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  View original topic: Door panels and clips alternative solution?
Fredrok Wed Jul 29, 2015 2:15 pm

Hi all,

Tired of battling the door clips that always pop out, pull through the trim panel, etc and exploring options. I have a few ideas on what I might try but hoping someone has come up with a brilliant solution that will save burning what few brain cells I have thinking about it. My '64 currently has the clips so I'm guessing these screws would be too small for the current holes? http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211863615

The panel bends aren't perfect and I know that contributes to the issues I'm having shown in the pics but surely someone has experienced same and come up with an acceptable solution?

Thanks for any input!


curtis4085 Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:17 pm

Buy NOS panel clips and bend the tabs out slightly before install and you should be good to go.

I have noticed that rotating the clips will move the position of the head from side to side.

Fredrok Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:15 am

Thanks Curtis. So the nos are better/different than the repros? That may solve my issue of them popping out but I'll still need to come up with a solution for some kind of larger face where the panel is pulling through....

Clara Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:22 am

I have a combination of used og and repro clips on the door panels of my daily driver kombi. A few (maybe 4 or 5 of 60 including one on the rear hatch ) have popped out. The ones that came out were repros. The ogs stayed. The og clips have a longer neck before the shoulder, by just a tiny bit. But the rear hatch panel it wasn't about a fat panel, as the wood was thinner, it was just the tangs of the clip.

After carefully bending the tangs apart a tad and re- installing the clips have stayed in place, even with some unpaved road driving.

nos type 3 clips are not the same as nos type 2 clips. type3 clips have shorter necks IIRC.

Bay clips are same as splitty 64-67 clips

Fredrok Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:26 am

Thank you tons Clara, I appreciate the clarafication. On the hunt!

rebapuck Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:53 am

What is the best way to bend those panels?

Clara Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:22 pm

rebapuck wrote: What is the best way to bend those panels?

The cab door panels? They bend as you install them.

PEPPE Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:30 am

it is better to shape them before glueing the vinyl. the repro panels are made of very cheap material and does not withstand the abuse that takes the stock panel. the screw (or clip) can't make too much force on the panel, or panel will disintegrate.

Clara Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:10 am

PEPPE wrote: it is better to shape them before glueing the vinyl. the repro panels are made of very cheap material and does not withstand the abuse that takes the stock panel. the screw (or clip) can't make too much force on the panel, or panel will disintegrate.
I don't understand this advice. Maybe it depends on where you get the panels. Maybe some panels rip up, but the panels I made and installed in my 66 kombi years ago are fine. Just a bit dirtier than when new.

Ditto for the panels in my 56 westy, the door panels are screwed on, and did not rip.

Cab doors have a gentle curve, and no pre-curving of the panels is needed before gluing on vinyl or before installing. I recommend that you start by installing the door handle on the cab door panel. Then start fastening the door panel at the back of the door, and gradually work towards the front. back, top, bottom edges working towards the front. I alternate top and bottom fasteners while working forward. You need to make sure you arrange he panel squarely with the door. Push the panel into the bend and hold it there with your hand while you attach the fasteners in the bent area.
Don't try to make it take the bend by screwing in the screw.
Don't do the screw in the bend first.
With the clips it goes pretty fast. :D
This is freshly installed:

Clara Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:13 am

Fredrok wrote: Hi all,


This looks to me like the glue was used sparingly on the vinyl, so it is not actually glued to the board where the clip is.
There is a gap between the panel board and the vinyl. The fastener looks like it is tearing through the vinyl.

zozo Thu Mar 22, 2018 10:06 am

Clara wrote: This looks to me like the glue was used sparingly on the vinyl, so it is not actually glued to the board where the clip is.
There is a gap between the panel board and the vinyl. The fastener looks like it is tearing through the vinyl.

THAT is my chief complaint about TMI panels. The vinyl isn't glued to the entire board, so it puffs out in places, especially at that bend. It seriously bugs the hell out of me. The front door panels are the only aftermarket panels in my bus, and they stick out like a sore thumb.

PEPPE Thu Mar 22, 2018 10:23 am

Clara, if i remeber well, some years ago i installed some of your roof panels you sold to a friend here, and they were good quality. i was not so lucky with other ones. thin material and very sensible to humidity. i've seen however also some other ones, that were robust and sturdy but they were not so prone to bend, so pre-bending was needed. difficult to find perfect aftermarket ones, and at the moment importing from usa is not so cheap.

crofty Thu Mar 22, 2018 10:57 am

You should bend all the clips before you install. All of the aftermarket panels are just a bit thicker than the originals. I still have a set of the tarboard WW panels and even those are a bit thicker .

Fredrok Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:20 am

I ended up installing nutserts, then slipping a washer in between the vinyl and trim panel because of the larger panel hole, screwing the panel to the nutsert and then gluing the top of the original clip to the screw head so it matches the rest. The only pics I took at the time are here but conveys the idea.

I'm not home to get a complete "after" picture but it's a permanent solution and aside from the slightly raised area where the washer is under the clip head, looks as it should.





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azbob Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:27 am

I just did my door panels and the SOBs are constantly popping off. So annoying.

Was thinking I may need to go the same route with some nutsert and glue but after reading this thread I'm thinking I'll break off the aftermarket ones and use my old ones first.

junichi Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:51 am

Fredrok wrote: Thank you tons Clara, I appreciate the clarafication. On the hunt!

Are we really letting this apt pun go unnoticed? If i had a nickel for everytime i learned something useful from a post by Clara....

Not to hijack the thread, but thanks to Clara for all your awesome contributions on this site.



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