I'm currently trying to fix up a 1971 4-door comet that I bought a while back and so far I haven't had any luck finding new panels for the doors. The current panels have some cracks and there are also a few tears in the vinyl. So here's my question. Can I have the panels remade and reupholstered? Or do I have to get lucky and find some intact door panels?
You gotta remember that these cars are 40+ years old. Any that you find are probably going to be in need of repair also. Some on here have reupholstered them themselves. If you find some in really great shape expect to pay a lot for them. They do pop up every so often on Ebay.
I have many sets of 4-door door panels. Email me DIRECTLY (see below) with exactly what you are looking for and I will see what I have.
Every factory panel I've seen was wrinkled, making it look like h%ll. I made mine from 1/8" ABS covered with sculpted 1/4" foam and carbon fiber vinyl. Everyone says they look great, but as usual, all I see are the flaws. If I ever redo them, it'll be 1/8" luan plywood with just vinyl and exposed screws (with surrounds) instead of the factory clips that show through.
Theyre pretty simple to make yourself. The originals in my car were shot. I pulled all the hardware, then removed the panel as gingerly as I could. I cut a new panel from some 3/8" backer board from Lowes, and sewed the pleated vinyl to stretch over the newly cut panels. In retrospect, Id not recommend adding a layer of batting to enhance the plush 'puff' of the new panel. It made the fit so snug - it took some serious muscle to get the armrests back on through all the layers! Mine look pretty darn good. Not perfect, but a very comfortable $20 solution to the problem. Wanted to add that the vinyl I purchased is Marine grade vinyl from Hancock Fabrics. I bought mine as a pre-cut remnant, which took it from the regular $14/yd down to $6 for the whole piece, which was plenty for the project. They have lots of colors of vinyl, and the grossgrain on it blends pretty well with the original interior elements.
Both of those pics look great! Thanks for the ideas. Will definitely be going this route when I finally get my car to that step.
I sewed them myself. I used a generic polyfill batting (the kind used for quilting) which I spray glued, two layers thick, to the back of the vinyl, then drew out my lines and sewed them with a metallic silver thread. Wasn't difficult, just a little labor intensive time wise. Oh, an that swooped 'V" design was just something I'd seen on the interior of a 46 Packard at a car show and decided to roll with. Its not era-appropriate for the car, but.....whatever.
can someone tell me what is the easiest way to remove the door panels? all my experiance with door panels are on my old pickups and they just screw on
the panels arw held on with clips every foot or so. you unscrew the arm rest and lachand if you are carfull you can pop the clips out with a paint scraper.
This can help .... http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3150 I have a trim removal tool that I picked up. Most auto part stores will have these for cheap. It has a dozen different shapes on it to assist in removing all sort of trim items, while minimizing the damage. I will typically face the tool with masking tape, to protect against scratching paint, etc. You really need to be very gentle with these panels. The core is fiberboard and can be very easily damaged. In a worst case scenario, you might want to make a replacement backer out of luan plywood and reuse your panel skin on it. Water and time can play havoc with the original backers. I managed to restore my panels. Over time the skin had shrunk about 1/8th inch. I reattached the skin with spray contact adhesive, and staples that I had salvaged out of a junk panel. They are like regular staples, but the legs on them are short so that they don't poke all the way through. When those ran out, I took regular staples and trimmed them, pounding them in with a tack hammer. I also reinforced a few of the clip holes with two-part epoxy and Gorilla Tape. Best of luck ... take your time.
im planning on making my own i just didnt want to destroy the originals. i have a few of thos door panel tools for the christmas tree clips on all these new cars that i plan to use once i finish up the 5 lug conversion
