Useful new repair panels on offer from KF Vintage JDM

[Namerow]

I just noticed that KF Vintage JDM have introduced a few new repair panel items.  Two are items for which Z restorers have been waiting a long time to be able to buy over the counter:

• Dogleg inner repair panel, c/w seat belt anchoring point 
• Rad core replacement kit, c/w top panel, lower crossmember and main vertical panel 

[texasz]

They have much more, some of which may still not show on their website.  One I saw pix of recently is the part of the firewall where the brake booster, clutch master cylinder, and steering column all come through...beautiful piece!

[Namerow]

6 hours ago, texasz said:

They have much more, some of which may still not show on their website.  One I saw pix of recently is the part of the firewall where the brake booster, clutch master cylinder, and steering column all come through...beautiful piece!

Yes, this and other firewall pieces are now listed on their site.

[Patcon]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:37 PM, Namerow said:

Yes, this and other firewall pieces are now listed on their site.

After having just browsed their offerings. I think on my next big Datsun project, I could just order a bunch of metal from them. Maybe, I will finish the car in that Chromate green as a tribute to their products 😉

[foosman]

Someone just posted in one of the Facebook groups a picture of a full rear quarter panel as well.  At the rate they're progressing, in a few years you could probably assemble a complete car with their panels.

[Namerow]

30 minutes ago, foosman said:

At the rate they're progressing, in a few years you could probably assemble a complete car with their panels.

It's certainly quite a change from, say, five years ago.  At that time, only high-skill restorers were able to deal comfortably with the body rot (in complex areas) that plagues so many fifty-year-old Z's.  It's still not a trivial task, but at least the availability of these panels means that high-level metal fab skills aren't so important.

I'm surprised that it took this long for someone to recognize the profit potential of the Z repair panel market (served so marginally beforehand by the likes of Tabco) -- huge production numbers, significant rust issues, economical price-to-buy, attractive design, strong owner base.  They seem to have timed the market quite nicely.  I suppose that the profitability for KF lies in locating their production in a low-labor-cost country like Colombia.  Plus, they had a complete playbook already in place, c/o their original business of servicing another popular rust pig, the VW Kombi van.

[Neb]

In the middle of installing floors and rockers in my 280Z; their panels have been a great fit so far.  Wish they made more areas on the car!