[DeTomaso] Replacement Door Panels

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

Rob, dunno what type of uphostery you have in mind, but when I changed our 
door panels to the GT-5 look with 'wrinkled leather', I found that the 
panels fit perfectly.... but the thicker upholstery moved the panels and the door 
lock holes far enough out that they didn't match the holes in the steel 
door. And its not that easy to nibble out the holes in the space provided. 
Later I found that I was supposed to trim the leather away along the top of the 
panels so this didn't happen. Its more work but the elongation can be done. 
And you may find the 3 giant armrest screws go into cracked plastic blocks, 
so they fall apart trying the restart the big screws. Better to replace 
them first. I made some out of scrap aluminum and gorilla-glued them to the 
doorframe. 
Finally, if you want to mount speakers in the doors, its not really 
necessary to cut big holes in your upholstery. Instead, you cut holes in the 
plastic panels and position the speakers flush, with the upholstery stretched over 
it so the speakers are invisible. That way when getting in & out, you don't 
kick the speaker grille off (as I habitually did). OK- if you like 
studio-quality sound, this degrades it a bit... but I also think you're in the wrong 
car if you're looking for hi-fi sound.   Good luck- J Deryke