Hey guys, What are the ups & downs to buying used origanal vs reproduction. I heard the repros dont fit or mount in like old origanals, is this true & what are some of your experiences. Which source is best (RICKS, YEAR ONE, CLASSIC.) I'm seeing consoles (just shells) go for 200$+ used,blems, And new shells are 170$. what is this telling me. Help..I need a shell & Ive put this off too long, what would I be better off with. Thanks for any input or pics. See Ya :confused:

I just sold my original not too long ago, I would have made you a deal. If you can find an original in good shape go for it. Otherwise the repos that I have seen look great, and I haven't heard of any major issues with installing them. You can probably find a used shell and fix it up/repaint pretty easy. Do a search and you can see several posts on the subject.

Hey guys, What are the ups & downs to buying used origanal vs reproduction. I heard the repros dont fit or mount in like old origanals, is this true & what are some of your experiences. Which source is best (RICKS, YEAR ONE, CLASSIC.) I'm seeing consoles (just shells) go for 200$+ used,blems, And new shells are 170$. what is this telling me. Help..I need a shell & Ive put this off too long, what would I be better off with. Thanks for any input or pics. See Ya :confused:

Egore, I have a repop base and it mates up pretty well to the upper half of an original (68/69) shell. The repops have a lot of molding 'flash' that needs to be shaved/sanded off, in my opinion. Other than that, they aren't bad. The repop base I have is molded in black plastic, but I think it ought to be painted nonetheless. Some bases have a 'notch' cut out in the front and some do not. I assume the console base with the cutout is to accommodate the wiring for the gauges, whereas no-notch means no gauges. In my experience, it is the repop mounting brackets that leave a lot to be desired. I have brackets from two different manufacturers and neither one matches up to a GM console very well at all. It looks like some bending and twisting of metal is required to make them fit correctly.