I was told by a friend that I would have to buy a special set of
"panel poppers" to get the panels of in my 1991 FC, is there a
way to get these panels off with out the panel poppers without
screwing the door or the panels up?

 

Not really. I'd suggest going to your nearest harbor freight and spending $5 on a couple tools for popping the clips. Been a long time since I had a FC but it was not difficult at all to remove the door panels.

 

100% easier with panel poppers... they don't cost too much. I'd suggest one good one from Craftsman or something, but a cheap one from Auto Zone will work. In a pinch, a broad slotted screw driver and some careful tugs can get the job done.