Door panels and clips alternative solution?

[Fredrok]

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]

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.
_________________
Special Thanks to:
Headflow Masters - Vista, CA
www.headflowmasters.com

[Fredrok]

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]

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]

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

[rebapuck]

What is the best way to bend those panels?
_________________
Judy
1966 Camper "Hannah"
1967 SingleCab "Khady"

[Clara]

[PEPPE]

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]

[Clara]

[zozo]

[PEPPE]

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]

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 .
_________________
Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

[Fredrok]

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.

[/img]

[azbob]

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.
_________________
Bus Builder

[junichi]