I bought a rear valance from Moostangs Unlimited back in '09 and just finally tried to do a test fit on it yesterday. This thing is terrible! The drivers side lined up real nice, but the outside right (passenger side) angle is waaaay off. with all the bends in the stamping I am not sure it can be bent around to fit without actually cutting the sheet metal.
have any of you guys worked with one of these? i think it is actually the same one sold at WCCC.
Likely your cat has been damaged some time in the past. These valances are identical to NOS Ford parts. The problem is not with the part you bought.
Or maybe the part was damaged in shipping?
One other possibility, maybe the holes in your car were drilled off to one side when the car was new.
I bought one too, the last of two but supposed to be NOS? I gotta get it out and check package again.
I’m thinking back now, it was before 09. not even sure it was mustang unlimited, it was norhern Va. off 81
One reason I cut mine for my pipes, i knew I had a perfect one. come to find out my original had 1/2 bondo, i had to glue it back!LOL Evident the doctor that owned my car could not back up for squat. I plan to use as template and cut the nos perfect and use chrome trim.
No, it is visibly incorrect on the outer passenger side end. And when you hold a straight edge up to it compared to the drivers side it is even more obvious. I guess I will call Mustang’s Unlimited and see if they will still swap it out after 3-1/2 years!
I too am going to cut it for the exhaust and install the chrome horseshoes
Welcome to the world of Reproduction parts Grant. Repop Mustang Valances are the same way. No matter how much they advertise their ‘Ford Tooling’ or ‘Correct as an Original in every way’ they really just aren’t. That’s one of the reasons I don’t bother with reproduction parts. Even from the Factory the valances weren’t perfect but repops are even worse.
Thanks for the words of encouragement Andrew…ugghhhh…MU is sending me a new one. They gave me a “discount” on a new one… I am not expecting much after reading your reply!
Thanks for the words of encouragement Andrew…ugghhhh…MU is sending me a new one. They gave me a “discount” on a new one… I am not expecting much after reading your reply!
I’m sorry G. I don’t want to discourage you, just give it to you straight. I hope the new valance will fit much better for you. Let us know how it goes. I know in the end your guys will get it lookin good.
The repro is not a a good fit on the rear, the front is spot on. Here is What the WCCC site says…
“Not as good a fit as the reproduction front valance but a decent part none the less. You will have to elongate a couple of the small holes that mount the valance under the bumper but not by much. If you can, buy good used even if it costs more as you will have some extra time evolved in getting this to fit correctly.”
How does that happen that someone takes the time and money to manufacture parts and then doesn’t make them right? Kinda mind boggling.
What’s even more mind boggling is I got the replacement one today, three years later and they still have not corrected the problem. Don, I am not sure if this is the same one you sell, but (I think) it does have the same part #. Is this the poor fit you were talking about? Check out the pictures and you will see where the problem is on the passenger’s side when compared to the original from my car…Does anyone have any words of wisdom on how to get this thing bent to shape without cutting, welding, and cussing too much?
What is sad is if you ask them “Do you have a history of complaints / returns on this part?” They will say no and their site says nothing about less than perfect fit. Yes, we sell the same part but not too many of them. We sell the heck out of the reproduction fronts though.
Well for me that ia a good thing. My rear is NOS. It was the last in a batch of three or four that they had. Going back and looking I had bought two. Janet, the lady that bought my daughters 68 and her husband got the other. So I should be in good shape. When I finally start putting everything together I will be buying one of the front repops from you Don, unless I find a near perfect nos at a fair price between now and then. One thing as this car is only special to me no way date coded or genuine nos is worth crazy money to me, just good quality, fair price is fine.
Thinking about it, if I found nos I would probably let someone with a special car have it if it made a differance on value. What do you think Don? Is your repop good enough or would it, could it effect value? I know there was big talk about a 66 GT350 at BJ that the bad parts is what killed the price, not the way it looked. Just thinking ot loud, dangerous.
Yes, the guy at MU insisted there must be something wrong with my car and that these were made from original tooling so they “Have to be right”. (Even after showing him the pictures!) I had a very hard time not going off on him at that point, but I needed to get one of the two crappy valances sent back. It wound up costing me around $30 to send it back, so all in all the price difference between 3 years ago + shipping costs, and the 2013 price, it was pretty much a wash.
I cut a slice in the top side of the valance and bent the outer end out. Also had to do some bending on the lower outer edges on both ends to make the space nice and even where they meet the quarter panels. Now I just have to get the slice welded back together, add a little plastic in a few places, and it will be all good…All that makes me wonder if I should have just tried straightening my original, which is virtually rust free, but has a crease in left center and is a little less than straight all over…we’ll see.
I’ll send pictures when I have made more progress
