I’ve got a 67 and looking at swapping in 68 deluxe door panels. However, while the lock, mirror remote, door handle and window handle are in the same spot, the arm rest bolt holes are in a different spot. There’s not enough space to cut new little squares for the factory screw retainers.
Has anyone else drilled holes and used alternative screws for the arm rests?
Would riv-nuts be the best option?
Thanks for any solutions. Trying to make a solid plan before I start drilling holes, and I’ve got to decide if I’m really switching from red 67 to dark red 68 door panels before I order seat upholstery.
Man I may be a purist but I would rather keep all the appropriate 67 components and colors in your 67. You could sell the 68 panels to help fund refurbishing your existing parts, or maybe trade them for better 67 panels if yours are trashed.
The previous owner cut extra holes in the front panels for long armrests and has rotted boardd, and the rear panels have broken forms and rips in the vinyl.
You have some options, though it’s tough when the vinyl is cut or damaged. You can replace the door panel backer boards, as you probably know. I guess you could reuse the long armrests to hide the extra holes but that’s not ideal. On the rear panels, new plastic backers are available, and depending on how bad the rips are, you might try out one of those vinyl repair kits, but I’m not sure how well those work. But you can peel your original skins off the broken plastic backers and glue them to the new plastic. It would probably be good to use a thin layer of “batting” under the skins like the originals too.
Aside from redoing yours, WCCC has a decent inventory of good used panels but as you’ve probably seen, they can be costly. Best to call and talk to someone to see what’s in stock, as the website isn’t always accurate on used parts. I still vote to keep it all '67 if you can though.
I have a 68 vert with most of the interior being from a 67, except the steering wheel and dash. The door panels were made to work with minor drilling. Can’t really tell the difference and NOBODY has questioned me yet about it. Then again, the car was originally a blue on blue hard top. Mods across the board here. I personally like the way mine was set up by the previous owner that did the conversion to convertible. There were things about the 68 interior I didn’t like, so mine not being entirely correct doesn’t bother me one bit.
If nobody questions you about it being a convertible I doubt they know the difference between the interiors. Is there more pictures posted somewhere? Nice looking car from what I can see.
Aside from drilling two small holes in each door to fasten the new arm rests, there’s nothing about swapping 67/68 panels that can’t be undone. Plus, if I got to the 68 panels with the longer arm rests, I can use the cool flip-up door handles.
I guess I’ll just try to find riv-nuts for the arm rests since nobody has actually answered the fastener question.
I last had the door panels off last summer and noted that the forward fasteners were still used and holes were drilled for the rear section of the smaller arm rests to fit correctly. Since everything lined up I wan’t concerned about the fasteners. Note: The original fasteners for the rear section of the arm rests are still there. Also, keep in mind that in my case I went from 68 standard door panels to 67 standard panels. Yours will be in reverse and I can’t say how that will work for you. Good luck in your endeavors.
You make a good point. We do take the car to shows and rarely will someone question it being a convertible. As for interior, nobody is none the wiser. I put pics up on my facebook account every now and then. This car was April 2017 Car of the Month on this website. Much different from two years ago and constantly being upgraded.
