Flares - Vanacor is back in business

MYBAD79

MYBAD79

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Just talked with the folks at Vanacors today, they're back in business and as far as I know the only place where you can buy the narrow L88 style flares that I installed on my '79 - unfortunately I only bought the rear flares back in 2006. The fender lip does not match the front and the front still has the ugly mudflap.....
Within the next two weeks I should have the matching front flares - major bodywork will start some time this summer :yahoo:

http://www.vanacorscorvette.com/


here's a few photos....

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I'm all over this. I want one of the daytona rear bumper covers with the 4" spoiler. wish I could find a pic of it.
 
I bought my rear bumper from Vanacor and I must say that I wasn't overly impressed.

Before starting on my Vette, I had no experience with fibreglass and what the making of large components (like a rear bumper) entailed. When my new bumper arrived, it looked pretty smart and finished in a satin black.

Without actually examining it, I assumed the black was the colour of the gel coat but when I actually started fitting the bumper, I removed the black paint in a few spots and was able to see the glass work underneath.

The glass work surprised me in it's general "shoddyness". Loads of air bubbles in it, quite a few areas where filler had been wiped on, a few areas where large gouges had been filled and one chunk on the bottom corner that had been glassed back on.

I still make no claim to know anything of any substance about fibreglassing so I don't really know whether I received a badly made piece or whether it was pretty normal. For that reason, I didn't bother asking Vanacor about it (and the fact that they burned down and probably had other stuff on their minds) and once it was on the car, it didn't seem to matter too much, especially as nothing else on the car is perfect.

I've never said this on any other forum and have not said it here for the purpose of running them down - they were really great to deal with and shipped the part very quickly but I'm curious as to how I got what I saw as a very average part from a vendor held in such high regards by everyone?

:confused:​
 
Guys, I hate to hear of all this shoddy/shitty work/parts outta vette suppliers, because over the years, I have had NO memorable problems....Pontiac, Vette, whoever....it was fine....parts shipped, they fit, functioned as stated, and so I have no issues....

course the amount of new parts are fairly minimal compared to my junkyard finds...but really, there has been no issues with K bux being spent....

:quote: next week is another day, I know that....

:rolleyes:
 
saudivette said:
I bought my rear bumper from Vanacor and I must say that I wasn't overly impressed.

Before starting on my Vette, I had no experience with fibreglass and what the making of large components (like a rear bumper) entailed. When my new bumper arrived, it looked pretty smart and finished in a satin black.

Without actually examining it, I assumed the black was the colour of the gel coat but when I actually started fitting the bumper, I removed the black paint in a few spots and was able to see the glass work underneath.

The glass work surprised me in it's general "shoddyness". Loads of air bubbles in it, quite a few areas where filler had been wiped on, a few areas where large gouges had been filled and one chunk on the bottom corner that had been glassed back on.

I still make no claim to know anything of any substance about fibreglassing so I don't really know whether I received a badly made piece or whether it was pretty normal. For that reason, I didn't bother asking Vanacor about it (and the fact that they burned down and probably had other stuff on their minds) and once it was on the car, it didn't seem to matter too much, especially as nothing else on the car is perfect.

I've never said this on any other forum and have not said it here for the purpose of running them down - they were really great to deal with and shipped the part very quickly but I'm curious as to how I got what I saw as a very average part from a vendor held in such high regards by everyone?

:confused:​
Click to expand...

They sent you the crappy stuff, they do that to me too .....happens all the time. Too expensive for us to ship it back, and with the long transit times we're usually screwed when we receive junk. They know it and act on it!
 
Twin_Turbo said:
saudivette said:
I bought my rear bumper from Vanacor and I must say that I wasn't overly impressed.

Before starting on my Vette, I had no experience with fibreglass and what the making of large components (like a rear bumper) entailed. When my new bumper arrived, it looked pretty smart and finished in a satin black.

Without actually examining it, I assumed the black was the colour of the gel coat but when I actually started fitting the bumper, I removed the black paint in a few spots and was able to see the glass work underneath.

The glass work surprised me in it's general "shoddyness". Loads of air bubbles in it, quite a few areas where filler had been wiped on, a few areas where large gouges had been filled and one chunk on the bottom corner that had been glassed back on.

I still make no claim to know anything of any substance about fibreglassing so I don't really know whether I received a badly made piece or whether it was pretty normal. For that reason, I didn't bother asking Vanacor about it (and the fact that they burned down and probably had other stuff on their minds) and once it was on the car, it didn't seem to matter too much, especially as nothing else on the car is perfect.

I've never said this on any other forum and have not said it here for the purpose of running them down - they were really great to deal with and shipped the part very quickly but I'm curious as to how I got what I saw as a very average part from a vendor held in such high regards by everyone?

:confused:​
Click to expand...

They sent you the crappy stuff, they do that to me too .....happens all the time. Too expensive for us to ship it back, and with the long transit times we're usually screwed when we receive junk. They know it and act on it!
Click to expand...
Yeah, that makes sense. I phoned them and told them that I was an Australian, living in Saudi but with a shipping address in New York. Oh well, it's fitted now :rolleyes:
 
The Vanacor bumper on my '79 fit reasonably well - it needed a few layers additional fiberglass left and right to make it fit but nothing major.
Most vendors advertise "supplied with gelcoat finish, ready to fit and paint" - nothing really fits right out the box. My Ecklers L88 hood fit very well, my front bumper needed quiet some work...
My rear flares came painted black - I assume it's epoxy primer - instead of the more common shiny grey gelcoat. Haven't noticed any "shoddyness" on any of these parts.... maybe I was lucky so far....
I ordered this Lingenfelter rear fiberglass bumper for the C6 and that was a real piece of art: fiberglass was patched, lots of cracks, lower corners broken, damaged..... not Ecklers fault, this bumper shipped from their vendor in this condition, folks at Ecklers were great to deal with and exchanged it, however I live only 30 miles from them and I did not have to pay for shipping. If you receive a shotty bumper like this what would you do ? Pay additional $150 for the additional bodywork or pay to ship it back ??

Here's the bummer: I just checked FedEx website... according to their rate calculator a box 70x30x30 and 45 lbs is over $700 to ship from FL to TX.....
 
MYBAD79 said:
The Vanacor bumper on my '79 fit reasonably well - it needed a few layers additional fiberglass left and right to make it fit but nothing major.
Most vendors advertise "supplied with gelcoat finish, ready to fit and paint" - nothing really fits right out the box. My Ecklers L88 hood fit very well, my front bumper needed quiet some work...
My rear flares came painted black - I assume it's epoxy primer - instead of the more common shiny grey gelcoat. Haven't noticed any "shoddyness" on any of these parts.... maybe I was lucky so far....
I ordered this Lingenfelter rear fiberglass bumper for the C6 and that was a real piece of art: fiberglass was patched, lots of cracks, lower corners broken, damaged..... not Ecklers fault, this bumper shipped from their vendor in this condition, folks at Ecklers were great to deal with and exchanged it, however I live only 30 miles from them and I did not have to pay for shipping. If you receive a shotty bumper like this what would you do ? Pay additional $150 for the additional bodywork or pay to ship it back ??

Here's the bummer: I just checked FedEx website... according to their rate calculator a box 70x30x30 and 45 lbs is over $700 to ship from FL to TX.....
Click to expand...

No way in hell!

I can probably fly there, pick it up and rent a car to drive back for less than that!!

Did you check USPS and the other carriers?

That's just nuts!
 
Sar Skipper said:
MYBAD79 said:
The Vanacor bumper on my '79 fit reasonably well - it needed a few layers additional fiberglass left and right to make it fit but nothing major.
Most vendors advertise "supplied with gelcoat finish, ready to fit and paint" - nothing really fits right out the box. My Ecklers L88 hood fit very well, my front bumper needed quiet some work...
My rear flares came painted black - I assume it's epoxy primer - instead of the more common shiny grey gelcoat. Haven't noticed any "shoddyness" on any of these parts.... maybe I was lucky so far....
I ordered this Lingenfelter rear fiberglass bumper for the C6 and that was a real piece of art: fiberglass was patched, lots of cracks, lower corners broken, damaged..... not Ecklers fault, this bumper shipped from their vendor in this condition, folks at Ecklers were great to deal with and exchanged it, however I live only 30 miles from them and I did not have to pay for shipping. If you receive a shotty bumper like this what would you do ? Pay additional $150 for the additional bodywork or pay to ship it back ??

Here's the bummer: I just checked FedEx website... according to their rate calculator a box 70x30x30 and 45 lbs is over $700 to ship from FL to TX.....
Click to expand...

No way in hell!

I can probably fly there, pick it up and rent a car to drive back for less than that!!

Did you check USPS and the other carriers?

That's just nuts!
Click to expand...

You ain't shittin' that NUTZ!!!.....I shipped a '63 hood to a friend in South Bend Indy, from Hagerstown Md....about 400 miles...for 100 bux even, via Fed Ex.....but it WAS 13 years ago, in the middle of my move south....

:stirpot:
 
Sar Skipper;68821 No way in hell! I can probably fly there said:
agree... it's NUTZ.....

I just guessed at dimensions and weight, then ran numbers on fedex.com, UPS might be less but usually they're close :-(
Click to expand...
 
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It cost way less than that to ship an ATV from IL to OR when I sold it on ebay. That was a couple years ago but, I if I remember right it was around $450.
 
Wayne, you definitely got shit for your money. I'm learning to lay fiberglass myself. More or less self taught, just by asking people who do it and then trying it myself. I went from spending a lot of money to make trash to actually being able to repair minor damage and even make small parts. It's really not that hard but I'm not ready to go making fenders or bumpers yet. However I would expect a company like that who sells these products to sell a good quality part. Sounds like you got a part I could have made. I'd be pissed.
Given the reports I'm hearing, rather than buy what I want I think I'm just going to do a little more practice and make it.
 
clutchdust said:
Wayne, you definitely got shit for your money. I'm learning to lay fiberglass myself. More or less self taught, just by asking people who do it and then trying it myself. I went from spending a lot of money to make trash to actually being able to repair minor damage and even make small parts. It's really not that hard but I'm not ready to go making fenders or bumpers yet. However I would expect a company like that who sells these products to sell a good quality part. Sounds like you got a part I could have made. I'd be pissed.
Given the reports I'm hearing, rather than buy what I want I think I'm just going to do a little more practice and make it.
Click to expand...
Definitely mate. I think TT was close to the money, they had a crappy bumper that hadn't been laid properly or hadn't come out of the mold cleanly and sent it to the guy on the other side of the world. It would have cost me a mint to send it back, not to mention the time wasting.
Like I said, it's on now and looks pretty good.
 
MYBAD79 said:
Here's the bummer: I just checked FedEx website... according to their rate calculator a box 70x30x30 and 45 lbs is over $700 to ship from FL to TX.....
Click to expand...


try Greyhound or better yet (in the future) pay by credit card, file a dispute and tell the vendor to have it picked up.
 
Saudi, your first impression of Vanacor is "right on" IMHO. I have attempted to purchase fiberglass panels a couple of times over the years only to pack them up and ship them back due to poor quality. Finally learned my lesson. There are a couple of suppliers out there that may cost a little more, but do quality work. Worth every penny in the long run. Won't mention thier names here so I don't cause a pissin contest, but you can PM me if your interested.

Bullshark
 
Emergency/hi demand/crash parts for auto dealers are quite frequently shipped via GREYHOUND....fenders, all sorts of shit, right in the luggage compartment, and cheep too....you all maybe check that out, better to do the Greyhound station downtown, they stop in all the small towns too....ever rode a bus cross country?? it's NOT interstate travel, wasn't back then, anyway....

I have shipped 'specialized' BDSM gear we built here some years ago....pack it up, Greyhound....and it was pretty heavy steel shit too....

:hissyfit::gurney::drink:
 
saudivette said:
Definitely mate. I think TT was close to the money, they had a crappy bumper that hadn't been laid properly or hadn't come out of the mold cleanly and sent it to the guy on the other side of the world. It would have cost me a mint to send it back, not to mention the time wasting.
Like I said, it's on now and looks pretty good.
Click to expand...

I figure you're right. But if a company will operate like that, especially in the internet age where you and I can talk in real time from 9000 miles away, I'm not going to trust them with my money, whether it's 9 miles or 900 miles away. That's just dirty business.
 
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