Door panel: repairing those pins

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GriffinGuru
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:07 pm
Location: Mount Joy, PA

Door panel: repairing those pins

Post by GriffinGuru »

Hi everyone, I pulled my drivers interior door panel off in order to be able to hammer my door stop wedge back in to place. My car is a 64 convertible, and I noticed that those wedges on the driver's side were far apart. Looking closer at it the driver's door was dented in at where the wedge screws in. I think possibly the driver door which is not originally from my car was from one that was in a crash and was pushed back, denting the wedge area in.

Anyway, the door panel has those "nails" welded into the perimeter to hold it into the plastic retainers in the door. On mine most of those were missing and the door panel was only holding by three pins. I am working on a home spun repair I'll share, and hopefully it works :dontknow: .
Attachments
The original pins were spotwelded into the thin metal strip.  I lifted the metal so that the drill does not damage the cardboard, and drilled the hold leftover from where the spot weld pulled out, to the diameter of the finishing nail.  I used those white finishing nails that have ridges along the length, and cut them shorter and re sharpened the tip.
The original pins were spotwelded into the thin metal strip. I lifted the metal so that the drill does not damage the cardboard, and drilled the hold leftover from where the spot weld pulled out, to the diameter of the finishing nail. I used those white finishing nails that have ridges along the length, and cut them shorter and re sharpened the tip.
I couldn't do this while taking the picture, but while easing the metal strip back, holding both prybars with one hand, I used a small angled pliers to hold and feed the nail through the hole.
I couldn't do this while taking the picture, but while easing the metal strip back, holding both prybars with one hand, I used a small angled pliers to hold and feed the nail through the hole.
There's the new nail in place.  The one in the corner is still one of the original ones.
There's the new nail in place. The one in the corner is still one of the original ones.
I eased the metal strip back once again with the nail in place and injected a dab of silicone in there to somewhat hold the nail in place so it isn't wobbly.  That is as far as I am today because I want the silicone to dry.  I'm pretty sure installing the panel is going to require a gentle touch and a little bit of maneuvering to line everything up.  I will have to be carful so I don't drive the nail through the cardboard backing when hammering it on, but since the cardboard seems to be relatively solid-ish it shouldn't be too bad.
I eased the metal strip back once again with the nail in place and injected a dab of silicone in there to somewhat hold the nail in place so it isn't wobbly. That is as far as I am today because I want the silicone to dry. I'm pretty sure installing the panel is going to require a gentle touch and a little bit of maneuvering to line everything up. I will have to be carful so I don't drive the nail through the cardboard backing when hammering it on, but since the cardboard seems to be relatively solid-ish it shouldn't be too bad.
It keeps me humble:
64 Corvair Monza convertible called Lucy (work in progress)
User avatar
GriffinGuru
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:07 pm
Location: Mount Joy, PA

Re: Door panel: repairing those pins

Post by GriffinGuru »

So I installed the panel today after letting the silicone dry. It is an improvement but not a total silver bullet solution. The door panel is holding by more pins than previously, but there are a few that did not want to stay in their plastic retainers. Also the panel is a bit warped at the bottom, so that makes getting things to go in tricky as well. I'll call this a partial success, but worth trying and better than nothing. :tongue:
It keeps me humble:
64 Corvair Monza convertible called Lucy (work in progress)
corvair500
Posts: 297
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 3:09 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Door panel: repairing those pins

Post by corvair500 »

Clarks sells the entire nail strip . But they can be a pain to put on
corvair500
Posts: 297
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 3:09 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Door panel: repairing those pins

Post by corvair500 »

Clarks used to sell the individual nails mounted on a piece of metal , so you could replace just the nails that were broken . Not to bad to install these , and could probably be installed without removing part of the original strip
corvair500
Posts: 297
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 3:09 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Door panel: repairing those pins

Post by corvair500 »

https://mikescorvairparts.com/product/c ... 60-64-new/

I think Clarks has discontinued the single nail , but this fellow has them
VairsRule
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:36 pm

Re: Door panel: repairing those pins

Post by VairsRule »

For the '62 Monza sedan I'm restoring, I went a different way. All of the door panels were totally shot, so I made new backer panels and bought marine vinyl to cover them.

I was going to use some stainless steel ring shank nails for fastening vapor barriers to siding, but they were too big in diameter. Luckily, I found two local suppliers that sell silicon bronze boat nails (ring shank) that are the right diameter and just a little too long, for only $5-6 for 55 of them. Had to cut them to length with bolt cutters and grind the ends on a bench grinder, but my time is cheap, I like making things, and unlike the original nails, they will never rust.

Will post photos of the end results when I get the car done.
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