My interior needs many things, but for now the important one is fixing my doors, the upper plastic strip broke off, the carpet on the door is also basicly shot. I was looking in my corvette central catalog and saw that new outer door panels would cost me up around 300 dollars a piece, is there any place i could find em cheaper??? or does anyone have any suggestions on fixing the top plastic guard piece and the upholstry. Thanks

 

there is nothing cheap about owning a vette, you've got to spend it!! :yesnod:

 

I used black screws to secure the top moulding to the door panels. I drilled a pilot hole throught the moulding and a plastic filler 1" from the outer edge ans centered on the top moulding and used small black interior screws to secure it. The clip on the front of the moulding was still intact and my fix has been holding for 4 years and it looks perfect. As far as the carpeting, try to get in touch with one of the manufacturers and see if they will sell you the door panel carpet only. It just glues on once you remove the old one. If they won't sell you the pieces, try your local upholstery shop and they should be able to match a piece for you. I feel your pain. $300 for a door panel is complete :bs It's worth maybe $150 at best but you know about the "Corvette Tax" don't you? Good Luck!

 

You might try Contemporary Corvette (link on my site, see sig. below) for some used pieces in good condition.

 

You can also use some auto goop glue or silicone adhesive for the upper door panel trim. Mine was pretty bad, but some strategically placed screws and glue made it much better. Not as good as new, but much better for $5 instead of the 500 a new pair would cost. Also, new carpet strips for the doors is pretty cheap, under $50 for the pair, if not less at The Last Detail.


Chris

 

85 Vette
The top pieces I believe you are referring to are door panel trims. Corvette America advertises the left and right for $59.00 each. They have metal clips, not plastic. They also have door panels, etc!
They have a good catalog.

Russ

 

Actually they are more than $300. That is just the bare panel with no trim or carpet. A full door panel with all trim is about $400. Not sure about the BS. They have to make these in small quantities since there are so many colors and this drives the cost up.

I looked all over and ended up getting them from The Last Detail.

Also, I am sure the door carpet is available. I bought a full carpet set from TLD and those pieces came in it.

My interior ran me about $3,500 for carpet, uphostery, trim and doors. Certainly not cheap and a lot more than I had planned on. But it looks great now. :thumbs:

 

You may want to try an upholstry shop. It probably wont look like it should, but it will look good and new. Probably for both doors, you can talk a price down to about $200-$250.

 

1985vette,

I similarly have a decaying 85, and have been shopping for over six months since I did not have the money. The best deals I have found include:
Ebay for deluxe panels - eveything included ~$685 for a pair
Ebay for new carpet kit front and back - ~$400
Seats - should be a competent upholstry shop in your area - ~$500

I will be proceeding on this upgrade shortly. I have found that you can find excellent deals on some of the new parts on ebay. Much better pricing and excellent quality as compared to elsewhere.

Let me know if you would like some specifics.

Thanks
Richard

 

True, Ebay can be a great source of less expensive parts, IF you have the time. If time is not an issue you can wait for the parts you want at a price you want to pay. However, you also have more risk since you seldom get a good return policy if the parts are not what you expected / wanted. I have got a lot of good deals there, but most of my interior came from mail order houses like TLD or Ecklers.

 

Try MidAmerica. Complete interior kit - leather seat covers, commplete carpet set and new door panels, correct colors and all - for $1480.00 for an 85. Door panel alone costs $270 each. this does not include the trim pieces for the door. That, I believe, is what has broken. These cost 89.99 each and are original GM. Door carpet is 49.99/pr.

I propose the economy fix to the trim which is to fiberglass the back side of the trim piece and then spray the visible side with SEM dye. This will require some sanding and a little time, but will work well. If the carpet is intact and just faded, spray the carpet with the correct coded SEM dye and brush in with small soft bruch like a fingernail brush (don't scrub - brush gently from all directions to spread evenly on carpet fibers). Attach old carpet to door with 3M Interior Adhesive ($9 for huge can at WalMart, etc. and it's aerosol). You can even spray the door panel itself with the dye that you used on the carpet, if you have enough left over. I recommend a thin layer of fiberglass on the back side of the main body of the door panel while you are there.
Cost: $10 for fiberglass resin at Lowes, $2 for cloth, $9 for 3M adhesive, $9 per can of SEM dye (one black and one interior color, total $18), $1 for fingernail brush, and $1 for two sheets of sandpaper (one fine, one medium). Grand total of $41, which will probably do both doors ($48 with the optional 6 pack). This works - I've done it. Replaced my door seals at the same time (well worth it).

Whatever you decide, good luck. Hope this helps some.