Technical UPDATED AGAIN! Bondo on New Brookville Body?

Can't wait to hear the out come of your phone call.

 

..........................WoW! That's terrible. I can understand a skim coat, but to make the body lines out of filler, that's just unacceptable.

 

Dale at Brookville called me today and we talked thru it. He confirmed what Rick said yesterday... that this is how they built them in 2007, and that they have since improved their tooling so the bondo is no longer needed. I told him my two concerns were 1.) I didn't expect my $5000 Bookville-assembled, all-steel body to have this much bondo on it, and 2.) I was scared to see what lies under all that bondo in the cab corners. He voluntarily offered that what lies under that filler would likely take lots and lots of metal working to make it look decent without that bondo.

We agreed that I would take more detailed pics tonight and email them to Dale, and then they will review the situation to see what they can do. We'll talk more tomorrow.

 

A goodwill swap for a new one would go very far for them and their reputation. I am curious as to the outcome of this.

 

I second the swap. That would be the right thing to do. What is the price difference between that body and the new retooled body? If nothing else, offer a swap for the difference in price. I think they just may be afraid of how many of the old bodies they will be replacing if they do it once.

 

That would boil my blood. You paid good money money for a good product, not some tin cans pop riveted together and covered with goop. It might as well been that. Hope they make it right for you.

 

Now that is for sure an"Ohhhhhhhhhhh Shit"moment.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

That's about as good as him telling you, "Oh you're one of the guys that bought one of those steaming piles of bondo? Yeah, good luck with that...." I really do hope they take care of you of this.

 

How they handle you will make my decision too purchase or not to purchase.

 

I'm curious to know if the seam under the filler was fully welded the full length of the joint or just tacked every few inches. Neither one seems acceptable for the price but if it's just tacked I'd be even more unhappy. Best of luck. I hope Brookville treats you right. I will say I had one of their '32 roadster bodies (unprimed) about 4 years ago and was really pleased with the quality.

 

I hope they do the right thing!

 

<<< My 3 window is from Brookville and very little bondo was needed. The 2 things that took an unreasonable amount of time to fit was the trunk latch and the cowl vent. Their cowl vent lid is to big for the hole so I used an original lid I happened to have and after quite a bit of time working with the hinge it fits very nice.

 

look at the problems flop has been having with the roadsters he is working on
tk

 

I think we have to remember that this body was purchased 8 years ago. Not many manufacturers would take back a product that was purchased that long ago. Before we all start beating up on BV too much, let's remember that a lot of us are very satisfied with their products.

Let's also remember that they are reproducing a body and parts that were not all that great when Henry was cranking out model a's and deuces........we've all seen the fit and finish of some of those panels.

When we were in the middle of putting together the rpu body Dan bought, we had occasion to call BV a few times for guidance and they always went above and beyond. I'm just sayin' it might be a little much asking them for help after so many years have passed.

Don

 

SIC 'EM, Liam ! ! !

 

I drive a '32 Highboy from Brookville. There was no bondo in it when we skinned it down, but the right quarter panel that joins the rear of the right door was not lined up. I was pissed of course. My buddy had to dolly out the panel from the beltline all the way down and back about 15" to make everything line up. I have talked to several other owners of '32 brookville bodies, and all said pretty much the same thing. Mine was manufactured in early '10, I guess.

 

I had a Wescott roadster in '80. It was very heavy and had solid-closing doors even sitting on the floor of the garage without a frame. Great bodies.

 

Gary---
That was a pretty early Mfg. date, don't remember when they started but a local here had production number 001 IIRC.
Curious as to how much went into paint prep, ie filler etc.

 

I'm realistic here, fellas. I fully expect them to say that 8 yrs is too much time passed, and that these bodies were (even with bondo) the best reproduction steel bodies available at that time. BUT, it's also a great opportunity for them to step up... to recognize that the reason they invested in the new tooling is because these early bodies were dependent upon lots of bondo to look worth a damn. The conversations are all amicable, and Dale and Rick are genuinely interested to learn more about my situation. I'll let you guys know where it lands.

In the meantime, here's more better pics. You can see the layers of primer/bondo/primer/bondo in those deep cuts.

 

Absolutely true, this gives them an opportunity for some very good public relations by going above and beyond what they have to do.

 

Ronnie---
Seriously, there is no bondo on it, are they perfect, nope, I expect it to need some.
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I agree Westcott makes good stuff heck for a very long time my driver door was a Westctt repro it fit perfectly. Once the Brookville repro came out I replaced the door I still have the Westcott door hanging in the garage. We did fine tune the Brookville door to match the cowl after a small slit a bit of welding and some lead it was good to go.

 

#slickitup! That sucks. I hope you get it worked out. The rest of the build sure looks neat!

 

My '30/31 BV roadster was purchased by me in about 06/07 but I wasn't the original purchaser, he had the body several years before I bought it. Not sure when he bought it, but I'm sure it's older than a '07, and it was in red oxide primer.
When we stripped it there was no bondo, waves and warps were there to be sure, but they were metal finished out, no filler required and body lines and moldings are good.
Those dies are made of a soft metal, not steel, and right now the alloy name escapes my memory, but it's subject to wear far more than steel dies.
Maybe the original dies wore out and tthis abomination was something done after they were worn out and before rebuild?
PS: It just came back to me! The dies are made of an alloy called Kirtzite (sp?).

 

Brookville likely went through a learning curve as pioneers in repro steel bodies. They got to where they are through a process of continuous improvement. A small company building Fords w/o Ford pockets. A lot of quality cars are built with some filler. The location is in a good stiff area where it would survive. Brookville may have elected to use some filler for a minor repair which may not have been that unreasonable. Like anything there is no way of knowing exactly how thick a layer one has applied on a curve. So it could have incrementally become more than intended.

The fact that Brookville has reached out shows that they care and wish to support their customers. A lot of time has passed and one resolution may be for Brookville to offer a replacement quarter panel(s).

 

I fully agree with you on this. The company has come a long way from where they were, and the fact they are willing to talk to you and even admit their earlier products were sub-par at best speaks volumes about their character. I also agree their name shouldn't be slandered until this situation has found a conclusion. To be fair, give them a chance to make good on this and prove they really are a company that stands behind their products and puts the customer first. I don't think it matters how old the body is, as long as they can see that it hasn't been altered from the condition it was shipped from them in, it should be clear this was poor workmanship on their part, even if it was the best they could do at the time. I really hope they value their customers enough to understand how a guy, who spent his money on their product, feels when he realizes the product he received wasn't what he thought he was buying. I still say they should at least offer to swap out his body with a new one for the difference in price. Yeah it sucks to have to lay out more cash to get what you thought you had already bought, but if the quality level is that much better now, it might just be worth it. If nothing else, they should send him out some of their new replacement panels that actually fit. A little customer service goes a LONG way!

 

Can you see the imperfections on the inside of the cab? I hope that BV handles this for you, a lot of 'eyes' watching this post.

Chris

 

Looking at where the project is time wise, I would probably just finish it out and go on with life. Shouldn`t cause any issues down the road if welded solid.
I`d be surprised if they offer anything this late after eight years.
I prebought a gauge set a few years ago and the project took a couple of years to complete.
The senders didn`t work correctly and I was told flat out the warranty was from purchase date not installation date.
I had to suck it up and move on and now purchase parts as I need them.

We learn every day.

 

What does the inside look like??