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Door Panels

I wanted to keep the look of the stock door interior panels but I really dislike the cardboard panels. I decided to try and fab a door panel that was somewhat like the stock panel but a little more durable. The mounting a fitment needed to be the same so I went ahead and bought aftermarket cardboard door panels and the stainless trim that goes around the perimeter. I wanted the cardboard panels to use as a pattern and my plan is to use them later as a replacement on my tattered ones on my '48.

I also decided to try and use aluminum sheet for the base paneland covering it with some type of vinyl. Since I had screwed up one set of seat covers on an earlier portion of the build, I dug out the covers and figured I would try and use them. After miking the groove of the stainless trim and the thickness of the seat material it looked like the aluminum sheet needed to be .062 or so thick.

First I checked the cardboard panels to the doors (because you never can assume anything will fit out of the box) and once I received the .062 alum sheet I traced the outline on the sheet. I then cut the sheet and drilled the holes to dry fit them to the door and checked that the trim would indeed fit around it.

Next I bonded the vinyl from the seat cover to the panels using 3M Super Trim spray adhesive and let it dry. Then I used a razor and an Exacto knife to cutout all holes in the panel. Then I shoe-horned the stainless trim around the panel assembly. I have to add that getting the trim around the panel was a little bit of challenge without peeling off the cover. I was able to get it installed but I ended up having to fab a new splice clip (the stainless clip at the bottom of the trim) that was a little wider than the stock one since the trim was constantly slipping out from under the clip as I attempted to install it on the door. If I had another set of hands to hold it while I installed the screws then I might not have needed to fab the wider clip but it was the route that was easiest at the time since I had the stainless on hand.

With the panel installed I quickly discovered that repro panel didn't have the holes for the armrest so my new panel didn't have them. So I took two 1/4-20 hex bolts and ground a point on the end of the threads. I then removed the panel assembly and installed the pointed hex bolts in the armrest holes, with the pointed end out, and re-installed the door panel assembly. With the panels in place I took a 2x4 and put it on the door panel to protect it and hit the panel with a dead-blow hammer to pierce/mark the hole locations on the backside of the alum panel. Then I removed the panel and drilled the holes necessary for the armrest and re-installed the panels.

The panels fit nicely but I did notice that the door mechanism is a little bound up by the panel. The door latches, exterior and interior, both operate but the latch handles do not self-return. My guess is that the interior door link (Altman aftermarket) is rubbing on the back of the aluminum panel. I assume the cardboard panel would just flex out of the way but the rigid aluminum panel does not. I will need to remove the panel and see if I can identify where it is rubbing. I may need to add some type of local spacer to the door frame to form or guide the panel around the link area or use the old knee brake to tweak the flat panel a bit to clear ...but that will be for another day.