How To: Swapping cracked panel core for earlier non-cracking panel
 

I decided to tackle the cracked driver's side door panel that has been annoying me since we got the car. Last year I removed the panel, glued the cracks, removed and reinstalled the window felt, and reinstalled the panel but it was still an eyesore, especially since I had to look at the damn thing every time I was driving the car. (The passenger side panel was perfect - but I did remove it and reinforce the crack-prone areas with flexible body repair material and removed and reinstalled the window felts in a "looser" position).

So I decided to replace the panel. We all know how hard an uncracked 2001-2002 ebony panel goes for, so I went for the alternative. The early cars - up to early 1997 used a different plastic material for the panel which doesn't crack when exposed to heat/cold cycles like the later panels do. The only problem is that they are grey and not ebony. So I found a really nice 1996 grey panel with a cloth insert and started the experiment.

Since the panels used multiple parts that were plastic welded in place at the factory I used a heat gun to soften the melt points. The cardboard backed cloth panel then pulled right off the tabs.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070001.jpg

Here is one of the tabs before heating. After each one was softened with the heat gun, I just pulled the panel off one tab at a time. After the entire cardboard panel was removed I reheated each tab and squeezed it with a wide flat toothed pliers to remake the tab into something that would easily engage into the ebony cardboard panel's slots.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070004.jpg

And here is the plastic panel after the cardboard-backed upholstery panel was removed. I will tell you that the arm rest mounting points are much harder to heat as they seem to be of a harder white plastic material and not polypropylene. (this photo is actually a couple steps ahead and shows the ebony arm rest and map pocket set in place. Note the color difference).

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070006.jpg

I went ahead and removed the arm rest and the map pocket as I wanted to install as much of the original stuff from my 2001 ebony panels as possible. Most people could stop at this point and then dye the panel as is to get ready to install the ebony leather interior upholstery panels.

Here is the grey donor panel after everything has been removed.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070007.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070009.jpg

And after I scrubbed, cleaned and redyed the panel with SEM Laundau Black interior dye. This stuff is wonderful and I have used it for all sorts of black interiors over the years. Its a great match for the ebony panel color.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070011.jpg

Here is the ebony upholstery panel from my cracked door panel:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070014.jpg

With the ebony arm rest and map pocket in place, now came time to plastic weld the map pocket in to place. The arm rest has to wait until the cardboard upholstery panel is in place as its mounting tabs are melted over the panel.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070015.jpg

I used a plastic welder with a flat tip (basically just an overpriced soldering iron), to melt the tabs back into the panel and bond them together.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070017.jpg

Once the map pocket was welded into place I reset the ebony upholstery panel onto the mounting tabs and heated each tab in order to retain the panel in its original position. Once again, the large, white plastic plastic tabs for the arm rest are the hardest to heat and manipulate due to whatever plastic they are made of.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070019.jpg

And then the insulation is reapplied. It was rather easy to use the heat gun in order to reactivate the existing sloppy application of glue all over the back of the panel (all the circular squiggly lines are glue). The insulation then stuck right into place.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070020.jpg

I also reinstalled the original window felt using the wire from large paperclips. I cut them to a horseshoe shape and then bent them to form the new replacement staples. This allows the weatherstrip to flex a little and not bind the panel on hot/cold days.

And here is the finished job:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070023.jpg

And here is how it looks in the car, when compared to the original ebony passenger side panel:

All in all the grey 1996 panel cost me $75 plus shipping and the can of SEM Laundau Black interior dye was $12. Sure beats $300 for a used ebony panel that is already brittle and ready to crack.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070030.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070031.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070034.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/P1070037.jpg

Nice work Steve. Is the SEM Landau black the same as you have used to restore Formula wheels?

Yes, it is. That Landau Black is very versatile. I have also used it for repairs on radiator shrouds as well and it matches the black plastic perfectly.

It's like magic paint!