rs door panels

since all of the door pockets were shot on my 1971s i decided to get a pair of rs door panels from performance products until i win the lottery and can get new pockets.

im not exactly sure about what im supposed to do with what i got: 2 panels, 2 plastic handles that resemple something off a cheap atache case, 2 leather straps and some screws.

from the picture in their catalog i can see where the handles and straps are supposed to go but what opens the door from the inside?

where does the lock button protrude from? do i still use the upper door sill peice (the piece the button goes through)?

The leather strap opens the door from the inside. One end of it must be threaded thru the opening at the rear of the panel and be attached to the latch mechanism inside the door. There is a short little metal post on the latch mechanism where the old heavy wire linkage from your stock inside handle attaches- you put the grommet in the leather strap over this post along with a washer and circlip. Then lead the strap out the door panel (you will probably have to cut the opening in the inside metal door skin for it) and anchor the other end of the strap forward on the outside of the panel with one of the sheetmetal screws. Then when you yank on the strap, it pulls the latch mechanism and opens the door.

Be sure to warn passengers that they should close the door with the fixed handle and not the strap!

HTH,
TT

that occured to me after i posted. thanks for confirming it.

do i still use the upper door piece?
(the one that the lock post goes through)

yes- the upper window sill piece is reused.

tt

Those cheap looking atache handles were the OE door handle pulls on the early Fiat 600. For some reason Porsche found them to be ideal. Cheap plastic= light wieght!

Anybody have a source for the leather straps? I'm assuming the strap material is nearly identical to the rear seat straps. Thanks. -- Curt

im not sure if theyll work but you should be able to make your own. you need to find someone who sells pieces of leather and buy a piece the correct thickness and color. then you can cut it with an drywall knife and straightedge. you can buy a kit to do snaps at a fabric store and its not to hard to hammer them in yourself.

or..... if you arnt that concerned with authenticity: i had a pro auto upholsterer install my carpets and in passing i mentioned my shot rear seat straps. he either made or had on hand this vinyl belt type thing (hard to describe but it looks pretty good. i can send a pic if you want) that he installed with a snap and all.

I've been trying to nail this down for a while now (without much luck). I suspect the door straps might be the same as the jump seat straps (i.e. 23mm wide, 1.5 mm thick, embossed lines along each edge, smooth black on top and sides, natural brown leather on back). For my purposes, I suppose it doesn't really matter. But if I'm going to fabricate them anyway, why not do it as correctly as possible? -- Curt

There is a page with the installation of lightweight door panels at http://members.rennlist.com/rickster...stallation.htm