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I’ve gone through the forum, and either I’ve missed the information I’m looking for, or this is kind of different….
I have a 1993 base Corvette, both door panels are leaning far away from the windows, especially at the rear. I thought, based on what I had found here, that I knew what to expect once I took the door panel off…but apparently not.
First, I was expecting the plastic ribs to have broken ‘hooks’, but it doesn’t appear that the ‘93 actually used that design…in fact, I don’t really see that GM designed the door panel to be held against the door with anything other than the general stiffness of the plastic inner panel keeping it straight.
Once I got it off…I found the problem. The plastic itself is cracked along the length of the panel, beginning around the door handle, all the way back nearly to the rear of the panel.
Here’s a picture of what I found…any good suggestions short of spending $$$ to replace the entire panel? 1993 passenger side door panel
A few ribs cracked.
The bottom of the door panel is severely cracked. Flapping/ hitting the rocker expanding the damage.
One of the most severe. That i have looked at.
No sales pitch.. I posted/ sold a simple aluminum S clip.
GM should have used a similar product to secure support. Surface material on top of the door panel to eliminate this very common problem.
The GM engineer for this interior project epically failed.
There is no real support holding the top of the door panel.
Thank you…I had assumed I was seeing something worse than what is typical…
I’m also assuming, based on what you said about the overall damage, this probably isn’t repairable?
The good news is. It can be repaired.
Most of us.. traced the ribs. Made aluminum rib templates each side of found cracks. Draw in the center door panel with pressure. To get the ribs near factory distance. Drill each end. Bolt them together like a sandwich.
What is great about "most" plastics. The panel is that type of plastic. You can simply heat weld back together and or add plastic like from a model tree. That numbers, holds the pieces to build... Really strong elastic. with a good adjustable soldering iron wide flat tip. Invisible because hidden.
*Especially in that area that does not have weight stress. To re- fatigue.
** The most critical. Is securing the top of the door panel. To eliminate the midsection stress. Fatiguing the rib/s. Over the years of shutting the door/s.
The DS door is the most used/ failed.
You can. Easily copy my S clip. I should have (c) PP. Other members have tastefully secured with self tapping screws. That is a visual fix. Many do not like that idea. also will create future stress cracks.
If you have a very rare with next to zero mile car.
The unfortunate finding a near perfect panel. Is very hard. And extremely expensive.
I’m searching for your S clip suggestion now…I’m thinking I can use bungee cords to help pull it back in the right general shape, then use a combination of your S clip, along with a little plastic repair to get things lined up. It’s not a show car, but I’m not a big fan of repairs that are obvious at a glance, so I’ll work from the inside of the panel.
There are a lot of plastic repair products out there but I would suggest doing it right and replacing the door panels. Maybe you can find them in a Corvette salvage yard such as Contemporary Corvette out of Bristol PA
1993 Door Panel Issues
