Austin Vert's Deluxe Door Panel Nightmare.

[Austin Vert]

Hi to all,

I was reading 72 Hcode's recent reply post on his experience of installing some new deluxe door panels. Boy, was he telling the truth.

My '73 Convertible's original white door cards with black carpet were shot, so i bought some new repro ones from 'Dashes Direct' America about a year ago, and have been sitting on them, waiting for a good time to install.

I started installing mine last week, and it's been a nightmare to say the least.

The quality of the finish is not too bad, but the major problems revolve around lining and fitting everything up. The worst thing is that most of the predrilled holes and slots have not been accurately positioned out properly. This means that when you try to fit everything up, it's all out of alighnment.

For example, the fake timber fascia panel holes don't line up properly. the grab handle screw holes don't line up, the plastic door handle cup insert holes don't line up,the slots that take the door mount clips don't line up properly, the hole provided for the window winder crank did not line up properly.

The upshot was for me to spend countless hours customising and fiddleing around trying to make it all fit together and end up getting a decent result. In my attempts to do this, i have caused a little cosmetic damage to the carpet etc, but i should be able to rectify that and hide the damage.

All the many hours i've spent trying to rectify all these fit problems, would have cost me a small fortune had i have taken this job to a pro auto trimmer to do.However, if your skills in trimming are limited, this is not a job for the faint hearted, or novices. ( Around five days total, and about 14 hours clipping and fixing the panels to the doors.)

The end result is pleasing and looks pretty good, but i'ts sad that a so called quality product is out there on the market waiting to cause all that trouble. That was my experience with that particular brand,but i wonder if other brands have caused problems like this as well.

I guess it's another case of buyer beware! I will be contacting the company, and letting them know what i think of their product.

Greg

 

[luxstang]

Yup, I ended up attaching mine with double sided tape instead of the clips that I ordered with the panels. Those holes did not line up at all and the tape gave me the possibility to align everything a little better.

 

[73vertproject]

Thanks for the post and info, Greg, as I've got to replace my panels sometime soon in my 73 'vert. Who was the manufacturer of your panels so I can cross them off my list? :s

 

[Boss1Ray]

I trust Don at OMS.

Maybe he can help 'shed some light' on this...

Even with original door panels, many have used velcro to attach instead of the factory clips that slide into the slots on the fiberboard backing.

Anyway - thanks for sharing.

Ray

 

[Austin Vert]

Yup, I ended up attaching mine with double sided tape instead of the clips that I ordered with the panels. Those holes did not line up at all and the tape gave me the possibility to align everything a little better.

Mike,

Looks like you took an easier solution to fix the door cards. I noticed when i was finally thumping my panels home to attach them, down the sides of the door cards required a lot of grabbing force so they would stick and stay attached in place.

How did your double sided tape trick work in that instance? Did the sides stay stuck well for you? What brand of door cards did you end up buying?

Doc,

The name of the company is Dashes Direct.

http://dashesdirect.com/?wpsc_product_category=mustang-door-panels

Ray,

Had i have known Don back in those days, i would not have hesitated to use his services to buy the pads from him. Best of my knowledge tells me that most brands should employ the traditional clip fastening method to attach the cards to the door frames.My backing board is made of solid black plastic material.

Greg

 

[luxstang]

Yeah, I used tape that us even meant for outdoor use. A German product. Carries 10 kg on 1 cm length of tape.

I only had to hang the panels on top near the window opening in the door and tucked them to the metal. That stuff is very tough and sticks well.

 

[vamach1]

I've been waiting a very long time for TMI to do the door panels. I'll see if I can get an update from Dean Satterfield. They make deluxe 69-70 door panels and the flat standard 71/73 ones but no deluxe ones for our years. I don't know why it would be so difficult to do them for a 71-73.:huh: TMI makes all sorts of stock and custom seat material and even if the door panels were $500 each they would be worth it. As other have mentioned the plastic ones from other vendors are a PITA to get to fit.

 

[wwhite72]

AV were the ones you used backed with plastic or the stiff cardboard type? i have also been told to avoind the plastic backed versions.Recently i was told Scott Drake has a version out but i havent heard any comments on them. My deluxe panels are the only problem in my interior but they are bad. Since i need med blue i have been waiting a long time to see aftermarket versions. I have seen black, white, and red offered for a while. also, when i pulled the factory panel to replace door speakers i noticed that the clips didnt line up well with the holes on the OEM panels either!

 

[droptop73]

I have a set of re-pops that don't fit very well especially around the door pulls. All the tabs for the spring clips have fallen off.

 

[goodnigh]

My door panels are hard plastic I got from Cj PonyParts a few years ago.

Uses clips to mount and is a perfect fit, included carpet and trim.

Don't know what brand they sold back maybe 6 years ago.

mike

 

[gpierce]

Spent about the same amount of time as you Greg, except that I drilled new holes in the door so I didn't have to change the clip holes on the door panel. That worked fine. Didn't have as much trouble lining up the window winder on mine, or the door cup hole. I did have to trim the door cup hole.

Greg

 

[Spechti]

Blue door panels are manufactured by Dashes Direct and Scott Drake. The Drake ones claim to have the right grain. I can't say anything about the color.

I have the ones from Dashes Direct. The grain is not 100% correct and the color is slightly off the rest of the medium blue interior, but acceptable. The lower carpet strip is also different from the ACC floor carpet. The quality of the door panels is acceptable, but not overwhelming.

Plus:

• They are stiff. The backing is made of plastic.
  
• The vinyl is more robust and harder than the OEM material.
  
• They seem to have the right size to cover the door.
  
• Due to the fact that the dash cover from Dashes Direct is the same material, it matches the color and grain of it
  

Minus:

• Trimming is necessary to the openings for the door handle, the screw holes for the pull and the holes for the chrome trim line.
  
• The panel hangs a little high on the door and this make a problem with the window crank opening and also with the fastener clips alignment to the holes.
  
• The panel has no hole for the lock knob. It has to be drilled.
  
• When stored upright standing at a wall, they tend to bend and under tension they are difficult to install.
  
• color doesn't match seat vinyl or carpet.
  

By the way, i was very disappointed with the dash cover from DD. This was absolute crappy made and is of inferior quality. At the time I bought it, I did not know there is als a dash cover "made with Ford tooling". Is that any better?

Michael

 

[72HCODE]

fun wasn't it.

I think members need a special award for those of us that managed to use the repop door panels.

also the ford tooling one is better on the dash pad, but the quality control is HORRIBLE i returned mine 3 times before i got a good one.

 

[Spechti]

Returns are much easier when you live in the U.S., much more time consuming from Europe or Australia.

It would be much easier for all parties involved if the part could be made in an acceptable quality from the beginning on. Sure, a part like a dash pad is not a space shuttle. But accurate cut vinyl, clean molds and some basic quality control can't be that difficult to handle.

It also can't be in the interest of dealers and suppliers to handle all the returns (and I suppose there are many with all this inferior stuff). It adds to their work and cuts their profits to handle all this, but they are at least the guys that have the power to make some heat under the butts of the manufacturers...

 

[Austin Vert]

Hi Goodnigh,

Glad you had some sort of a win with your door cards. You sound like you're one of the lucky ones!

Hi Greg,

Sounds like you took an interesting approach with redrilling the mount holes in differant positions. Glad you faired somewhat better overall than myself with less trouble.

Michael,

Thanks for your detailed feedback on your own experiences. I think what you have to say marries up with my own experiences as well, and you are spot on with your assessments.

72 Hcode,

Yes, i had a real ball changing my door pads over:dodgy:

Fun it was NOT!!, and i ended up defacing the carpet as well.

Dashes Direct promote themselves as a quality company,and come across

very upmarket on their website., but they are obviously turning out secong rate products. I wonder where they get made? America or maybe Asia? Finally, i sent a letter of complaint to the company six days ago, and they havn't had the decency or good manners to reply to me at all so far. Says a lot about them doesn't it!!

Thanks to all that replied on this one for helping to share my pain.Ah yes, the joys of restoration.

Greg

 

[Jim and Jutta]

I trust Don at OMS.

Maybe he can help 'shed some light' on this...

Even with original door panels, many have used velcro to attach instead of the factory clips that slide into the slots on the fiberboard backing.

Anyway - thanks for sharing.

Ray

I went the Velcro route, after spending hours trying to use the clips that either wouldn't line up or kept popping out. Velcro "got er done" and allows me to remove and reinstall the panels very quickly.

Jim

 

[72HCODE]

what i did was after i got the panel looking correctly and mounting the parts on it, i took it out to the car and installed the clips. sitting under the door looking up i noted one at time which clips were not sitting right.

I took the dremel and honestly i only had to make minor alternations to the clip slots, to get them to seat in the door clip holes, the problem was it took hours working one at a time down the door until all the clips sat correctly

then i took the panel off, installed the water shed, and some additional door hardware. pre-poped the holes in the water shed and then poped all the clips in, then finish hardware.

repeated on the other door and it was 2 full nights of work.

The panels i had done almost a year before and they sat on the parts shelf.

I remember how happy i was when both door panels were finally fitted and done.

a couple of years later my drivers door latch mechanism broke the spring and i then i needed to readjust my passenger window to seal better.

and i kept putting it off because i remembered all the work i did. but eventuality i poped both panels again ans because i took all that extra time to fit them they went on and off and back on in less then 30 minutes.

by comparison i help a buddy of mine work on his car and the original Cardboard backing had basically disintegrated on his door panels. they were a nightmare to take on and of the clips would break off the cardboard or the cardboard would crack and tear. the thick plastic on the repops could stop a .22 bullet lol. he wanted to keep his panels and get them recovered but the backing material was so bad it wasn't even funny. he ended up buying donor panels and painting them to match his interior

even the donor panels were pretty bad. you would have to spend whats the price now like 3000$ on NOS door panels to get something nice. he spent double getting the donor panels and repainting them then i did buying the repops and then all the work i put into it.

 

[droptop73]

I need to re-do the door panels I have, I have not been satisfied with them. How did you guys get the door pulls to fit?

Does the reproduction window weatherstrip come with the chrome edging? Mine is missing.

 

[72HCODE]

the door pulls need lots of work. besides trying to align them so the 3 pleats line up, i had to shave the rubber off the back of the top and bottom to push them deeper into the panel the mold used for the pulls has LOTS of rubber flashing and thickness that should not be there. you basically rough fit then shave, shave, shave, when it looks right then you have to approximate the mounting hole in the top and bottom. Remember to grab the original lower metal L bracket from the original panel you can also build up tension with washers, what happens is the panel seems likes it curled backwards so what i did on the upper mount was use washers to build up tension on the pull mount because you cannot use a long screw it will puncture the rubber on the pull, and i wanted to adjust the tension because too much curled the panel forward and squeezed the wood panel inlay. it was constant dry fit and refit on each door until i was happy.

When i bought the window whiskers they came with the chrome trim. But the Repop trim is off also. i had to bend the rear ones to fit the interior quarter panel and hammer the front ones because they lifted up in the center of the door panel. i predrilled holes for the rivits and i think there is 1 staple on the back i had the originals and was using them to compare. actually i think the originals are stapled on the door panels and riveted on the rear quarters. can't 100% remember now but i do remember i dry fitted the new whiskers with chrome and pre drilled as i pushed the chrome flush one mount at a time, so when i did the final riveting that window whisker was as tight as i could make it on the panel. then i went back and used flat black paint on the rivets to cover them up and blend them into the window whisker rubber.