cloth door pannel inserts

[MotorCityFats13]

So I am finally getting around to tackling this project.... bought 1 yard of the perfect color tan vinyl and will soon be replacing all the cheesy cloth that gets dirty... I will update with pictures when this is all done and a rough how to and difficulty of the project... I know that I am not the only one that hates the cloth on the doors..... so far this project is only gotten me for $9.50

there are also 2 alternate ways of doing this... 1. cut out the stock cloth making more room to slip in the new material then use some spray glue but I like the added plushness from the stock cloth being under it... 2. drill out all the melt welds and wrap the small panel then glue it back in, this looked like way too much work and adds more cost as I wanted this to be low cost.... front door took me maybe 2 hours while taking pics and writing things down, rear doors were way quicker and first was 1 hour and 2nd was more like 20 minutes. for 1 days worth of work and less than $10 this is a well needed upgrade and the dirt and grime just wipes right off with a wet towel

 

[MotorCityFats13]

Got to work on my rear doors today.... I have hated this cloth BS since day one gets dirty too fast and I find it hard to clean

remove the 7mm bolts that hold down the arm rest and door pull

arm rest and door lever removed

another angle of arm rest and lever removed

you will need roughly 6.5" X 23" for each rear door, lay the materiel of choice over the area and square it up

replace the arm rest but not the lever, replace bolts "just plunge the bolts through the vinyl"... now start tucking the materiel under the top of the door working around until you reach the 2 spots blocked by the armrest, trim as needed to aid in the tucking process, remove the armrest and finish tucking, when it is all tucked under the panel put the armrest back on and pull it tight then replace the bolts and then trim the holes that are blocking where the lever piece goes then replace the lever

trim away the excess that gets in the way of the cable holder

I think this looks way more clean than the fabric inserts and is way easier to clean, ford should have just did the vinyl inserts on all interior options and not just the leather seating option... I walked around joann fabrics for 2 hours looking for faux leather that called my name.... I had a darker tan and this light tan and I choose the lighter color... from doing 2 of the 4 doors I can see that 1 yard is going to be way more than needed... but I have only spent $10 on this project.... not too bad for a much needed upgrade.... I cant see the front doors being any different and I should be able to do those later this week when It is close to 70f

 

[MotorCityFats13]

the fronts are pretty much the same way you just have a door handle cup on 07 and up, I took it all apart and then had to figure out how it went back on, before removing the 2 nuts take a good look at it and take a pic so you remember how this goes back on.... cut materiel to over size so it covers and press it in to the top of the door running around then pull it tight when reinstalling the bolt on components... the only thing left is to heat up the materiel and tighten it up from the top running my bondo spreader back through it to remove the rest of the wrinkles...if you take more time it can be made tight before installing everything... all in all the fronts are bigger so it takes more time so I did it on the couch watching tv instead of standing this time

door cup 2 10mm nuts

door all stripped down

cut holes so the cup studs can come through

ready to reinstall onto door

back on

 

[monty73741]

did you use any adhesive on the panels

 

[jpisini]

That looks very nice and looks easier to do than I would have thought.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

everything bolts back together and holds the vinyl nice and tight.... with the lack of glue you could change this up every couple months if you wanted

 

[BrianDye]

Thank you for posting this. Did you ever get the fronts done? I HATE the cloth inserts. Like you said, they get dirty, and mine even have wear marks and burn holes from nasty previous owner(s). I want black leather or vinyl on mine to go with the black/tan theme. Im also gonna eventually do black carpet as well, possibly the headliner, but im not sure yet.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

Thank you for posting this. Did you ever get the fronts done? I HATE the cloth inserts. Like you said, they get dirty, and mine even have wear marks and burn holes from nasty previous owner(s). I want black leather or vinyl on mine to go with the black/tan theme. Im also gonna eventually do black carpet as well, possibly the headliner, but im not sure yet.

Its possible that the weather will be in the 60s this weekend and im going to try really hard to finish it up... But the 200 times I have had my front panels off it all looks like it should be the same... I also have burns from the previous owner so i need to get this done

 

[BrianDye]

Its possible that the weather will be in the 60s this weekend and im going to try really hard to finish it up... But the 200 times I have had my front panels off it all looks like it should be the same... I also have burns from the previous owner so i need to get this done

I was looking at mine today, man they are nasty. The whole door panel really needs to be replaced to be honest.

Im gonna wait on this project until I order the 08+ door panels which I really want. (They have the door pull molded into the arm rest area, vs that stupidly placed handle on the 06/07)

 

[MotorCityFats13]

alright was able to do 1 front door and finish this write up for good.... enjoy!!!!!

 

[BrianDye]

Nice! I think the only thing I'll do different is a darker fabric, so it won't show dirt so easy like the tan, and spray adhesive so it appears tighter.

Thanks again for the write up!