931Lyfe Advice

"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390) 07/24/2017 at 21:57 • Filed to: 931Lyfe

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Anyone know how to repair a door card “cardboard”? The driver side panel has a lot of degradation on the lower potion and the vinyl has nothing to support it. I haven’t a clue how to repair this or any ideas on how to replace this so it looks factory.

Thoughts? Repair? Replace? Make a new one? How do I make a new one?

camaroboy68ss > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/24/2017 at 22:00

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sadly i dont think there is any repair for old door cardboard. I know in the Camaro world its pretty much ruined, you can have an upholstery shop try and pull the vinyl and put it on a new cardboard or plastic backing.  

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/24/2017 at 22:04

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That’s history. Any fix will be a time consuming bodge. You might be able to use the card as a former to create a mould for a new card from either fibreglass or vacuum moulded plastic...

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > camaroboy68ss 07/24/2017 at 22:04

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Frak. I was afraid of that. One of my friends recommended making a new card out of particle wood or something like that and gluing/stapling new vinyl over it with cutouts for switches and such.

camaroboy68ss > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/24/2017 at 22:15

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yeah, a lot of new repop panels use plastic or another water resistant material. My original door panels for my 68 Camaro suffered the same fate, they were pulled off, got wet and then curled and were ruined.

E92M3 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/24/2017 at 22:26

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You could probably cut the rot out, and bond fiberglass to it. A good interior shop can probably make a whole new panel though. Maybe even out of a sheet of abs plastic.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > camaroboy68ss 07/24/2017 at 23:14

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I’m gonna hunt around and see if I can find 924/944 cards that are close to the ones I’ve got. They made enough of them that there’s gotta be a decent conditioned set somewhere for a good price.

Nibbles > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 07/24/2017 at 23:47

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I was gonna suggest this. Could possibly use the cardboard card for a fiberglass mold

Master Cylinder > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/25/2017 at 06:22

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Yeah, those are hosed, unfortunately. Your best bet is to just replace them; there’s no good way to repair old soggy fiberboard.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Master Cylinder 07/25/2017 at 08:44

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I found inspiration! (Minus the houndstooth)

razorbeamteam > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/25/2017 at 09:34

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This is what I did with one of the cards in my Volvo 240 some years back. Unfortunately these got wet too, but it worked ok for a minute. Just used some hardboard from the Menards.

Master Cylinder > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/25/2017 at 15:45

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The RS style panels are a good look. In fact, I liked it so much I did it on mine:

The door pulls and bezels are cheap from Sierra Madre Collection, if you do go that route. If I remember correctly they called the bezels “rosettes.”

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Master Cylinder 07/25/2017 at 16:53

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TEACH ME HOW YOU DID IT!! Show this interior noob the ways of the custom job please!

CaptDale - is secretly British > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/25/2017 at 17:59

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I have always been a fan of the lightweight door card

Build Forum End result next picture

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/26/2017 at 12:49

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You can get 1/8" HDF at Home Depot that’ll work. You would be able to cut the whole piece and re-glue with a spray can of contact adhesive, or replace the damaged area with a piece and glue it in where you cut it into place, say, with gorilla glue. I *sort of* repaired a card in my VW once that wasn’t quite that bad with fiberglass resin, but I’m not sure I’d do it again. I also recently used gorilla glue for cracks in the driver’s door one on my Galaxie, after getting it wet and ironing it (!) to remove some sag, but it wasn’t *ruined* like that.

Master Cylinder > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/27/2017 at 18:53

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I can’t find it now, but there was a good write-up over on Rennlist, and I just followed that process.

Basically, you cut up your original door cards, keeping the top “cap” part intact (cut a little below the line to leave a tab to tuck under the new panel). Using the old part as a guide to shape, just cut out a flat piece to take the place of the bottom part. Swap over the push fasteners, too. The new panel is held in place by the push fasteners, the door handle bezel, and the speaker grille. Wrap it in fabric/vinyl/leather/suede of your choice and there you go.

I used that lightweight corrugated plastic stuff for mine (like what campaign signs are made of), and I will say that you’ll want to use high-strength adhesive to attach the upholstery. I have to re-do mine since I just used the standard stuff and it’s already starting to peel...

The bezels and pulls are pretty cheap from Sierra Madre Collection. If I remember right, they call the bezels “rosettes.”