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busdaddy
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Joined: February 12, 2004
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Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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 Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:12 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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Agreed!, at least somebody has stepped up and is trying to make a part, it may not be quite perfect yet, but compared to the alternatives (or lack thereof) it's not all that bad. Hopefully they can step up their game for that price point, but having been on both ends of the stick I know that's easier said than done, and it's hardly something they'll move 10K units of a year so I'm sure the R&D already invested is still years from paying off and earning any money.
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WrennMetallWerks
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Joined: December 06, 2007
Posts: 2665
Location: Rescue ca
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:43 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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^^^ At the end of our day today and the driver fender was all bolted up and reworked to fit properly is was a sigh of relief not to have had to use a pitiful OG donor. My son does not follow the thread in anyway, so I calmly asked him once he was all done and stepped back if he rather rework these repros moving forward in the future or would he prefer to rework OG ones. It wasn’t even a question for him. He much rather have a good solid repro (like this) to do his magic to. I’m going to be transparent here and say my big struggle is the price vs quality I feel that is off balance at the time: but totally correctable. I will take a step further. My stand to my clients and even the argument from the maker themselves was “ Look at all the hours/money/hassles we will save getting these new ones out of Germany.” I kinda put my neck out on the line so to speak. I’m still wrestling with it to a degree for sure. The idea was a zero fuss product , that was (pre sale) publicly represented that way as well.
At the end of the day, My normal position going into every repro purchase is expecting a notable amount of rework needed (Wolfparts excluded 99% of the time) to be done to ether fit to factory/our standards and or to fit the host vehicle. I admit I went into this purchase, not thinking that. That is on me.
I’m writing all this to say I encourage the scene to give the maker a chance to rectify some of the observations I have made here based off of numerous examples of comparisons at our disposal.
For what it is worth, without a “uncommon” amount of attention, The fender is on and looks awesome now. Onto the next one. 👊
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wcfvw69 
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Joined: June 10, 2004
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Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:35 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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I don't think anyone who's posted has "attacked" the manufacturer of these fenders. I said it earlier. We should all be grateful that people or companies invest and risk big money to tool up and make reproduction parts for 70 YO cars.
I think our biggest frustrations and concerns to most of us include-
1) The high cost of these fenders vs the quality/fit.
2) These fenders correctness and fit could be a much better.
3) Why on earth would they ship these fenders knowing they are not right.
If these were $100-$200 dollar fenders each, no one would be discussing this. For $1k or more per fender with these issues?
They need to fix their dies and fire their QC manager. 
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56reddy
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Joined: October 22, 2005
Posts: 774
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:39 am Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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I have to agree with Jason on the price vs quality on these fenders. I can’t understand why these left Germany with so many issues. Now if these were GIVEN to Jason as a proto type, OK. There is another manufacture that will be releasing Split rear fenders soon. I should have a set in the next week or so to try out. Direct feedback will be given back to the manufacturer to avoid these types of issues before the first set of fenders are SOLD.
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WrennMetallWerks
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Joined: December 06, 2007
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Location: Rescue ca
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WrennMetallWerks
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Location: Rescue ca
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WrennMetallWerks
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D-train
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Joined: January 08, 2007
Posts: 1455
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 5:10 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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Bang on now!
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splitjunkie
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Joined: April 04, 2006
Posts: 4095
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:52 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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| WrennMetallWerks wrote: |
I wanted to put in some time this morning comparing the other driver side fender we ordered to another split.
The results where very simplar (disclaimer: keep in mind these are both cars we built up here in the shop so each consumer may have a different experience)
I was pleased that specific fender to this specific car was improved at the corner but I still feel it is just to soft to fit snug.
The green fender is a 67 fender that was up in the loft that I wanted to test for accuracy to the 51 Standard, more for my own peace of mind.
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That last picture proves my point. That is how a fender is supposed to fit. 20 year difference and it fits like a glove.
You absolutely have NOT thrown the vendor under the bus. You have told it like it is and I for one am glad you posted these pictures because it saved me a bunch of money and frustration. It's disappointing to hear that they are less than enthusiastic about correcting the problems.
Knock the price down to $400 a pop and sell them as a fender "kit" that will require massaging to fit then they might sell well but I suspect once a few other owners post threads that probably won't be as forgiving, then I think they might have to rethink things and either lower the price or fix the problems.
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busdaddy
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Joined: February 12, 2004
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Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:30 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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Much better!
Maybe it's the camera angle or lighting, but does the lower rear edge of the RH fender look slightly drooped?, as in not carrying on one continuous curve from the apron. Or does it just need to be leaned on or lifted out slightly?
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WrennMetallWerks
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WrennMetallWerks
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Location: Rescue ca
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:53 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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| splitjunkie wrote: |
| WrennMetallWerks wrote: |
I wanted to put in some time this morning comparing the other driver side fender we ordered to another split.
The results where very simplar (disclaimer: keep in mind these are both cars we built up here in the shop so each consumer may have a different experience)
I was pleased that specific fender to this specific car was improved at the corner but I still feel it is just to soft to fit snug.
The green fender is a 67 fender that was up in the loft that I wanted to test for accuracy to the 51 Standard, more for my own peace of mind.
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That last picture proves my point. That is how a fender is supposed to fit. 20 year difference and it fits like a glove.
You absolutely have NOT thrown the vendor under the bus. You have told it like it is and I for one am glad you posted these pictures because it saved me a bunch of money and frustration. It's disappointing to hear that they are less than enthusiastic about correcting the problems.
Knock the price down to $400 a pop and sell them as a fender "kit" that will require massaging to fit then they might sell well but I suspect once a few other owners post threads that probably won't be as forgiving, then I think they might have to rethink things and either lower the price or fix the problems. |
Jus SayN’ 😎
_________________
⚒ Believe In The Power Of Positive Thinking ⚒
Purpose Over Pleasure 🕊
“Hard Werk ⚒ God First “
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=0-PSeV52tZ4&si=wpcuRnQyvIFo2nCJ
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PaCorLXzC5w&si=cbzT8fjlzVlIWfSV
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=_aoE5aYSutY&si=mkZKPxd_41QA1kfs
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D-train
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Joined: January 08, 2007
Posts: 1455
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:34 am Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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If you look at the other 47 thread, the rear guards don’t look perfect either and very similar to how the reproduction ones looked also. Unless my eyes were deceiving me anyway.
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WrennMetallWerks
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busdaddy
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Joined: February 12, 2004
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Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:07 am Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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| WrennMetallWerks wrote: |
| You have a fantastic eye my friend. |
Curvy cars are like curvy girls, that one looks like she's suffering an underwear malfunction and one cheek is escaping 
| WrennMetallWerks wrote: |
| (Here is the shop We consider this a Dramatic deference) |
No kidding, here too 
No doubt they are very proud of the job they did accurately reproducing these parts, unfortunately it seems the examples they copied weren't the most outstanding examples, what a waste of time and effort, bummer.
I can't imagine any self respecting 1940's German being able to fight his OCD and produce an asymmetrical part or something that doesn't match up with the rest of the body lines. Even excuses like "war torn factory", "the British were running the place" or "economy car" don't cut it for me, those guys were obsessed with accuracy. It's not like it's some hand formed one off thing, consistent interchangeability was the German way with everything they made, from coffee pots to giant airplanes.
Whatever the reasons it is what it is and is still better than massaging a mangled original (if you can even find one worth fixing), sadly their price point reflects a part that should "bolt on" with zero tweaking required and those are far from that.
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sled
Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2005
Posts: 6179
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 12:47 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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the right side fender looks terrible
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WrennMetallWerks
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splitjunkie
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Joined: April 04, 2006
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:38 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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Yep. You will need to cut a much longer pie wedge to get it to look "normal".
I would be really curious as to how many man hours you end up with on these to make them presentable.
It is just mind boggling that they would go to all of the time and expense to produce these and not get them right.
Hell. Those KSR W decklids were made in China and while they weren't perfect, the discrepancies were very minor.
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You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld |
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wcfvw69
Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004
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Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:46 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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| WrennMetallWerks wrote: |
| ^^^ I agree, hemming it up to meet the apron I believe actually draws more attention to the lack of uniformity between the two fenders. |
Even my non-expert metal and body eyes can see that in all it's miss matched uniformity.
I will say it's was disheartening to hear your feedback about these fenders was brushed off when you communicated with the makers of these fenders.
I'm glad there's so many of us VW folks that find this kind of substandard quality of new and EXPENSIVE VW parts unacceptable. It's simply not ok that we have to deal with so many crap parts these days.
Maybe Gerson can get these fenders right!
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
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**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
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busdaddy
Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004
Posts: 51168
Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 3:24 pm Post subject: Re: '47 Beetle resurrection |
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I sincerely hope it's just the way the light is playing in that pic, but it appears the top of the LH fender over the middle of the tire is flatter and bulges out more than the more evenly sloped RH one. Like a widened fender almost, or the RH is too slopey/skinny?, the RH looks more in tune with the lines of the car.
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