All kinds of repro bodies
09/29/2025
Looking for a Ferrari 275 GTB body? Nothing could be easier, there are specialists who can supply you with a complete body shell. In the case of RJ Panels, this is nothing new or even sensational, it is part of the good craft of a coachbuilder. The re-creations of the Auto-Union GP cars that Crosthwaite & Gardiner built for the Ingolstadt-based company are extreme examples of this.
At the other end of the spectrum, on the other hand, are the replacement bodies that British Motors Heritage has been supplying for the Mini, MG B and MG BGT for years. Here, the price level has reached a point where it may make sense to simply get a new body instead of investing many hours in a rotten, rotten structure (or money for the work done).
The Chinese are somewhat younger in the replacement bodywork game, but all the more impressive for that. Juncheng, for example, uses large industrial presses to produce entire bodies for the Defender 90, 110 and 130, the Ford Escort Mk I and Mk II, the first Ford Bronco, the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 and now also the Datsun 240Z. The company also appears to have a hand in the production of Mini bodies. And even the replacement bodies for early Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang possibly come from China.
In general, it is difficult to judge what you would expect if you were to buy one of these bodies, some of which are even painted, for a Land Rover Defender, Ford Bronco or an FJ40 Land Cruiser from Toyota. One thing that stands out when examining the website is the fact that the company apparently has the same huge presses that are common in the industry. The problem with some repro parts so far has been that they have been pressed with too little pressure and are therefore warped or even ripple at their edges, or are made of thinner material. This is also a problem with bumpers, for example. Even those made of stainless steel, such as those available from Vietnamese sources.
The Mustang or Camaro bodies, such as those offered in the USA by Dynacorn Classic Bodies, probably also come from the Far East. And of course it is also particularly appealing to bring a long-dead bus back to life or to transform a simple box bus into a valuable Samba. At some point, a subsequent generation will get the impression that the roof of every VW commercial vehicle from the 1950s and 1960s could once be opened. The necessary bodies are available from Ohio at Classic Steel Bodies.
However, many of these replicas did not only come from China; sheet metal is also pressed in Indonesia and Malaysia, as a look at the website of Laikamwah, which also specializes in VW parts, shows.
According to their own information, however, the bodyshells for the Escort RS 1600, equipped with a cage and all the necessary brackets, are manufactured in-house by Motorsport-Tools in Great Britain. However, we do not know whether the Chinese "bodies" are also used as a basis.
What is certain is that new bodies for old cars are also available in France. First and foremost, who would have thought it, is the French collector's car par excellence: the Citroën 2CV.
It seems appealing to replace a rust-ridden "little house" with a new part that has probably received better corrosion protection than you could ever expect from an original duck from the 70s and 80s. I once spent hours and days myself welding around on such a thin-walled mobile, trying not to drop the welding rod right through the thin sheet metal. Today, I would probably go for a new part from the start.
How much of the old part is still there at the end is something everyone should decide for themselves. What is clear is that under these conditions, a lot of mischief can be done. For example, I could rebuild my old duck. The vehicle registration document and the corresponding sticker are still in my drawer... The chassis and body are available as new parts, and the rest could be taken over second-hand from a salvage vehicle. The only question is whether this is still a classic or a self-deception, because I can still remember very clearly how I cut my old duck into small, manageable pieces myself and threw them on a big pile of scrap iron. But this wouldn't be the first car to find its way back to life from the realm of the dead and after the complete dissolution of its substance. I'm not sure whether I'm getting the shivers down my spine because I'm creeped out or because I'm so fascinated.
