Door panel from Standard to Deluxe

[GrantOv]

My door panels have seen better days and I like the look of the deluxe panels. I understand I'll need to lower my door latch. Are there any other gotchas I should be aware of? Is there a vendor of replacement door panels someone would recommend for a 72 Mach? Are there clips I need to add to secure the different door pull location? Any other tips?

 

[Sheriff41]

The handle for the interior door release is different, also.

@Rick@NPD has researched these door panels for his business and says the TMI panels are the best quality available and best replicate the originals. Others have attested to this, as well.

Many years ago (late 1980's), I bought and installed door panels from Mustang Market and have been satisfied with their appearance and quality. There were not many aftermarket panels available back then.

I can't speak to the other manufacturers products but the Mustang Market panels took some patience and trimming around the door release handle opening to get the door handle trim plates to fit well. Other than that, and fitting the trim and beltline weatherstriping, they were a straight forward install.

 

[351c1971]

I believe the clips for the interior door pulls ( 1 per side) are different.

 

[basstrix]

I've gone from deluxe to standard and back to deluxe again with my car. I used Mustang Market panels. Going from standard to deluxe you'll need the following:

-Door panels
-Woodgrain Inserts
-Stainless trim at carpet border
-Beltline weather strips
-Inside Door Pull Handle
-Inside Door Handle
-Drop Bracket (you'll have to make this)
-inside Door Handle Trim Cup
-Door Lock Trim Bezel (must use the longer style, deluxe are much thicker)
-New set of panel retainer clips (optional but recommended)
-Window escutcheon washer (plastic washer between crank handle and panel)

I bought my panels from Mustang Market. They require installer to cut out the door cups, drill for beltline trim, door pull, and cut/drill for door lock knob. The door handle cutouts were most tedious for me. Easy enough to cut with a dremel, but getting everything to line up was tricky. One of my panels had been reworked by MM. It looked as though someone had mis-cut for the door handle and they had welded in a new one. I had my set for 3-4 years before I installed them and never noticed the rework when I had initially inspected, or I would have raised a stink.

The beltline strips were also difficult to attach. The screw holes end up just below the strip of bright trim and the vinyl at top of door. The panels didn't quite mate up to the strips and I had to come up with a compromise and clamp them into place for drilling.

The inside door pull is another one that didn't fit quite right and I had to drill the holes for. On the passenger side, the panel flexes quite a bit when pulling the door closed and I'm planning to fabricate a bracket to attach to the door.

The MM panels also required drilling/cutting for the door lock pull knobs. There is a set sold under Scott Drake name....don't get those, they are not deep enough.

 

[GrantOv]

Thank you for this detail - very helpful to understand the the level of effort and rework. My takeaway is that it appears that while there may be a few common parts there are very few, and that there are door metal modifications along with some careful panel modifications. The other key comment was that you didn't feel that the deluxe door panel was solid and that you felt the metal interior skin flex. All very helpful in the decision -

 

[giantpune]

I swapped mine from standard to deluxe panels. Luckily I was starting with complete door cards from an original car. I had to get on ebay and order a set of the handles, their screws, and the actuator that the handle screws onto.

What I ordered were parts that said 71, 72, 73. Somehow, the left and right side attach slightly different. On one side, it had 1 clip and 1 bolt. On the other side, it had 2 bolts and no clips. I'm not entirely sure what the deal is with those, but I managed to make it work without any drilling. Just something to look out for.

And something else to pay attention to is the remote mirror controller. If you are going from basic to deluxe door cards, the new door cards might have a hole cut out there for the mirror adjuster. You'll need to come up with a plan for that. Mine was solved when I converted the mirror to the color matched racing mirror.

 

[72mokk1]

I special ordered mine from Mustang Market with no holes because I added power windows and converted the racing mirrors to electric and located the switches in the ash tray. My panels are still off so let me know if you need the measurements for that door handle drop bracket.