Al Knoch did it right!

[Timothy B.]

Those of you who saw my earlier posts on fit problems with my new door panels for my 67 convertible might be interested in knowing how it turned out. I purposely held back on revealing the vendor at the time, but since they have now corrected the problem and provided me excellent service I can say that it was "Al Knoch". When I called and let them know that my panels weren't fitting right, they paid shipping costs to ship them back to their factory. "Art" took personal interest in handling this and told me he would make it right no matter what it took. The problem turned out to be associated with reproduction upper metals. Their solution was to take a pair of original door panels that they had in their shop, and remove the upper metals and manufacture new panels using them. The end result is they fit great! Everything lines up nicely. I had never heard that rebuilding door panels using original metal supports was an option, but I suggest that those of you interested in a perfect fit consider that option. It is actually the same price if you send your old panels to them and have them reuse the original upper metal supports.

Art didn't stop there however, to make up for my trouble they installed new racetrack trim on my panels even though I had purchased them without upper trim! I am quite satisfied. I paid a bit more in the beginning but in the end received the best value and excellent fit.

[Craig S.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

Tim - good to hear, but it makes me wonder about the general case where you assume the panel they supply fits without the extra hassle. My 66 is missing the panels entirely, and I was planning to buy repro panels in Saddle from Knoch....Craig

[Craig S.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

Tim - good to hear, but it makes me wonder about the general case where you assume the panel they supply fits without the extra hassle. My 66 is missing the panels entirely, and I was planning to buy repro panels in Saddle from Knoch....Craig

[Timothy B.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

I was told that they had a bad batch of upper metals, and apparently my first set had them. One important characteristic of upper metal supports to indicate if they will fit properly is the "curve" in the panel when you eye down the top. See my attached photo. If you are able to see and inspect the panels at a show or something, ask them to open the package and inspect completely, and see if there is good smooth curve to the panel. Also, check for waviness or dents in the vinyl that can come from packaging, but don't get too upset if there are some minor ones. I discovered that by placing my new panels in the sun what I thought were dents all disappeared. One more thing to check for might be hard to do if you don't have existing panels for comparison is making sure that the distance from the lip of the metal support to the holes for the pull handle are correct. If they are off, the panels won't fit. Lastly, check the rear upper corners to see if the new panels are finished properly and not too "cut off" (reference my earlier post on the topic). If you buy Al Knoch panels however and find they don't fit right, in my experience they will work with you to correct the problem. Email me if you have more questions and I can offer more insight on how to tell if a repro will fit or not.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

I was told that they had a bad batch of upper metals, and apparently my first set had them. One important characteristic of upper metal supports to indicate if they will fit properly is the "curve" in the panel when you eye down the top. See my attached photo. If you are able to see and inspect the panels at a show or something, ask them to open the package and inspect completely, and see if there is good smooth curve to the panel. Also, check for waviness or dents in the vinyl that can come from packaging, but don't get too upset if there are some minor ones. I discovered that by placing my new panels in the sun what I thought were dents all disappeared. One more thing to check for might be hard to do if you don't have existing panels for comparison is making sure that the distance from the lip of the metal support to the holes for the pull handle are correct. If they are off, the panels won't fit. Lastly, check the rear upper corners to see if the new panels are finished properly and not too "cut off" (reference my earlier post on the topic). If you buy Al Knoch panels however and find they don't fit right, in my experience they will work with you to correct the problem. Email me if you have more questions and I can offer more insight on how to tell if a repro will fit or not.

[Joe R.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

Tim,

I have been knowing Al Knock since the 70's when he was in Garden City Michigan and known Dale since he started with Al Knock many years ago. There is not anybody in this business of selling Corvette parts that boast as many satisfied customers as Al Knock. They will go out of their way to make anything right even at their own expense. They have done it time and time again.

Al Knock takes pride in the workmanship of his product. Thank Al Knock for the finest interiors in the hobby.

My two cents and that's a lot today!

JR

[Joe R.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

Tim,

I have been knowing Al Knock since the 70's when he was in Garden City Michigan and known Dale since he started with Al Knock many years ago. There is not anybody in this business of selling Corvette parts that boast as many satisfied customers as Al Knock. They will go out of their way to make anything right even at their own expense. They have done it time and time again.

Al Knock takes pride in the workmanship of his product. Thank Al Knock for the finest interiors in the hobby.

My two cents and that's a lot today!

JR

[chris burbage]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

A couple of years ago when I was in the process of restoring my 65 convertible I had my seats redone at Bloomington by Al Knoch's team. I also picked up a set of door panels. Everything fit perfectly. Since then the car has gone on for a top flight and chevy vette fest gold spinner award.

Al Knoch, along with Dale, are a great team.

[chris burbage]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

A couple of years ago when I was in the process of restoring my 65 convertible I had my seats redone at Bloomington by Al Knoch's team. I also picked up a set of door panels. Everything fit perfectly. Since then the car has gone on for a top flight and chevy vette fest gold spinner award.

Al Knoch, along with Dale, are a great team.

[Craig S.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

JR, Tim, and Chris, I agree Al has the best stuff going, to me, worth the extra cost, and the way to buy is at the shows, on Sunday, after they run out, so they give you the show price and free shipping so you don't have to pay for shipping......I have his seat cover installation video for 65/66 and have to say I have never seen a more thorough and complete description of the process, plus after watching Arturo install several midyear seats at both Bloominton and Carlisle over the years, I can see that it's a job I can handle if I take my time, and remember a few of the tricks I observed.....Craig

[Craig S.]

Re: Al Knoch did it right!

JR, Tim, and Chris, I agree Al has the best stuff going, to me, worth the extra cost, and the way to buy is at the shows, on Sunday, after they run out, so they give you the show price and free shipping so you don't have to pay for shipping......I have his seat cover installation video for 65/66 and have to say I have never seen a more thorough and complete description of the process, plus after watching Arturo install several midyear seats at both Bloominton and Carlisle over the years, I can see that it's a job I can handle if I take my time, and remember a few of the tricks I observed.....Craig