JohnnieUtah

I have brand new standard doors from Corvette America and need to know if the foiled foam sound deadener which is 3/16" thick will interfere with the door panel installation. I'm having a bit of trouble with fit right now and just wondering if the raised boss triangle area (forward middle) needs to be trimmed out.

DUB

I seriously doubt the sound deadener is going to cause you to not get the door panels on. It also depends on how much you can compress this sound deadener with you fingers.

Hopefully the foam is CLOSED CELL foam and not OPEN cell foam.

DUB

JohnnieUtah

I bought it from Vettenuts.com. Yes its closed cell. Here is the link:

http://www.vettenuts.net/index.php?l...t_detail&p=283

I noticed that the top retaining sheet metal tabs on top probably need some check and straightening. Some are bent in the wrong direction not allowing the top panel to tuck in behind those tabs. Problem is when I do get the door over the top edge the hole for the door lock is offset and not centered and if I push upwards from the bottom of the panel to center it then it starts to release from the tabs along the top edge. Non-OEM...such a wonderful thing.

69Vett

you will have enough problems just making repro door panels fit,
they never fit like the orginal, prepare for a wrestling match.

JohnnieUtah

You think the repro's are bad...you should have seen the OEM ones I took off. I can't even get them to go on they are so warped. They were held on with one screw they were so bad LOL. In any event it really chaps my *** that a company can sell inferior products. If we did that where I work planes would be falling out of the sky!

JohnnieUtah

So how do you fix this issue?

I'm learning there isn't anything you buy for these cars that works as well as OEM. What a shame. We spend hard earned money trying to restore Americana only to be disappointed later. The force it takes to push this door does not allow the nylon velcro's to hook up and if you push the door panel in and attach the corner clip it will it will leave a large gap and eventually pull out the ABS over time. And I'm not even close to the sound deadener material yet. I'm not sure how to fix this issue other than heat the ABS with a heat gun and while in the superplastic state quickly attach the door panel and allow to cool in the restrained condition.

Z06LMB

Do you have the original door panels? I found that short of buying Al Knoch interior pieces, nothing fits like OE so I send my poor condition parts to Al K. and they do a fantastic job making old mess look brand new and it's cheaper. I have cores of old interiors I keep them but sometimes I sell these parts as cores to Al K. - guess that's why they work so well!

Z06LMB

In this picture of the jamb side view and the panel not connecting perfectly, do you have insulation on at this point? Can you pull the panel off and take and post a photo with the insulation attached?

Z06LMB

I just had a good look at this company's insulation coverage on the door, it's a lot more than the OE vapor barrier and sound insulation available through after market companies. I need to check on something, might take a day or so.

JohnnieUtah

I will remove the insulation tonight and make another attempt although the way things have been going lately I don't have any hope.

Street Rat

I just found this out.

The new door panels that I bought for my '81 won't go over the top of door panel. It seems that the top inside panel area that fits over the door isn't as wide as the factory original. I guess it's on to fight.

D_Williams

I was actually reinstalling my OEM door panels yesterday after repairing a small crack in them as well as adjusting the door glass. That is how it looked after I got the door to hook over the retaining tabs, and if I tried to push the bottom in at that point it would pop off the top.
What worked for me is getting it to the point you have it and installing the top two silver screws, then pushing the bottom in and installing the bottom two screws. The top screws held the top in place and kept it from coming off the retaining tabs.

I hope this helped

P.S. For an original door panel, it took a lot of fighting to get it to fit at the top of the door and hook over the retaining tabs

JohnnieUtah

Thanks bro'. Just got off the phone with Willcox and they said this is normal for me to see the door this way UNTIL I finally get the door pull screws secured and the lower clips. The door pull screws will pull the door in further and then over time and some hot days the ABS will relax in to position better. They also recommended pulling off the sound deadener. This will only exacerbate the install problem.


BTW, your issue with it popping off the top tabs...I had this too until I check and straightened them. I found mine were all jacked up from the OEM panel being so warped.


One thing I need to mention to everyone, with new panels I found you have to grind the lower clips about 1/8". The end that slips under the ABS will not go in all the way unless you grind the end of the clip back. This is due to the staples that surround that area. Those staples will prevent the clip to go deeper which will not allow your clip screw hole to line up with the door panel hole.

DUB

DO not grind the lower clips due to the staples a THAT SOMEONE put in the wrong place...OR used staples that are TOO LONG.....simply remove the two staples or so. This is what I always do and KNOW I am more than likely going to HAVE to do if I do not get panels from Al Knoch.

YES...from what I have found I can spend A LOT of time just getting the door panel to go all the way down on the top edge area and I KNOW I got it correct when the door panel is level ( or extremely close to level) with the outer stainless trim from end to end.

IF the 'LOCK-UNLOCK' **** area is off..I modify it due to I KNOW I am dealing with a reproduction part and I KNOW NOT to expect perfection.

I feel having to put the pull handle on will aid in closing the gap in the rear I feel is bunch of crap.. the handle is so far away is it is NOT going to severely change anything.

Honestly..I feel ...and it is my opinion... that they took the ABS part out of the mold too fast and it bowed in some kinda way due to how it as placed when removed from the mold...and they know that they can still sell it and get someone to FIGHT getting it on....and the ONLY reason I KNOW this is that I have had door panels that WERE NOT this badly bowed.

I HAVE had to do what you thought of using heat and getting the panel hot and putting it on the door and holding it there and allowing it to cool. I prefer to use a salamander kerosene heater due to it can heat up more surface area faster that using a heat gun.

I have nice trick at the top of the door panel where the two screws go that prevent them from damaging the vinyl and pulling the vinyl in like GM originally did. Quite simple to figure out...BUT you WILL more than likely need longer screws to do this. I had a 1970 that I did a restoration on several years ago that came into my shop for a minor window adjustment and the dark green door panels are still PERFECT at the top two screws.

DUB

croaker

Dub you elongate the hole where the lock **** goes?

DUB

NO..I do NOT modify the door panel 'LOCK-UNLOCK' bezel itself. I actually change the location of the 'LOCK-UNLOCK' assembly itself where it is bolted to the door...by carefully routing out the holes in this assembly.

Sometimes this can be really touchy if the door panel does not wants to fit correctly.

Modifying the 'LOCK-UNLOCK' can be done but not a lot....you will see when you get in there that you will run out of room to open up the holes and get all the screws to go in and tighten. I am NOT fan of leaving out fasteners.....or using Allen head screws because a socket head hex bolts will not work. I TRY to keep it so things are the way it was made. It is a challenge to be to do it this way.

NOW..IF AND ONLY IF I HAD to change the bolt head design..I guess I would...but that is after I have done all I could to get t right and I am hitting a wall and HAVE no other choice to do it that way.

To try to understand my mental state of mind..IF I give in to when I have to modify something that I find the easiest, fastest, sloppiest, cheesiest, less inventive way to do it ...then that degrades my ability to try to take my repairs to a level that others would feel are not needed. Now this does not mean that I do it to the extreme and make it so complicated that it is counter-productive...depending on what it is I am doing. I find a method that suits me and makes me happy and I know that what I am doing will not keep me up at night wishing that I did not take it just one step further..

DUB

JohnnieUtah

So I ask this question; do all new ABS door panels exhibit this condition as witnessed in my picture? If so, I will work with it. If not, back they go to Willcox.

DUB

Seeing how I am VERY ANALYTICAL...I read what you wrote and I bolded out a part the word ALL . 'ALL' means ALL...100%...and thus to answer your question I would say that there is NO way that ALL door panels are like yours...some can be WORSE and some better.

If you have set of these panels and set them on a flat surface (vinyl side down) and measure the arch...are they EXACTLY the same..and I mean EXACTLY. If not..then there is your answer.

Also...just to be fair...trying to get these panel replaced and have them flat so they are not under serious tension may be received form a vendor as ridiculous because ...seeing how hundreds have been sold and no one complained....then they must be OK...which is what I get as a reply when I comment on parts that a re all 'jacked up' and not right.

I have been through this as I wrote so I already know what I can be in for. I have had some that were way worse than yours.

DUB

JohnnieUtah

Hey Dub, thanks for all your input. I tried something today with great success on the door panel. I placed them in the 92 degree sun and used a heat gun to heat the overall panel up to 200-208 deg F. This was confirmed with a Laser temp gun. This just below the superplastic temperature of 221 deg. F for ABS. I then immediately installed the panel and secured the lower clips. WOW! What a fit now. The panel fits perfectly and even the Velcro fasteners engage. I'm excited.

DUB

SO glad that it worked for you!!!

DUB