Who makes the best quality Shelby fiberglass parts?

[speed1972]

Ok so I have been reading a lot about the quality of the Shelby fiberglass parts that are out there (i.e. front end, hood, decklid, end caps, and rear tail light panel). We all know the old stangs were built with much larger tolerances than current vehicles, but I hear a lot of complaints about the fit, gaps, etc.

I am planning on adding some different parts to my 67's.... definitely not going Eleanor knock off, I prefer to make it mine. I'd like to know what works and what doesn't

My main question for everyone is who makes the best fitting parts with the least amount of fitting?

LB

 

[zookeeper]

Do you really want to know? I have parts from several vendors on my car, and not one part fit perfectly, some weren't even close. My hood and nose came from Mustangs Plus and was made by Maier. The fit was appalling. Huge gaps, incorrect shapes, warpage and poor quality best describe the Maier stuff. My trunk lid, taillight panel and end caps came from Branda. The trunk bolted on, but had a twist in it and gaps large enough on all sides to stick my thumb into. The tailight panel wasn't even close to bolting on and had to be cut into two pieces, bolted on the car, then 'glassed back together. The Branda end caps were horribly expensive and in no way could've been bolted on the car and used out of the box. Not one shape was even close. My brake scoops also came from Branda, and at least they were decent in quality and fit, but needed work as well. The roof scoops fit the best and came from Mustangs Unlimited. They needed work as well, but it was minimal compared to the other stuff.
Having said all that, I can tell you this: Branda now sells vacuum-formed fiberglass which they did not have when I bought my stuff years ago. Vacuum-formed 'glass is far superior to hand-laid, and although it's slightly more expensive, it's worth it in my experience. The thing about fiberglass is it's easy to work with, it just takes time and a commitment by you to have the patience to fit it correctly. Even the worst stuff can be fixed, provided you are willing to do the work. My fiberglass fits better than the steel parts they replaced, and certainly better than any stock Shelby I've ever seen.

 

[rusty428cj]

The best fitting fiberglass I have found is from Mustangs to Fear. Taillight panel and end caps fit with very little work.

 

[speed1972]

Great info zoo and rusty!! From what i have read, it sounds like mustangs to fear put some extra effort into their parts design. I wonder if anyone has used the newer Branda vacuum formed parts... regardless, it doesn't really seem to be much difference in price overall, but i'm definitely leaning towards the mustangs to fear.

LB

 

[68GT500KR_Vert]

By far the best quality parts I've seen and now own are from Stang-Aholics. Every body men that looked at my car raved about the quality of the shipped panels, most parts fit perfect out of the box, others just needed a little shaping. The hood and trunk has zero waves in it.

Ford Mustang Parts and Accessories from Stang-Aholics.com

 

[Red5oh]

I got all mine from Branda and the endcaps were terrible, but I did get the vacuum formed Trunk lid and shelby hood. Both were very good in my opinion. I got the taillight panel from the LED vendor in TX and it was wonderful in every way.

I think all of it takes work and nothing is perfect and depends on the car. You can look at more on my cardomain site and ask any questions you want.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2224648

 

[truck90278]

They are all pretty bad. We had a '65 FG hood from Maier and after sitting, it warped so bad we trashed it and had a steel hood fabricated with the scoop. By time we were done, it would have been cheaper tohave gone with the steel to begin with. We also had the rear decklid with the spoiler. Gap on one side was good, but the gap on the other side wa .5". We had to widen the decklid .25" on one side. Also a lot of voids.