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  3. The "Group Buy" for the 1967-68 Deluxe Steering wheel recasting is now officially "Open". Now is the time to start sending in the wheels. The latest date that the wheels must be received by Kochs is 31 March 2025 The cost for each wheel is $750. The only "up front cost" is your shipping the wheel. If you send in more than one wheel, each additional wheel will cost $700. Shipping and insurance to Kochs and return shipping will be extra. You will be contacted by Teresa to make payment for the wheel(s) and return shipping and insurance when your wheel(s) is complete. The shipping will be factored on your delivery address and insurance. I will be sending the contact information all of you have sent me to Teresa at Kochs. Send in your wheels, horn pad and hardware and paint color sample if applicable. Please include: First and Last Name Shipping Address Phone number email address V8Buick "Member Name" Wheel Color (SEE THE BOTTOM FOR WHEEL COLOR) Pease read the "shipping to Kochs" below. There are two addresses. One for USPS Mailing One for FedEx and UPS shipping You can use USPS/Mail, UPS or FedEx to send in your core. Use the appropriate address depending on what service you use to ship. If you use USPS/Mail ship to: Koch's P.O. Box 959 Acton, CA 93510 Attn: Teresa If you use UPS or FedEx ship to: Koch's 7650 Soledad Canyon Road Acton CA 93510 Attn: Teresa Kochs Contact: Teresa (661) 268-1341 customerservice@kochs.com Wheel Color If you wheel is Black, you can list that in your information you send in with your wheel. For colored wheels, please contact Teresa about specifics for wheel color if you do not send in a color sample to match. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you to everyone for your participation in making this a reality. And "Thank You" Jim Weise, for allowing and facilitating this project! Michael .................... to remove this notice, click the X in the upper RH corner of this message box
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Reproduction 70 radiator support (AMD)from TPP

Discussion in 'Repro Parts' started by bignastyGS, Jun 15, 2023.

  1. bignastyGS

    bignastyGS Maggot pilot

    My reproduction radiator support arrived today and after the initial once over,it seems to be a pretty nice piece. I ordered it on Monday and it arrived today. I compared it to my NOS 71 support and even measured several areas to see how the AMD one compares. The measurements were dead on in all the same spots. Now,my dilemma is which car gets the 70 support and which gets the 71 one.Both cars will be 70 cars so it wont really matter.I highly suggest one of these if you are in the market. Free shipping was a deal as well! I just stuck it on my green car to see how the bushing areas lined up. All fit well..

    20230615_173454.jpg
     
  2. Fred Hickey

    Fred Hickey Founders Club Member

    Interesting, glad to see a good report and availability on this.
     
  3. Daves69

    Daves69 Too many cars too work on

    Pat,
    Did TPP have the core support in stock?
     
  4. bignastyGS

    bignastyGS Maggot pilot

    They show 5 on Ebay yet
     
  5. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    How does the weight compare?
     
  6. schwemf

    schwemf Mike Schweitzer

    Hello Fred! Have you installed the front fenders using this radiator support? I'm curious what you found.

    I purchased a 1970 Skylark with a repro radiator support in 2017. I don't know where the radiator support came from, but I couldn't get it to work with the fenders. The drilled holes at the top of the support for the fender caged nuts were off significantly. They were too far forward of the fender caged nuts, even too far forward to simply oblong the holes in the support to get it to work. Swapping this repro out for an original solved this problem, and I've never gone back to the repros as a result.
     
  7. black70buick

    black70buick Well-Known Member

    I literally have the page up and almost bought, got distracted from posting to solicit people's options and tada this post appears. Good to know. Thx.
     
  8. schwemf

    schwemf Mike Schweitzer

    The radiator support is adjustable left-to-right at the two frame bushings. There is a lot of play side-to-side, so it's not surprising that it will install at the frame mounts. Mine did.

    The true test is how the fenders attach - they don't on the reproduction that I have! Not even close! But perhaps this has been corrected by the manufacturer?

    You'll understand right away what I'm describing, as it only takes minutes to slide a fender in place to see these issues. THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY IS TILTED FORWARD. IT'S A MANUFACTURING DEFECT WHOSE REMEDY WAS NOT OBVIOUS TO ME.

    No one has chimed in over the last four months since I raised the alarm about these being unusable without modifications. Has anyone gotten these to actually work with fenders?! If so, what all did you have to do? How did you remedy the forward tilt of the radiator? The forward tilt of the hood latch? How did you attach the fenders to the support? What other issues did you run into?

    -mike
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2025
    Dano and GS44667 like this.
  9. Dano

    Dano Platinum Level Contributor

    I'm going to be buying one so this is concerning.
     
  10. bignastyGS

    bignastyGS Maggot pilot

    I don't seem to have the issues Mike has with my support.Everything lined up pretty well on my car.I have a set of the NOS fenders though,if that makes a difference. 405354152_122111018864120246_4462886256992260755_n.jpg 405322400_122110398008120246_8780633275454955866_n.jpg 416350421_122119945886120246_177144459327035125_n.jpg
     
    Dano and BYoung like this.
  11. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    I know there's a difference between the '70 support and the other two years but what makes this AMD piece a "1970" reproduction?
     
  12. Duane

    Duane Member

    The AMD reproductions were designed to look like the 1970 style units. These have 3 small raised areas in each headlight pocket, where the headlight buckets rest.

    The 71-72 style core supports do not have these. They are flat in those areas and have small “punch-outs” where 3 small plastic pieces clip in, and the headlight buckets rest against them. Supposedly it made it easier to slide/adjust the headlights with these pieces, hence the part revision.

    When Mark Reeves was working with them to reproduce the core supports, he called and asked me which style he should do. I told him to do the 70 style, as most guys wanted them, and there were still plenty of the 71-72 NOS core supports around, so he would not be competing against them for sales.

    Also, if the guys had original 70-72 supports in their cars and wanted to repair them, they could cut the “repro support” up for patch panels. This way they could save all their numbers and the repairs would be virtually impossible to detect once completed. It was a win win situation for everyone.

    So you can all thank Mark Reeves for getting such a needed part reproduced in the first place, and for getting the passenger side inner fender done as well. He also had a hand in getting the 70 GS hood molding done.


    On another track,
    I’m wondering if the guy having the problems with fender fitment has a core support that was repaired with the reproduction patch panels. They do a good job but if they are not installed correctly, they can be welded in at the wrong angle and give you problems like he is seeing.

    The reproduction patch panels have angular edges to them, while the repro core supports have rounded “stamped” edges like the originals. It is very easy to tell them apart.

    I think you are seeing two different parts here.
    Duane
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2025
  13. Brett Slater

    Brett Slater Super Moderator Staff Member

    Thanks, Duane.

    Good info!
     
  14. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    Serious question- how in the hell did you figure out these nuances between the years?
     
  15. Duane

    Duane Member

    Honest answer,
    Well,
    First you have to be a bit excessive compulsive, then you have to have a thirst for trying to figure out how things were designed and put together. Then you need to have a drive/need, where you will not give up until you figure things out. (This is what I call, going on a mission.)

    It of course doesn’t hurt to have (2) 1970 Stage 1 4-speed cars, both in the same color and both from the same plant, (one early and one late) that have so many differences that you start wondering if they were different year cars. Then you buy a 71 GSX and start looking at those differences.

    After that it becomes easy.

    …..and yes I did marry a saint. Saint Bethers.
    Duane



    PS,
    I also collect fossils and many of the ones I collected from the C&D Canal are small. After a while you start training your eyes to seeing certain shapes, otherwise you might miss them. Anyway from this, I was able to see differences in different species and later would “see, notice” differences in car parts.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2025
    436'd Skylark, 12lives and bill lagna like this.
  16. schwemf

    schwemf Mike Schweitzer

    Pat, I'll bet you're right, as I was using original fenders. As most know by now, the top-of-the-fender two attachment points on (the later runs of) NOS fenders are off by 3/8" from originals, and that's about the gap that I was seeing.

    Duane, I sure think that the core support that I was testing was a brand new part that hadn't had any bodywork done to it. This project came from a retired guy's back yard, not a restoration shop that hides their work as they should. But you are right in that I do not know the origins of my support as it came on a failed restoration that I acquired in, perhaps 2015? Someone might have done something alone the line, not that we've ever had that happen!

    Mystery solved, perhaps!

    -mike
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2025
    Dano likes this.
  17. BrianTrick

    BrianTrick Brian Trick

    There should be more of those supports back in stock at The Parts Place in March. I have installed two of them and didn’t have any issue,but I’m sure there could be,just like anything else. When time permits,I could try doing a fit comparison. I have an NOS support,original perfect fenders,and NOS fenders. I can get another repo support and mock all of these up on the same car.
     

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