I just received my deluxe door panels from Wilcox today. They are beautiful and appear to fit fine, but I have two questions.
1. I was surprised that the holes weren't pre-drilled. There is only one hole for the release. None for the window cranks, arm rests or locks. Is this normal?
2. I was considering installing a vapor barrier, but would spraying the back of the panel with rubberized undercoating accomplish the same thing?

 

I have only dealt with '66/'67 panels, but I believe it is normal, especially the window crank hole because some car may have power windows. I am surprised at the lack of a hole for the door pull, door lock and vent window. The plactic vapor barrier keeps all water from contacting the pressboard material of the door panel and contains it in the door cavity then drains out the bottom drain slots. I would use the vapor barriers. Use a non-hardening adheasive for it. Dennis

 

The panels look so nice, I'm actually afraid to drill the holes myself. Although, there appears to be a little room for error. Re: the rubberized backing, I've used it in the past and it it does harden, but not rock solid.I guess one of my concerns is how close does the window come to the panel while cranking. There is about an inch of material around the entire panel that I would not spray.

 

Dennis, my 60 door panels that came in from Al Knock did not have any holes cut. I put grease on the handles, placed the panel against it so it would make a mark and very slowly cut the holes.

 

If you use the spray on stuff I'm pretty sure you will get water coming out from between the door frame and the panel which will drip down on the carpet. If enough water drips you will have your own private wading pool. The door liner when sealed with the right stuff really (Permatex makes various gasket sealers and the like) keeps any water from getting into the interior. The window mechanism is well inside the door cavity so it does not hit the back of the panel. I transferred my old hardware to my new ones via marking, then cut the vinyl with an Exacto knife and carefully cut the backing material. Slow and easy will do it. As a matter of fact, your panels are flat compared to the contoured ones on '65-'67. Hope this helps. Dennis

 

Thanks guys. I still might check with a custom interior guy before I cut the panels. Can't wait to go for a ride. It was 50 degrees here today. I had to fire her up and listen to the pipes for a few minutes. FYI today was the St. Patricks Day Parade in Scranton. I think we have the third largest parade in the country. Behind Boston and Chicago. Hillary even made an appearance. It was a crazy day in Scranton. The bars opened at 7 am.

 

Would recommend not cutting a "hole" but to make the cut as a cross hatch "X" on the door panel face.

What I did was mark it in the back similar to what 'stratplus' said then use a 1/32" punch to mark the center. Then cut the cross hatch "X" the size of the door crank & lock shaft centered around the punch hole.

 

I sprayed a rubber sound barrier material in the door cavity before I replaced the glass and hdwe.

I then dry fitted the door panels using similar methods already mentioned. I found I had to remove additional material from the back of the door panels of all the holes. Otherwise you can't push the door hdwe or the plastic washers in far enough to install the all important wire clips. Make sure you put all the clips on the same way. If you have to remove them it will be a lot easier.

Your going to get a sore thumb and fore finger from pushing, because of the pressure needed to seat the wire clip.
Dennis

 

Good Idea
I sprayed a rubber sound barrier material in the door cavity before I replaced the glass and hdwe. Thumbs Up

 

I installed auto glass in these cars for years back in the early 70's. The vapor barrier is not there to deaden sound. It is a plastic (visqueen) sheet that is adheared to the inner door panel with umma gumma (3m automotive strip caulk). The older cars had a tar covered black paper sheet.The vapor barrier is like flashing. It sheds the water that comes in around your windows felt weatherstips, vent windows and door corners. It keeps moisture from forming on to your inner door panel and channels it to the inside of the door and then to the drain hole in the bottom of the door. You use the strip caulk on the top and sides and leave the bottom free and inside the door panel to channel the water. All GM cars had this vapor barrier. It extends the life of your cardboard interior panels and channels the water to the door drains. It keeps the interior of your car less humid as well. You would be suprised at the amount of water that gets by your window felts! I have seen many a door rust out from rubber sprayed inside the door cavity. There are too many places for water to get in behind the rubber and then it becomes a greenhouse. The water never leaves. The inside of the doors are meant to breathe. This is the same for the pinchweld around the windshield. I have seen guys try to seal their chrome molding around the windshield beacuase of leaks. This area behind the chrome is meant to breathe as well. By putting sealer on your chrome you just promote water retention around the pinchweld and therefore rust.

 

I never thought of it that way. Once again, forum members have come through.
Thanks Guys!!

 

I did the x cut with a sharp xacto knife...

 

I was out in the garage tonight positioning the panels. They really look nice. I figured that I might as well replace the felt in my window chanels before I install the panels. The saga continues!

 

David might have forgot were talking fiberglass here, no rust. Also I was careful to make sure the holes at the bottom were kept free of this material. Big difference on the outside noise, and when shutting the door, you get a solid sound.
Dennis

 

I've never seen a GM car that doesn't have a steel door.
Outer skins are the only thing fiberglass on the door. Take a magnet and see. If the deadener runs down the panel and coats the steel bottom of the door you might have problems.GM used large 3/16 thick tar pads that adheared to the door skins for sound deadening and that pad is held at least 3 inches from the bottom seam. The lip that the fiberglass is bonded to is also steel. Get rust in behind the bonding material and the rust will break the outer skin free. I've seen that on dozens of midyears and early sharks.
Trust me.....
I have seen tons of doors that you can flake off the sound deadener after a couple of years because the rust has separated it from the steel. You can't see any problem because the sound proofing creates its own shell. Give it 5 years with normal moisture just from washing the car and you will have may have rust through. When you try to close up all of the pinch welds and mating surfaces in the door you only ask for rust. The doors were designed to breathe, shed the water and deliver it to the weep drains. Any addition to the bottom surface can cause backflow and puddling. Capillary action pulls the water into every small crack. It has no where to go after that and starts oxidizing the steel.
If your car never see's rain or you blow out the door when you wash your car then the point is moot. Get rain, snow, debris, etc. inside your door and you may have rust issues.
My $.02.

 

i'm on that project right now. Doable, but definitely not the easy task I was expecting - particularly the front channel run. The repop channel run is not an exact fit and requires some finesse. I used a self tapping machine screw near the top to hold in place before riveting. Pulling and reinstalling the vent window assembly is an exercise in extreme patience. The rear channel wasnt too difficult, but it was a little difficult to work the channel out of the door - not much room to work the piece out of the door. I also discovered how bad my door panels really are - so now considering new ones (which has me considering the possibility of going to a white interior). Seems like the simplest of tasks are always subject to project creep...