I've installed quite a few panels from AMD but am completely taken back with their Charger Deck Filler Panel. The attached pictures show the flaw which is a 3/8 inch step in above the trunk gutter portion on the driver side. The passanger side fits as it should with a straight edge along its side, but the passanger side has a 3/8 inch gap due to the step.

AMD says to trim the trunk gutter (which fits perfect) and disconnect my 1/4 and roof panels and clamp it all together. I compare this to my factory panel and it is 3/8th inch shorter than my factory panel.

Any one install one of these before? I could pull the seam apart and try to extend it but would have to weld extra metal to make a new flange. Or I could just use a lot of lead to fill it in. Any ideas?

Thanks,
CAC

Passanger side, correct with no step.

I've installed only 1 of their Charger deck panels, along with their qtrs, and trunk lid, I had no issues fitting the pcs, I know of 2 other individuals that used basically the same 2nd gen Charger parts with little to no issues....from what i understand of your post (the pic doesn't help)is the panel is 3/8 too short in width from the rear window to the gutter edge?, yes/no?, because of a "step" in the drivers side that shouldn't be there?, that how I read your post?...if so have you tried another filler panel?, return it if it's stamped wrong...

The gap is obvious here.

Mike,

You know, all the other panels I have bought have been from vendors off the site here and it has been no problem. But yea this time I did buy off ebay. The part came directly from AMD though so I was not worried at the time.

I am 100% sure this it a bad stamping, but I could not convince the AMD tech guy who was not helpful at all. That to me was actually the bigger disappointment. I insisted that he check his inventory and he said that they were all stepped on the driver side like mine and that is was normal. It could be that their complete stock on this part are wrong if it was a bad run.

I would buy another panel from another vendor if it was right, despite being able to return this one or not. But when AMD says that their whole inventory is like this one, I am at a loss.

Everything I have gotten from AMD in the past has really been top notch. I just figured their customer support people would be good too.

Carl

Flypaper,

I haven't cut on it or modified it. It is not worth trying to make it work. I have had to message some of their aftermarket panels a bit in the past which it why I liked AMD, they left extra material to make up for the factory tolerances. I get that completely, but there is a big difference between that and making a poorly stamped part fit.

Carl

i was in the same exact place as you are right now.
a part that obviously will not fit without major surgery and no answers/help from amd customer service
if i were you
RETURN the panel at all costs, they will take it back.
tell them you are not happy with it and do not want a replacement
then get another one from wherever
even if you have to diconnect the 2.


they are not going to tell you about quality issues and parts that were retooled.
the person answering the phone deals with/has knowledge of with installations...
not quality issues...
they lied to me about it and earned my siggy

i had wheelhouses that fit like garbage and got the same song out of amd..
i found out on my own the parts had been retooled!
and the next pair was alot different from the first pair.
and still fits like garbage (i'm making modifications to them right now) but alot better then the first pair did.
send them back.....

I am 100% sure this it a bad stamping, but I could not convince the AMD tech guy who was not helpful at all. That to me was actually the bigger disappointment.

---

carl
pm me and i will send you a phone number/name to that guy's boss
tell him your disappointment(don't hold back,i didn't ) and i'm sure you will get further
all i ask is
mention me in passing

I would not try another AMD part for this piece. It sounds like the same thing I learned last year when I installed 1/4's and outer wheel housings on my e-body. I spent hours trying to make two brand new pieces from the same manufacturer fit together. I finally called AMD and spoke with three different people. The one guy worked in the shop and had just finished installing the exact same pieces on a 70 cuda. He told me he had to use thier metal stretcher and cut the lip off of the outer housing and make little t shaped pieces to make it meet the 1/4 panel. I cant say that made me happy, but I was relieved that they were honest about their parts. Its simple, some of the AMD parts do not fit and some do.

i would try another
i have seen first hand alot of variation between the same part out of them.
i'm doing the same thing on b body wheelhouses myself but the pair i have now is at least in the neighborhood,
before it wasn't even in the same zipcode.
can't say i'm thrilled, but at least i have a solution
besides buying a nice whole car and cutting it up and
i did have many thoughts of it

Thanks guys for the replies. Sorry to hear that you both had similar problems. You know it would be great if they would just work with me instead of pretending like the panel is fine and there are no problems. I wrote an email to the guy who referred me to their "expert", so we will see tomorrow, I will keep you posted.

I don't have much more choice but to hope they send me a better stamping. I don't think any one else makes this piece and finding an original piece would be difficult. I can hold out for another stamping run.

If what their tech guy says is true, that their whole stock has the same step deformation on the drivers side, then one would think they would pull them and not sent to customers. An acknowledgement that there is a problem with the part would have gone a long way.

I will let you guys know what they say to the email.

Thanks!
Carl

Your photos of the driver's side seems to depict that the filler panel flange on the quarter panel isn't straight; that it bows to the outside of the car. Is this truly the case or just a bad angle on the photograph? If it is, you need to straighten that edge. I've never used AMD metal but even when using factory metal I've had to use a lot of massaging and clamps to make things line up. If your flange is straight have you tried clamping the panel in and seeing what it looks like? 3/8" is just 3/16" on each end. That's not a heck of a lot for a car with tolerances as loose as a muscle-era mopar.

I do agree that AMD could have done a better job with that driver's side rear "corner" of the panel..

I just bought two deck fillers and the sail panels. The Deck fillers came from charger specialties and AMD, the sail panels came from
Classic industries. The corners of my sail panels were rotted out so I wont know how the deck fillers fit until I get them replaced first. Tim

MIne fit good.

The gutter flange on the driver side is just right, it does extend out from the step. But the panel is stepped in from the flange, not out. Basically the trunk gutter is exactly like my original, it fits like a glove on both sides. This makes the passenger side fit like a glove against the passenger quarter.

The gap is all on one side, the driver. I can't center it to 3/16 on each side because then the trunk gutter will be off. To make the panel work I would have to unfold the driver side seam and rebend it, 3/8 inch towards the driver 1/4. Or I fill the gap with solder and try to shape it with filler.

Good observation on the drivers 1/4. There was some rust and a small amount of distortion. It will pull over 1/8 inch max. But the step in is really the problem.

Tim, if your filler panels are for a Charger could you please look at them and see if they have the step like mine along the driver side edge? Both sides should be straight like the factory piece on each side. Mine is strait on the passenger side but not the driver side.

Yes I do like the AMD panels and a defective piece is no big deal - if the vendor makes things right by working with the customer.

Using a straight edge, I can see that the distortion on the 1/4 mating surface is up to 1/8 inch of the gap in some places. So it really is a combination of the new panel and my existing 1/4. Even without the gap in the filler panel I would still have to repair the 1/4 surface.

So the gap is really 1/4 an inch due to the piece, the same amount that the side of the filler panel is stepped in. The panel sits firmly into place, flush against the passenger 1/4, and there is no way to center it due to the way the gutter fits correctly into place.

I'd hang the deck lid back on it and see how it fits relative to the quarter edges and deck filler panel. Make sure those gaps are correct first.

Then I'd get the quarter edge next to the deck filler panel reworked to where it should be.
After all that, you can determine exactly what the filler panel needs.

From what I can see in the pictures, it appears it may be just a matter of shaving that protruding edge and possibly hammer & dollying to move the edge a bit towards the quarter.

Rick