Every BodyBros panel starts where the original did: with tooling built to the factory shape.
From original panel to production tooling
Reproduction quality is decided before the first panel is pressed. We develop tooling from original factory panels — scanned, measured and corrected for the distortion and wear that fifty-year-old reference parts carry — so the die produces the panel Toyota, Land Rover, Ford or Nissan designed, not a copy of a tired survivor.
Materials matched to the application
Steel panels are pressed from automotive-grade sheet in gauges matched to the original specification. Where the factory used aluminium alloy — Defender outer skins in particular — we press alloy; where structure demanded steel, we use steel. Stainless replaces plain steel only in hardware where corrosion killed the original design.
Pressing and assembly
Panels are stamped on hydraulic presses using matched die sets, then trimmed, pierced and flanged in fixtures. Multi-panel structures — tubs, cabs, bed assemblies, complete back panels — are jig-welded in dedicated fixtures so apertures, mounting points and gaps land where the factory put them. A jig-welded assembly is straighter than any rotisserie repair can be, because it never had a chance to move.
Finishing
Steel panels leave production in a protective primer coat ready for preparation and refinishing. Alloy and plastic parts ship ready to prepare and paint. We deliberately do not ship colour-coated panels as standard: every restoration has its own paint system, and adhesion starts with your preparation, not ours.
Continuous correction
Fitment feedback from restoration shops flows back into tooling adjustments. When a builder tells us a flange needs a degree more angle, the die gets the degree — that is the advantage of being the manufacturer.