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For a while now I've been looking around at diff door panel options. Mine were badly cracked where they always crack, right around the arm rest and where the steel cup sits. I was set on buying a new set from LMC or another supplier, but since it's been raining and I haven't been able to work on the paint/body work, I took another look at my old panels. After some head scratching, I thought I'd give 'fixing' them a go and took some paper for templates and some scrap sheet metal, and jumped in to making some braces/patches. I cut out the templates, traced them onto the s. metal, bent them forever, sanded the patch areas with 36 grit, drilled some holes in the metal patches for epoxy to seep through for strength, wiped the areas down with lacquer thinner, and mixed two tubes of JB weld.
I don't know if this will add any strength to the panels, but having done this made me feel better about using 50+ year old panels on the truck once more.
Cracked here, and cracked here as well. This brace and the other one that has the armrest screw hole in it will be the strongest. Loads of good ol' JB Weld. Slobber it up! I used a full tube of JB Weld, along with about 2/3 of a tube of the hardener.
Now it is on to cutting the Kilmat to sit behind the panels.
A while back when I was toying with the idea of trying to make something useful of my OEMs, I found those same cracks. I got the cracks closed and used some zip ties with careful trimming of ends strategically placed,
I then added original 50/50 J B Weld over the zip tie reinforcements & cracks. .... using the new to me auto mixing syringe applicator. It seemed to grab ahold of the plastic.
I also filled the clip pockets with J B Weld to act ... and drilled for spacers / holes, Was gonna used those rivet like nuts in the recesses.
Nicely done! I'll add that there is a spray product I use when repairing plastic bumpers and the like (door panels apply!) that's called adhesion promotor. I prep just like you've done and then after the final clean, spray the adhesion promotor. It works really well to increase the 'stick' of the JB weld or whatever product you're using. It's worth taking the time to do what you've done IMO
It might be worth it to you to get a cheap plastic welding iron and some sticks and/or staples to practice with. It is relatively easy to learn and immensely helpful for stuff like this. You’ll never use JB Weld again which, despite its popularity, is one of the worst epoxies out there.
Nicely done! I'll add that there is a spray product I use when repairing plastic bumpers and the like (door panels apply!) that's called adhesion promotor. I prep just like you've done and then after the final clean, spray the adhesion promotor. It works really well to increase the 'stick' of the JB weld or whatever product you're using. It's worth taking the time to do what you've done IMO
If it can help, then it's welcome. Thanks for the tip.
Originally Posted by Viper Pilot
It might be worth it to you to get a cheap plastic welding iron and some sticks and/or staples to practice with. It is relatively easy to learn and immensely helpful for stuff like this. You’ll never use JB Weld again which, despite its popularity, is one of the worst epoxies out there.
Thanks I will look into them. Can you recommend a high quality epoxy?
For plastic stuff go to your local RC hobby shop and look for Zap or Bob Smith Industries. They offer different cure times, typically 5, 15, and 30 minutes. The longer the cure time the stronger and more flexible the bond tends to be. You can find both online as well.
If you want to go all in on epoxy, 3M semi-rigid plastic repair 04240. It sets up pretty quickly but is still quite flexible.
Plastic welding kit. You will use this more than you think, especially if you have kids.
Nice repair I did a quick repair on my 81 door panels as I was going to replace them ......... that was over 6 years ago
You know the real reason the panel(s) crack like that?
You pull on the arm rest to close the door and that is only to the panel and not the door from the looks of it.
If you could make a bracket that comes out from the door to the door panel / arm rest and put a screw or 2 through the rest / panel into the bracket this would not happen.
Dave ----
On the OEM, you're actually pulling on the pocket or finger cup that is recessed into the arm rest, (they were red plastic on my '77 but they never cracked on mine like I've seen, but many are black steel) and are two screws that go through them, through a plastic piece seen in the photos, and into a steel "L" shape bracket that is bolted to the door steel. Obviously, there is some flex allowing some straining of the door panel as my panels did have the same cracks he fixed.
For plastic stuff go to your local RC hobby shop and look for Zap or Bob Smith Industries. They offer different cure times, typically 5, 15, and 30 minutes. The longer the cure time the stronger and more flexible the bond tends to be. You can find both online as well.
If you want to go all in on epoxy, 3M semi-rigid plastic repair 04240. It sets up pretty quickly but is still quite flexible.
Plastic welding kit. You will use this more than you think, especially if you have kids.
Hey VP, thanks again. I had no idea that such a tool existed. Those hot staples look as though they'd be perfect on my panels. Thanks again.
Originally Posted by FuzzFace2
Nice repair I did a quick repair on my 81 door panels as I was going to replace them ......... that was over 6 years ago
You know the real reason the panel(s) crack like that?
You pull on the arm rest to close the door and that is only to the panel and not the door from the looks of it.
If you could make a bracket that comes out from the door to the door panel / arm rest and put a screw or 2 through the rest / panel into the bracket this would not happen.
Dave ----
Hey there, Fuzz. I was thinking of new product to solve this issue. It would ride that ridge above the opening for the door handle, and attach at either screw. It could be stamped out of sheet metal with a 90* ridge from one screw to the other to stiffen it up. Wanna invest?
Originally Posted by tbear853
On the OEM, you're actually pulling on the pocket or finger cup that is recessed into the arm rest, (they were red plastic on my '77 but they never cracked on mine like I've seen, but many are black steel) and are two screws that go through them, through a plastic piece seen in the photos, and into a steel "L" shape bracket that is bolted to the door steel. Obviously, there is some flex allowing some straining of the door panel as my panels did have the same cracks he fixed.
Is a nice fix that F-250 restorer applied there.
Hey tbear. Well, note to self: Always ck both panels before deciding to repair. Ouch. The second panel is in worse shape than the first. Had I seen and evaluated it before doing the first, I'm not sure I would have repaired the first.
I have the missing pieces. Looks like my dog got hungry. I have this missing piece too. I think the guy who installed my stereo and speakers really did a job on this panel. Note the crack through his epoxy. I have this missing piece as well.
I used super glue to 'tack' the pieces into place. Tomorrow I'll make steel plates to reinforce the breaks, drill some ooze holes in them, and imped them in epoxy. Hopefully it will hold. I too have steel finger cups, but at some time I think the truck may have had plastic cups that cracked/broke and cause extensive damage. You know, during the work I found the FORD stamp on the underside metal of one of the arm rests. It made me happy to be using oem parts.
Today I ordered the oe pad that sits behind the panels. I thought that I'd use the pads as a template on the paper that is used as a vapor barrier behind tile showers. It should work here since it has a tin tar layer.
Last edited by F-250 restorer; Jan 5, 2026 at 06:58 PM.
Hey tbear. Well, note to self: Always ck both panels before deciding to repair. Ouch. The second panel is in worse shape than the first. Had I seen and evaluated it before doing the first, I'm not sure I would have repaired the first.
OUCH! I'm sorry, saddest part is all the time and work and not knowing if the fix is gonna be a long lasting fix.
My recent foray into rehabbing my OEMs started because I had forgotten the damage done, and thought they were reasonably sound. As I got into them, I started finding cracks I didn't find before, was enough I gave up and put them away. I have them where they would serve to cover the metal, even look good doing it, and make decent arm rests .... but the next pull to shut the door might be the one to bust one again. Was primarily why I put them away, they would have needed to be used with separately mounted pulls to pull them shut with new seals, etc. That even after solving the attachment issue to my satisfaction.
[img alt="I marked my push pins locations with tape, so I didnt push anywhere but directly on the pins.
Rich has some nice posts about which ones worked best. "]https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20260102_121947_281eee3edc274823083d0b49682944fb5c 83d64c.jpg[/img] I marked my push pins locations with tape, so I didnt push anywhere but directly on the pins. Rich has some nice posts about which ones worked best. I found these ones to work well.
You might want to make a metal brace to reinforce the plastic piece where the finger cup screws in.
Hey nutter3, thanks for all the info and what looks to be great fasteners. At this point I'm not sure how to proceed. I may patch this panel. Once it is hung, you can't see the cracks, and I think I can get a few more years out of it.
I checked on LMC and Jeff's Bronco graveyard. Both have new sets for about $200, but with tx and shipping the cost climbs to near $300!
Or, I may order a set of $129 cheapo's —no shipping—from amazon. That would mean having to either do without, swap over, or buy new tweeters for the new panels.
Later on: I cut the metal and applied JB weld, after sanding and cleaning with laquer thinner. Spread with epoxy, stuck in metal, spread over metal with epoxy. Once mounted, it'll look brand new, nearly.
I didn't think I needed to brace the panel where the two screws for the finger cup go through because they screw into a metal brace on the door.
Last edited by F-250 restorer; Jan 6, 2026 at 05:38 PM.
