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Kswartz
10-18-2013, 05:13 AM
Just wondering if anyone had good results with trim parts reproductions?
I was told by them they stick directly to the GM original, won't know till tue when I get my parts in.

Kevin

JT56
10-18-2013, 06:18 AM
Just wondering if anyone had good results with trim parts reproductions?
I was told by them they stick directly to the GM original, won't know till tue when I get my parts in.

Kevin

Kevin I was told the Gene Smith repro's were the best...While the finish is great, I still had to use a reamer to get the holes to line up perfectly on my front end chrome.

Rick_L
10-18-2013, 08:30 AM
It's a mixed bag. Some of Trim Parts stuff is the best stuff, on others it's Gene Smith or Danchuk. Probably the best way is to ask here. And to post here if you like or dislike something from any of the suppliers.

Don't let their GM logo stuff sway you. They don't use original tooling. And you wouldn't be happy if they did.

5Clint7
10-18-2013, 10:18 AM
I have a 57 2 dr HT. I've used all 3. Danchuk is the worst. My grill bar from them is very wavy. I got my hood bar and fender extensions from Trim parts. The R. side and Hood bar was perfect. The L. side was scuffed. My tali lights were from Gene Smith. They have begun to freckle or blister. They are pot metal. Like Rick L said It's a shot in the dark. ( http://www.trifivechevys.com/showthread.php/827-Danchuk-odometer-decals )

chevynut
10-18-2013, 10:44 AM
I've had to send stuff back to Danchuk due to poor quality, but at least at the time they replaced it for me. Their hood bar and extension kit fit my Nomad very well, even better than the stock original parts I had (2-3 sets of them). I don't know if I've ever used Trim Parts, but I have used Gene Smith parts. Their chrome lower grille bar won't fit over their stainless grille because the vertical bars are too wide on the grille. I talked to Fred at Gene Smith and as usual I'm the only one who's ever had the problem. He said to push it on and it will be fine. The problem is I need to disassemble the car, and if I push it on it's not coming off easily. So I'm going to wait til I do final assembly and deal with it then. Fred said he will stand behind the parts if something bad happens.

The Gene Smith 56 tailights I have don't fit nearly as well as the Danchuk ones I got. They were close to 1/4" too short vertically. The Danchuk ones fit well, but I still had to get them to replace one bezel that had a dip in it.

I have one 56 V8 hood emblem bezel that isn't even close to the same angle as the hood. Not sure which manufacturer it came from.

chevynut
10-18-2013, 10:46 AM
I think the bottom line is that even the original parts didn't fit very well in a lot of cases.

Rick_L
10-18-2013, 12:49 PM
Just what all does Trim Parts make? The only part I know of for sure is door handles, and I've heard mixed reviews on them. There must be more.

chevynut
10-18-2013, 02:07 PM
Lots of them.....

ABOUT TRIMPARTS TrimParts, Inc. manufactures GM licensed restoration parts for Chevrolet and other GM cars and trucks. We are dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality products offered in the restoration industry by using the original GM tooling under licensing from GM when tooling is available. Otherwise, TrimParts engineers and builds in-house tooling to meet the original GM Specifications and TrimParts Quality.

http://www.trimparts.com/parts/index/

http://www.trimparts.com/static/trimparts_difference/

Kswartz
10-18-2013, 02:36 PM
Cool, ok sounds like a mixed bag of see what I get, yikes... I just specked Danchuks front bezel for the 55 emblem, and it's way out from GM. Just got Danchuks machine shop specks for the part, and well..... Let's see where trim parts stacks up. Little gd&t
You guys are great, good feedback.
If your going to make it, do it right!

Thanks
kevin
my first off parts are in my photo section.

Rick_L
10-18-2013, 03:52 PM
Chevynut, I just looked at the link you provided and the only pot metal parts for 55-57s were door handles and the center bar for a Nomad tailgate. Everything else was plastic or rubber.

I do know they make metal trim parts for 60s Chevys, but that's another subject.

chevynut
10-18-2013, 05:57 PM
Rick, they also make hood bars and extensions for 56's. I thought they made BelAir emblems and stuff like that too. You're right, there's a lot of plastic parts like lenses and emblems.

5Clint7
10-18-2013, 06:11 PM
They make a lot stuff for 57's too.
2590

TOXIC AVENGER
01-25-2016, 08:44 PM
I like the Trim Parts 55 tail light lenses and some misc other parts but it is hit or miss on other stuff, Danchuk is the worst and service is terrible when you want to return something that fits like crap, Gene Smith front sway bar kits are the best I found

chevynut
01-25-2016, 08:59 PM
I actually had a great experience with Danchuk....once. They replaced a die cast chrome part for me because it had bad ripples in it. I sent another part back for the same reason and they were really crappy about it that time. Don't know what changed, but I'm not paying full price for seconds.

Gene Smith makes some nice parts but there are issues with some of them too. I have a stainless 56 grille and a chrome lower grill bar, both from Gene Smith, and the lower grill bar doesn't fit the grille right. It just won't slide on and I'm afraid that if I force it I won't be able to remove it without damaging something. I told Fred that the grille vertical bars on the stainless grille are too wide because the lower bar fits a chrome grille I have. I don't know what's going to happen when I try to assemble it for good, but he said he'd stand behind the parts....that was years ago.

Also, my ($400+) Gene Smith 56 taillights were a lot shorter than the original ones so I had to replace them with a Danchuk set. They seem to be the right height.

Seems like they all have some issues.

1320GASSER
02-19-2016, 08:00 PM
liked the fit of carpet kit from trim parts on my 55 , also did a 67 el camino recently and used several emblems from trim parts on it and quality of finish and fit was good

Rigi
02-20-2016, 03:51 AM
The 57 hood bar and extensions from Trimparts does not fit very well. No matter how you adjust the will not line up parallel to each other. I've spend many hour to get that right and also heard from others who had the same problem. The hood bar is also very wavy at the underside.

bobbybelair
02-20-2016, 06:26 AM
I've used Trim Parts gauge lenses and they are fine.