My XLT Lariat has those door panels that have the plush velvet material on them. I have been thinking about replacing the door panels as the Arizona sun has gotten the best of them. I have been looking at the panels that J.C. Whitney sells. They just don't have the Lariat style door panels. Just the standard ones.

My question is: Has anybody successfully tried removing the plush velvet material and attaching it to a new set of door panels? If yes, let me know how you did this. Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

When it comes to upholstory, the skies the limit. Would it be possible to make templates of the baked out areas, recover them, then glue or screw them on? Just a suggestion.

 

All that holds that velvet on is several little clips that you can bend out of the way and bend back. You will have to drill some new holes so i would make a templet out of some construction paper or cardboard.(i know the velvet trim thing on the new panels is held this way but i would ha ve to check to be 100% sure)

 

Thanks for your replies.

Mustange70, sounds like this is not at all complicated! The velvet material is still in very good condition. The next time I have the door panels off, I'll look under the insulation for those clips. I just recently had the panels off when I replaced the weather stripping for the window channels. Thanks again!!

 

no problem, and remember you can always upgrade to the newer style door panels if it doesn't work out.

 

Hi all,

I have fixed that problem with a piece of leather which I have glue on the bad area. It' easy to do, looks nice and it's very inexpensive to do. Watch the pic in my galerie


Jens

 

So you put a strip of leather on the top of the door panels? Looks good. You are from Germany, huh? Fuel must be expensive over there. You have a great looking truck! Mine is a work in progress. The truck is a daily driver. Mechanically, it's in good shape. The body is clean with its usual scratches and dings in it. It needs a paint job. The interior is in pretty good shape except that the top of the door panels have gotten badly pitted in the hot Arizona sun. The leather is a good idea except that the sun out here would dry it out in no time. Even with the tinted windows. I hope that soon my truck will look almost as good as yours! I'll be posting some before and after pictures. Thanks for your reply!

Paul

 

Mustang70,

I did not know that I could upgrade to newer panels. Hmmm. By any chance would you know what newer year door panels can fit on the '80-86' trucks?

Paul

 

Hi Paul,

yes it's only a strip of leather.
thank you for the flowers
yes, your are right, fuel is expensive, Diesel is $3.27 and up a gallon, gas, supreme is $4.62 a gallon
...just for information.

Jens

 

PaulzF150: Anything up to 96 will fit. But the 87-91 door panels look the best. All you have to door to make them fit is trim a little bit of plastic (by the vent window) so the panel can fit on the top and you have to move the brace (the one on for the arm rest) back a couple of inches. Its really easy to and if you want i can get some pictures and put them in my gallery.

 

Mustange70,

Yes, if you would put some pictures in your gallery that would be great. I'd like to see how your set up turned out. Thanks.

PaulzF150

 

No problem but if i can't get them on tommorrow or even tuesday morning then i won't be able to get them up till thursday.

 

I have uploaded the pictures into my gallery. Hope you like them.

 

Mustange70,

Those door panels look real nice! That red interior reminds me of my old 1983 F100 that I bought new, and sold in 1999. MISTAKE! It's being well taken care of by a friend of mine, though. It's got 260,000 miles on it now. I'll probably stick with the stock version of the panels and do the business with the clips.
My '85 is working quite well. Just wish it had the DSII ignition instead of the electronic feed back system it has now(300 I6). A DSII conversion is probably in the future.

Thank you very much for your information. You've been a great help!

Paul

 

thanks, and if you need any more help, ask away.