Speaker Hole Repairs (Doors) 65-66

[npg3]

Well, we are now working on the doors, and my friend asked me what I wanted to do with the cut interior doors.

My car is a factory 8-track '66, but someone in the past had enlarged the hole a bit on the passenger door, and the driver door is slightly worse.

I put the new factory speaker grills up to the holes, and there is a definite gap (driver > passenger). The passenger door gaps are only visible above and below the grill, but the driver door has visible gaps above/below and sides.

What are my options? I would still like to keep the faux texture in the metal. Should he just repair it with a patch or what have you all done?

I was thinking of finding a hopeless donor door/doors that still has a good interior side.

The driver door is okay, but the passenger door has the common area of rot due to clogged drain holes. He will need to repair that as well. It did not show up until after we media blasted the car. I grew up with this car in Arizona, and it goes to show you that even an Arizona car can have some rust.

Thanks.

[22GT]

The door is rotten in a visible area, and will never look right. I'd replace them both.

[npg3]

I thought about that as well, but original sheet metal means a lot to me. Like the one member here always says, "The only foreign car I own is my '69 Mach 1". Nothing fits liek the original metal.

I tried to find some good doors, and they are not out there...I do not want to buy anything offshore. When I started my car the FIRST time back in 1986, there was sheet metal galore. That ship has sailed...I looked on Craigs List, Ebay, online searches, and I just cannot find them.

Do you have any resources for used doors in nice shape? There has to be a way to repair them if not....

[John Gold]

Look around a used refrigerator yard. Some of them have very similar grained metal. You could buy a used one and get a whole lot of patch panels from it. And, the panels are flat. Or, bit the bullet and buy a repro door and cut it up for a patch. From what I here on this forum, the doors are not all that good anyway. As for the Swiss cheese on the lower front, I would not worry about that, it's not that visible anyway. Just patch it as best as you can and move on.

I was wondering if there was a way of spraying on a thick coat of paint, waiting for it to mostly harden, then rolling on the texture from some sort of roller. I have not figured out what to use yet, but still thinking.

[buflash]

Can you elaborate on how the refrigerator skin would be used for patching the door? Wouldn't the butt welds be smooth?

I've never seen anyone execute a satisfactory strategy for duplicating the pattern in paint either. For the time and effort to repair, I'm thinking $250 per door for repro doors is money well spent. Sure you need to tweak them to get them to fit, but you end up with a 100% rust free door and great surface for paint.

[bartl]

They're out there - you just have to keep searching. Check with some of the Mustang vendors who also do work, they might have some parts cars... Glazier-Nolan, CJ Pony, KAR Group, etc.

My thoughts over the years on the repair of the textured area have included covering the bottom area with a brushed stainless panel, carpeted panel, with the edges serged and an upper chrome trim, textured leatherette glued and trimmed, as well as imprinting the pattern into a substance like Plasti-Dip.

[22GT]

I have seen a lot of repro doors used on some really nice restorations at Glazier/Nolan.

Here's one-

[JeffTepper]

One idea is to patch the door using un-textured metal and then covering the entire textured area with a textured vinyl adhered with 3M upholstery glue. A fair mount of fitting work but in the end, it would look good and you would achieve your goal of original metal.

[66DavesGT]

Stick with originals...

[hughnews1]

Hey Npg3 update your profile where are you ? on the moon ?

[dalorzof]

I repaired similar holes in my 68 S convertible. 4" round, so a bit smaller, but as yours on the lower part of the door. Welded in flat patches, painted. No one has ever noticed in 7+ years since.

Unless you are showing the car to a high standard what you have is an easy fix. And the pinholes in the lower front part can be welded/ground and unless you lie on the ground and look up at the front lower edge of the door no one weill ever notice...

IMO just fix what you have and keep the originals.

[npg3]

I might have a new option...my buddy might be able to reproduce the texture. If that does not work, I might try to find a donor door either old or repro. Thanks for your input...keep you posted.

[hughnews1]

my 66 couope doors ahve 2 holes each ! 3" must be speaker that was going it next LOL

[22GT]

Originally Posted by 66DavesGT

Stick with originals...

I always prefer original, but having twice repaired rust such as the OP has, I'm done. I've already hung one repro door on mine, and I have another in a box waiting to go on. I've seen too many nice cars with repro doors to have a phobia about using them. Ten years ago, repro doors sucked, real bad. Not now.

[npg3]

I have all the trust in the world with my restorer...a really gifted body man that has been working on muscle cars forever. He has done some amazing repairs. I am going to discuss with him your suggestions. Hopefully, that new DuPont product will work which duplicates the texture. If not, I will consider donor doors to cut out the bits first and replacement doors second.