Magnum Panels

[Mark P]

Not been on here for a while but restoring my mex and the fit of magnum panels has a lot to be desired. I did hear that the outer sills were wrong and didnt fit great which I have to agree with they seem about 10 mm short were they meet the floor or is it that the floor shape isnt quite right. I have found that rear wheel area on drivers side (arch tubs and tank repair) are a pretty good fit but the passengerside aint so great the contour of the spare wheel lower corner was miles out good job I only needed the actual shaped bit. Would like to hear from anyone else who is doing a BIG resto like myself.

[richy c]

hello stranger ,did you know a guy just round the corner from me sells loads of escort panels?im not sure on which make but may be worth a look?

[Mark P]

I do Rich he does Magnam good bloke

[mikpeirce]

Magnum panels

Yep, agree with you Mark. Generally ok, but sometimes near enough is not good enough. Took me almost 3 times the amount of time to get the Magnum n/s full rear tub to fit compared to the o/s, and I still don't think I got the lower part to mimic the oe item properly, but it's on now and not coming off!



Still surprises me that however great these companies are in re-creating classic panels to keep us supplied in parts but that they don't take the effort to get them correct.


If it's any consolation, had a conversation with my brother the other day (ex-Perrys panel beater back in the 80's), it was no different then with the genuine panels sometimes!! The still had to 'massage' the oe Ford stuff to fit nicely.


Keep at it,


Mik

[katana]

Still surprises me that however great these companies are in re-creating classic panels to keep us supplied in parts but that they don't take the effort to get them correct.

Although i've never had the 'pleasure' in doing body work I do sympathise with these parts creators having seen the amount of work that goes into making the press tools - bloody great big heavy bucks and dies and they have no blueprints to work from - just maybe a NOS original panel. When you might have £5 - 10K invested in tooling for a part do you scrap it and start again for the sake of an inch or so, or accept some 'finessing' will be required?

[RS2000CHRIS]

I’m currently restoring a mk1 bubble arch shell.
All panels I’m using are also magnum. I agree they need a lot of fettling & must confess find it most annoying when you pay loads of money for stuff that don’t fit.
I have a pair of steel wings with the pressed bubble arch in. The shape at the top corner where it meets the door is awful. The front panel doesn’t fully meet the inner wings that are also magnum.

On a positive note I will say I was very impressed with the lower bulkhead. Was very good quality & a good fit. Maybe they haven’t been making these long & the tooling hasn’t worn yet!
I also bought a pair of upper bulkhead end repair panels & the n/s came with a bonnet cable hole in! So I called magnum to say basically it’s in the wrong side for UK cars. Their reply was “well we took a flyer to see it they would sell as we had the tool”

[gt40steve]

Hi, is there a consensus on what is the best of the currently produced panels for Mk1 & Mk2? or is it more complicated ie, does one manufacturer do better wings but another does better sills etc.

Steve

[Mark P]

Update

Thanks for replies all seem to be same problem panels just purchased a magnum slam panel OMG its is terrible not so much the fit but the catch area has metal inserts put in which stick proud and the area for the spring end is just a shallow dent I have sent it back so will weld in the catch area from the old one if they cant do it right would be best not to bother. Have tried to upload images not sure if they have attached though so beware if you need a slam I would use expressed panels in the future for slams