As many of you know the 73-74 LT/deluxe door panels are hard to come by in good condition. The upper plastic is almost always broken and the wood inlays are glued to the vinyl. Once the upper plastic is broken the panel will not secure to the door in the inner guides. Here is the solution for a hybrid panel. Not factory original but gives a factory look.
Purchase the standard upper door panel plastic. they do not come with the chrome/felt door lock escutchen or the inner felt wipes. You can buy the door lock escutchen in HELP from O'Reilly's or any other parts store and the wipes can be purchased at a number of different outlets.
Next, using the old panels as a pattern, we cut new backers from plastic. We attached 3/8" foam. We cut out the old inlays and left about 1/2" of vinyl still attached. Sewed the new vinyl to the old using a double stitch about 1/4" apart. then trimmed the excess from around the wood inlays. cut all the holed and attached. New panels that will not rot out, will not crack and break and look similar to the originals.
I will try t get some close ups tomorrow or the next day and post them so you guys can see the stitching around the inlays.
Linear Mode
