Best Source for Arm Rest/Pad

[defiant1]

Looking for some feedback on who is a good vendor/supplier for the door panel arm rests and pads.

Not sure what companies make all these parts, so if anyone has had any good or bad experiences please let me know.

Thanks

d1

[70Post]

The repro door armrest bases I have dealt with (69-72 style) didn't fit very well. In one case on a '70 W30 convert one of the guys at the shop where the car was restored came in cussing on Monday morning. Over the weekend he tried to install bases from The Parts Place....the holes for the long mounting screws wouldn't line up correctly and even after he worked on that they didn't seem to fit against the chrome backing plates very well.

If at all possible find ORIGINAL bases and respray them. If you have a black interior you are in luck as the black bases survive the best...you can find super nice ones for reasonable $.

As far as the pads, I always re-cover originals...they have the nice metal base and as long as the vinyl hasn't torn away the underlying foam is in nice shape most of the time. I think the repro market may now make a similarly constructed pad...metal/foam/vinyl covering. They used to only have a cheap injected/molded urethane pad but I think I've seen where some places now offer the original style.

I recently swapped out a refinished set for a repro set on another car.....40 year old used parts looked (AND FIT) a lot better.

BTW, payment arrived and I'll be shipping your package tray corner. Thanks!

[sammy]

Just redid my originals today.Took of old vinyl,(the foam was good) and with some spray adhesive and a little left over seat leather, I recovered them.A little Krylon gloss paint and they look great! So basically ditto to what
70post recommended!

Ted

[Allan R]

Wish I could be more helpful. I looked at several of my favorite sources and only came up with this.
Tamraz: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/68-72-GM-B-F-...item5ae548ab42

OPGI: http://www.opgi.com/p/interior-soft-...3/ARP0009.html

Supercars Unlimited: http://www.supercarsunlimited.com/It...CategoryID=384

Year One: https://www.yearone.com/Catalog/List?page=2

USA Parts Supply (page 78): http://www.usapartssupply.com/upload...75_catalog.pdf

I have not bought armrests from any of them. I have OEM's still in the car. I bought a set of replacements on ebay 3 years ago from a seller called 'DaveJunkyardPart'. They were really inexpensive at the time, and they look exactly like the OEMs. Could be the other vendors have good quality too, but don't know.

Based on another thread reviewing the quality of customer service for Parts PLace, I have removed them from my favorites list - along with BAP.

[70Post]

It wasn't the looks that made them fit bad.....the sad part was the grain/texture was great and looked just like the originals. The fit was what was marginal.

There may be some different manufacturers of these....don't know and don't plan to find out as long as I can get nice originals.

A guy here had a set of supposed "exact repros" that a well known Olds NOS parts seller (an individual...not one of the repro companies) sold him along with the supposedly "dead on correct" pads....another BAD JOKE. The seller was telling him "Oh, these are the CORRECT ONES, exact repros, yada, yada, yada. The pads were about 1/2" taller than the original pads sticking much further up from the plastic base than the originals. It was so obvious it was sad.

[D. Yaros]

I got my replacement arm rest BASES from a Chevy supplier. For '62 the Olds 88 and Chevy Impala are one and the same. I recovered the pads myself with material obtained from SMS.

[defiant1]

Originally Posted by 70Post

The repro door armrest bases I have dealt with (69-72 style) didn't fit very well. In one case on a '70 W30 convert one of the guys at the shop where the car was restored came in cussing on Monday morning. Over the weekend he tried to install bases from The Parts Place....the holes for the long mounting screws wouldn't line up correctly and even after he worked on that they didn't seem to fit against the chrome backing plates very well.

If at all possible find ORIGINAL bases and respray them. If you have a black interior you are in luck as the black bases survive the best...you can find super nice ones for reasonable $.

As far as the pads, I always re-cover originals...they have the nice metal base and as long as the vinyl hasn't torn away the underlying foam is in nice shape most of the time. I think the repro market may now make a similarly constructed pad...metal/foam/vinyl covering. They used to only have a cheap injected/molded urethane pad but I think I've seen where some places now offer the original style.

I recently swapped out a refinished set for a repro set on another car.....40 year old used parts looked (AND FIT) a lot better.

BTW, payment arrived and I'll be shipping your package tray corner. Thanks!

Good feedback. And is consistent with what others have posted. Looks like I will paint the arm rests and recover the arm rest pads with left over seat upholstery material. Thanks again.

d1

[Allan R]

Please take pics of before, during and after resto so the rest of us can oogle your work!

[defiant1]

Originally Posted by 70Post

BTW, payment arrived and I'll be shipping your package tray corner. Thanks!

Got the part. You should teach a seminar on how to package parts for shipping! Un-friggin-believable on how you took the time & care to ensure it would arrive at my location in one piece. Awesome!

Thanks again.

d1

[70Post]

Thanks They call those things "eggshells" as mentioned before....I figured you like your eggs "in the shell" and uncracked.

I tell people..."you are buying a part, not an insurance claim".

Others have complained describing some of the packaging as "bombproof", etc. Shipped a restored '72 Skylark/GS grill to Canada once. The buyer laughed--he said customs cut through the box to view the contents, only to find the inner box floating inside on foam blocks. Apparently they gave up at that point and never cut into the inside box (maybe they x-rayed it?).

I've had enough parts come my way that USED TO BE NICE....until the crap packaging job and typical rough handling made them junk parts.


Thanks again for your purchase.