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Ironically, if you use the reproduction skin and then use a (English) Wheeling machine on it to introduce a 90" radius into the panel creating a positive crown, it generally will fit the inner panel and the opening well.
Something that is often forgotten is that repair panels (a/k/a: patch panels) were never intended to be an exact fit. A little backstory on this is in the early '60s before Arthur Howell began offering Model-A repair panels to the hobby, the typical restorer just found a damaged panel or fender, and then cut-out the section they needed to repair what they were working on. Arthur was in the HVAC business near Beaumont, TX and had quite a bit of sheetmetal fabrication equipment (-and skill) from making ductwork and related pieces. As a kid, I can remember going to his business with my dad and maybe another club member to have pieces replicated out of sheetmetal using either the body -or a part of the body as a sample to fabricate from. The pieces were often times very crudely made and not to shape, -but that was ok to most of his customers since finding replacement panels was getting tougher to find too. Even during that time period, there were craftsmen around the country that would/could replicate a body panel in exacting detail however the cost of their services was generally way more than the average Model-A restorer would/could afford. Therefore people like Howell and Paul Dominguez (-with Carline) began offering replacement panels that folks knew that would need to be tweaked and worked to fit, however it was something that the average restorer could afford. Somewhere along the way, restorer's expectations of quality & fit on these panels has risen however as a whole, it seems they have been unwilling to pay the costs associated with manufacturing these higher quality panels. While the old saying of 'you get what you pay for' is definitely applicable, be thankful you at least have something to work with. Owners of many other marques don't always have that luxury. Remember that the next time when we are complaining about these panels.
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