Think about it, to bend metal even as thin as a fender takes quite a bit of force. Follow up reasoning says that whatever is used must be stronger than the metal of the fender. The die is usually made out of thicker metal machined in the shape of the fender. They aren't easy to make because there are a lot of measurements to take and to pass on to the die. Both the die maker and the machinist are highly paid craftsmen. I rather doubt that the original dies were destroyed but we certainly aren't getting much further with this discussion. Dee Moats Vin #004434 On Fri, 5 May 2000 02:56:04 EDT, dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote: > In a message dated 5/4/00 8:31:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > heskin@xxxx writes: > > << I'm sure I'm missing something here.. > > Assuming the British Gov't destroyed the original dies used to > stamp the body panels, why can't some enterprising person take an > existing LF fender (for example), make a new die from that, and get a > few hundred fenders produced? Are the starup costs just too great? > Are there legal issues with copying the design? Obviously, there is > enough demand. Has this been tried before? > >> > > One thing I was wondering. I thought the only items actually processed at > the factory were the fiberglass underbodies and that items such as the > stainless steel panels were made elsewhere. If this is the case how did the > British Government get the dies for the body panels? > > > Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at: > www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html > > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: > moderator@xxxx > _______________________________________________________ Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp