 00 Mustang GT with 6,000 miles!! I wanted a Ford support in that car because it was so new, but is was more than double the cost.
make sure you brace the front frame rails, When I did my first front rad. core replacement on my friends '96 the frame rails pulled in a little. So, needless to say the new core support didn't line up at all.......Got a away with pushing them out with a jack and then welding it up. just my .02
That works just fine. Collision shops use frame pulling machines, jacks, hammers etc...when they fix a car. That is perfectly OKAY!!
Thanks for the words of wisdom about aftermarket parts, so would the support from 50resto is a good buy? Im not sure exactly what the quote was ( i can ask my friend tomorrow) but according to the kirmac guy this is a very expensive repair? I cant imagine it would be more than 3 hours of labour (at 80$ an hour, so at the most 240$) If the 100$ support from 50resto is good, then thats up to 340$.. so I cant imagine it being more than $400 to finish the job (hopefully less) Does anyone know what shipping rates are like on parts like this? He said hes just going to take it and go through insurance, but he will have to pay a 300$ deductible, take a big rate hike, get the accident on his history, and possibly get some penalties for "undue care and attention" (there was no witnesses, and the mustang driver's word isnt worth too much to the insurance guys ) Im trying to convince him its a bad idea or he might not be able to afford to drive the stang.. and ill loose a stang buddy
