Mid Year (66) Door Panels

[Ron Still]

Hi all,
I am running into a problem trying to install my new door panels (purchased from Al Knoch several years ago). Everything lines up fine except for the hole for the shaft on the lock mechansism. The rear of the panel sits about 1/4" too high. It looks as though the SS trim piece on the panel whisker is maybe too long. It's hitting the top of the metal door frame where it butts at the rear of panel. I looked at my original panels and the SS Trim piece is actually bent upwards, like the panel was forced down into place. I have adjusted the lock mechanism in the door to the highest position but it's not enough. Is the SS trim supposed to overlap the door frame, go under it or just butt of to it? Should I trim the SS (how?) or file edge of door frame? Anyone run into this problem before??

Thanks for any help. I posted this on the crpl site last week but didn't get any responses.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels

Picture? Might be able to help if you post a photo....

[Ron Still]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

Tim,
Here are some pictures....I hope I did this right!!

Ron

[Ron Still]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

Looks like the picture deal didn't work.......I have them at www.imagestation.com/album/2id=2135454737 I'm new at this digital camera/ uploadpictures to the web stuff!!!

Hey John Hinckley, can you teach me how to do this!!

Thanks all for your patience....

Ron

[John H.]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

Ron -

Apparently your photo site doesn't allow direct external linking from another site - most free sites don't allow that; if you right-click on the red "x" and click on properties, then cut-and-paste the URL it shows into your browser window and "go", your photo shows up. The URL in the hyperlink in your second post has a typo in it - the "2" after "album/" should be a "?", which is why it takes you to an error page on your site (even when it's correct, it doesn't work either, as your photo site won't accept an external site link). Time to find another hosting site that allows external direct linking.

[Ron Still]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

John,
Thanks for the tutorial. Any suggestions as to where to find a "Hosting site" that allows external direct linking?

Ron

[John H.]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

Ron -

I use Village Photo (www.villagephotos.com); they allow direct external linking for free accounts, with some daily bandwidth limitations. I have a "pay" account for $3.50/month that has storage up to 2500 images and unlimited daily access bandwidth, including eBay auction photo linking. Try the free account first, and you can upgrade to any of several levels if you want to with a couple of mouse clicks.




Village Photo Hosting Site

[Wayne W.]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

Back to the original question. These things have been a pain in the A$$ for many years. There is no excuse for companies like Al Knoch to continue to produce this stuff that will not fit without extra ordinary effort. As long as people buy them and dont complain, nothing will ever be done. And, then, nothing will probably be done, but you will feel better about yourself for trying. These panel have many inherent problems. The makers know what they are, but are unwilling to make the necessary changes as a rule. I have had many of a discussion with them over the years about the fitment of their panels, and they continue to be very inconsistent. Most have the problem that you describe and most are so thick and hard that you cant get the crank handles and bezels on them. So call them, complain, and see if you can get something that fits.

[Ron Still]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

Wayne,
Happy to hear it's not just me!I put the old one on to see how it fits and it's fine. The repro seems very stiff. I will contact Al Knoch and see what they say. I have run into this problem with parts more than once, buying them and not using for several years only to find out it's wrong or needs some modification to work. Comparing the original panel to the repro, the upper part that hooks over the inner door panel is different. On the original, its a sharp "V" where the metal is bent, on the repro it's just kind of rounded over and not as deep. Looks like it needs grinding to remove some metal so it will sit lower. Even so, then the trim piece will still contact the door frame. This is a pain in the A**! I wish I could post a picture. I'm out of town for the week, I'll try and get a picture posted next week and get a hold of Al Knoch also. Is there any other mfg making these panels besides Knoch?

Ron

[Wayne W.]

Re: Mid Year (66) Door Panels-Pics

As I said it is a very common problem. I had a set a few weeks ago that I had to do major surgery to in order to make them fit. Well fit is an rather strong term. I finially got them installed, they dont really fit. It was exactly the same problem as you describe and they were also bought some time ago. I hope that they are doing better now, but I dont expect too much.