Well, haven't done much work lately, but some parts have arrived. only one little problem...the first rocker panel (black one in the pics) is not what I was expecting. it is advertised as "An exact reproduction of the Factory OEM Rocker Panel". first thing I noticed is that there are only 9 spot welds joining the two pieces and the bend radiuses are not very tight. and when I went to set it in place to check the fit I discovered that the inner seam bend sticks out too far and hits on the ends. so I trimmed one end of that just so I could get one side in closer to see how well the top and bottom flanges fit. once I saw that the bottom flange hung down too low I stopped, put it down, and went and ordered one from Dennis Carpenter (silver one in the pics) so I could get it here to compare.
well, when that one arrived I noticed a few differences between the two and it pretty much fit right in place, it will require very little work to fit great. I also noticed that it has the proper angles on the bottom like the original vs the rounded contour of the black one. now don't get me wrong, the black one is not junk, it is actually a tad heavier and I'm sure with a bit of work you could make it fit. But for me, it is just not a factory reproduction and wont look right on my build. I have contacted the vendor about this and I have no animosity against them. they have always provided me with great service and I'm sure I will be ordering more parts from them in the future. I just wanted to post this up for others to see and compare, and possibly help someone trying to decide what might work best for them.