Over the past 15 years, there’s been a growing interest in stainless steel parts for flat fenders. There is very little on the web (that I have found) regarding stainless steel parts. What follows is my summation of several posts during the latter half of 2008 regarding these type of parts.
MANUFACTURING:
Stainless steel appears to be manufactured all over the world. However, stainless steel body parts for jeeps appear to come exclusively from the Phillipines. One company, called Jewels, supplied high quality stainless steel flat fender parts into the early 90s. However, people tell me that the stuff was hard to sell. That left a reasonable level of parts available, so, several people obtained large quantities of Old Jewels parts and have been selling it ever since.
OLD vs. NEW Jewels:
As I understand it, recently, relatives of the former Jewels company have started providing parts for sale again. That means there is some new Jewels parts that have entered the market. I have not personally compared the old parts with the new, so I don’t specifically know if there is any quality difference.
CAVEAT EMPTOR:
Importantly, there are other makers of flat fender parts in the Phillippines, however several readers have complained to me or within comments to posts I’ve written that the quality wasn’t as good as the buyers expected. So, my takeaway from this is that if you want to purchase stainless steel parts, view them in person or deal with people you can trust (I can recommend three — see below).
Certainly, from time to time you will also see stainless parts for sale on Craigslist, ebay or other locations. Sometimes these are Jewels parts and sometimes they aren’t. Unfortunately, not all Jewels parts were labeled Jewels. So, check these parts out carefully before buying.
All the stainless body parts are made by hand. This means there are natural variances to the parts. Apparently, Jewels tend to fit well, but even these parts don’t always fit right. Test the fit whenever you can. I am told poorer quality parts tend ot fit more poorly.
EXPENSE:
Stainless parts are expensive compared with standard parts. Due to the lack of competition, the difficulty in obtaining quality parts, the manufacturing and shipping, and other factors, the prices of these don’t fit the budget of most jeepers. I’ve listed a few parts below just to provide an example.
VENDORS:
I’ve talked at length with each of these stainless sellers below. Brian, Troy and Don are long time friends with one another and each is located in Western Washington.
Brian Leetch purchased a bunch of Jewels stainless parts from a shop that went out of business in Yakima years ago. He has sold parts from this inventory for years. Brian still has a variety of CJ-3A and CJ-3B parts available. He also has access to some new Jewels stock as well. If you want to learn more about what he has for sale, he said to call him at 360-921-0832 or email him at fatsoracing@iinet.com.
Troy Shipman has a variety of old stock. He also has access to new Jewels stock. You can contact him at jeepfrk50@comcast.net or call 253-732-6329.
Don Prine bought his stainless steel parts from a Shelton, Wa, logging company owner, who had purchased a bunch of Jewels parts many years ago. Don has been selling this inventory for years. Don told me he was asked to work for Jewels at one point as Jewels wanted to build 200 stainless jeeps. He eventually visited the plant, but turned down the offer. You can view more about my interview with Don here.
Here are some approximate prices:
A 3a/2a/3b tailgate Tailgate: $950
Windshield brackets: $400
A 3a/2a grille: $1200
3a/2a windshield: $2500
Apparently, there are two other sellers, one in California and one on the east coast. I have not talked to either, so I can’t say what to expect from them or how they prefer to be contacted.
Links to a few posts about stainless jeeps:
- Here’s Jeff beautiful stainless jeep
- Burle has stainless parts on his CJ-3A and his Sand Jeep
- Here’s a video about a Stainless steel flatfender from Canada
- Here’s a flattie with a stainless windshield
- Here’s Brian’s beautiful stainless jeep (or was it sold?) on the CJ-3B site.
- You’ll also find alot of stainless on jeepneys — here’s an article from the CJ-3B site
Finally, if you have questions about stainless, I’m happy to answer your questions as best I can. Use the contact link on the menu above to send me a question.