Good morning
My 1982 GSL is in very good overall condition but the door panels, both sides, look like this. The area around the chrome trim looks bad. Both sides.
Now, I don't know if this was a poor attempt made by the previous owner, or if it is a common issue, but it doesn't look like the panels have ever been removed.
I've noticed that 1983 cars have a different door panel, so this may be a known problem over the years.
I've been thinking about ways to restore or improve this, I wonder if this is a common problem on the 1982 cars and if there are any suggestions...

 

Its hard to tell in the pictures, but do you think the chrome trim fell off and was glued back on by a previous owner?

 

Hmmm, it may be. It seems a poor job in fact!

 

It looks to me like the vinyl section at the top was replaced with a reasonable color match but was not done very well. I had an 83 with the red interior and that very same vinyl on the top of the doors was ruined in the sun.

It's supposed to be a continuous "sheet" running behind the leather panel, as in my present '83:


And a full view:

 

I see! So the top of my panels was replaced, but, unfortunately, cut short - poor job. Precious info. Thanks!
I will replace it, but I need to find the correct vinyl colour. It shouldn't be impossible as where I live, there's quite a tradition of antique cars restoration and I know one upholster quite well.
Any info about what the purple shade should be like? Should it match the seats (mine are leather, purple)?

 

I imagine that whoever did the job didn't want to take the time and trouble to lift the lower half of the upholstery.

 

The one thing I remember about my 83 red interior was that (even in the 1980's before ageing) there were many, many shades of red. Maybe the purple used to be a red?

 

I can use the rest of the vinyl as a guide. Tomorrow I'll be at the upholsterer's place.

 

It seems like finding the proper vinyl is not going to be easy as I've had no answer from the upholster yet.
Advice and help welcome - can such vinyl still be sourced ?

 

Maybe go up to Milan and get some haute couture custom vinyl ?

I went to a fabric shop for mine way back when. It's sometimes called "naugahyde" in the States.

Maybe this is something, perhaps contact the seller...

 

Thanks! Oh, maybe I will ring Max Mara up, their headquarter is 1km from my office - LOL
In fact I have found a few shops that sell fabric nearby, that's where I'll start from. Thanks again

 

Job finished!
I think I've nailed it. I've found some faux leather that is just like the original one, judging by the colour of the part that was hidden behind the door.
Cut it to measure with my wife's help, and voilà



Many thanks to my wife

New



New vs. Old



New, in place

 

That looks amazing!

 

That does look really good

I have a few questions if you don't mind...
1) How did you move the chrome piping from the old to the new? Or did you replace it with new? If so, can you provide a link to a source?
2) I'm assuming you removed the old material - is that a valid assumption?
3) Did you have to replace any foam under the old material? If so, any pointers?
4) What exactly did you use to attach the new material to the door card?

Again - it looks great. Thanks for sharing.

 

Awesome job....

That looks like factory........

 

Sure.
0 - We've started by cutting a template on a sort of rubbery tissue (very cheap). AH! It's called moosegummy EVA sheet
In Italy it can be found at those shops where you buy fabric if you're into making your own dresses. The moosegummy template (pink stuff in the pictures above) can also be cut on paper. Look at the picture below, it is important to have the two 'ears' that are marked with the yellow dots.
1 - I removed the old chrome piping and replaced it with new one. It seems to be a fairly standard piping, I've found it at a cars accessories store in the 'chromed piping section', I think it's 7mm wide. Its back hand comes with a very strong 3M adhesive.
I think it was this product :https://www.lampa.it/it/articoli/208...omato-4-m-7-mm. Surely you can find it in the US...
2 - I have removed the central part (the one with 'creases') which is on a separate panel, held by bent metal clips. It comes out very easily. Then, using an aluminium T shaped bar as a guide, I cut away right under the old chrome trim and cleaned the surface, which, in my case (because of previous owner's work) was messy: glue leftovers, etc. So I scraped as best as I could.
3 - the foam was good and the old faux leather came off very easily with minor damage to the foam itself. I glued the foam back in place on its metal support with Bostik glue, the yellow stinky slime, using a brush, on the side that goes on the metal part of the back panel.
Note that (refer to point 2 above), right under the edge of the foam I have placed a stripe of soft rubber double glue tape, about 1" wide, 1/16" thick, to even out the surface (purple stripe in the picture)
4 - spray can glue. Again, Bostik or equivalent, but spray! No brush or tube squeezing! Spray on both sides to attach faux leather to panel, to double sides' tape front face (yes I sprayed glue on glue), and to foam. Before doing that, unscrew a bit the two screws that you can find where the yellow dots are, and slide the two ears of your new faux leather between the back panel and the front pocket. Sit the new faux leather well in place then tighten the screws - this will help you have all in the right place when you spray the glue. The important areas are the edges, the area between the foam and the creased panel, and the foam. The creased panel will mask everything beneath, but any areas left without glue either on the edges of the panel, the double side tape, or the foam will create an ugly bubble, so make sure you spray evenly and generously.
I hope this helps.

 

One last thing about the piping. When you cut it to measure you're left with a square edge - you want it to be chamfered instead. The outside is metallic so it can be shaped. I've cut it with a chamfered edge, and squeezed it further to give it a properly 'sweet' edge. Only then remove the thin transparent protective wrap.

 

Thank you so much for the details!
Again - the results are awesome

 

Thanks again. OK, it wasn't the last thing.
I had to deal with the darn clips and rubber grommets that are used to attach the panel to the door, AND with the thick black pitch used to secure the protective nylon. Awful sticky stuff material! It ends up everywhere.
With appropriate protection (gloves and chemical vapour mask) I used De-solv-it Mykal Electrical and Cable Cleaner to remove the black pitch, made a fresh nylon sheet and attached it with double sided tape and (again!) Bostik glue (from a tube).
Most grommets are useless after 40 years, and only a handful of clips was left in place by whoever did the job before me. So I was faced with either
- buy clips and grommets at very dear price + shipment to Italy...
- scratch my head to find a solution.
I tried an idea that worked very very well : Neodimium magnets.My company sells big powerful square magnets (25x8x4mm).. I've placed them in areas of the panel that I wanted to stick to the metal frame of the door, near the edges, glued them and covered with adhesive cloth tape (the type used for harness) and glued the tape in place once I was sure they were doing their job properly, where I wanted. No gap left between panel and door, no squeaks, tight fit and can be removed at will. The only drawback is that they are not period correct, but I'm going to live with that, for the time being.