Are all patch panels created equal?

Just curious, who makes the best patch panels, fit and finish, or are they all stamped out at the same factory and then sent to different distributors?
The reason I ask is I just picked up a spare rear corner patch for a 30-31 coupe from a guy and when I compare it to the original quarter the main(center) reveal line is about 1/4 inch wider on the patch. This will look really odd if I weld it in without major modification.
So, who's the best source?

 

They're all a little off and will need some sort of modification to fit perfect. Cut a slit lengthwise along the bead and butt it back together, you'll also probably have to pie cut near where the wheel well part is and spead it out 1/8" or so to line up with the quarter..

 

I heard Howell makes nice stuff.

 

never met a piece of aftermarket sheetmetal that fit worth a damn

 

Beware if the price sounds to good to be true. I bought some quater panels for a 55 chevy off E-bay cheap. When I got them the quality was very poor, but I noticed the metal they were made out of was very very soft as if it was made out of annealed steel. You could bend the stuff with your fingers really easy!!!

 

Q: Are all patch panels created equal?
A: Yep, they all fit poorly.

 

Yeah all the ones for my 65 C-10 are made in Taiwan or China so that tells you right off the bat they are a pos.

 

i've found that it's always best to get the panel before the cut. then you know what you're up against. cutting before you get the panel will not have a good ending. then you blame it on the shoddy patch panel.

 

I've had luck with EMS's products and Dynacorne products as well and some real nightmares with the cheep stuff. As long as your not looking to go strait out of the box to weld on you can make a quality steel panel work. Sometimes we forget the quality of the dies they were using for staming our cars weren't what they are today. So its hard to have every pannel fit like new.

 

I've noticed when it comes to Model A patch panels that everyone seems to carry the same stuff. Now I know that Brookville makes some nice parts, but they do not make all of the parts they sell. I read in TRJ that some of the parts for thier bodies are farmed out to other sources.

 

fyi not all model bodies were made by the same company, there were quite a few producers of model a bodies. in cleveland there was one compnay that made model a bodies only for the cleveland assembly plant. so i would assume that they all slight variences in each of there designs,

 

With all that has been said about the fit of patch panels, they might be better than what you are replacing, maybe; of course that can be said about new panels as well.