Evolution of doors and locks - I'm stuffed and I did it to myself

[Greg D.]

Back when I had my 69 restored, the original doors were beyond salvaging. I acquired a pair on doors from a 67 on the cheap, thinking that all that stuff just matched up... Well I was wrong, and I need your help sorting out this mess now...

What I have is a 69 with 67 painted doors, so I'm leaning towards keeping them at this point, although honestly they don't fit all that well anyway, they seem too short in length to produce nice gaps. So I got slightly big gaps, but I can live with that... Except the interior is a nightmare...

The 69 door panel holes do not match the door half the time, in fact I acquired a 67 door panel to compare, and it's (like the door) a bit shorter than the 69 I have. Hmm... Holes for clips are in different spots or non existent on the 67, which uses metal clips vs plastic on the 69. I guess I'll template the door and redrill / reupholster the 69 panels as they look nicer than the 67s...

The arm rest/door handle/opener mounting points do not match either... Of course they don't... So I bought a set of 67 openers/arm rests, only to find out they were sold without the button. Bought that too... I was pretty happy with that solution until I realized that the unlock mechanism (from my 69) is reversed. It opens by pulling on the mechanism, 67 appear to open while pushing on it... I thought I'd be clever and flip the mechanism it upside down ! That works....until you try to mount the 67 arm rest, which now does not clear the mechanism... $#$$#%#$%

Anyhow, I'm completely screwed on those doors... The car is NOT for show, this one is my wife's slight outlaw 912 with less intrinsic value. What do you suggest is the best route now? Will 67 mechanisms do the trick? I was tempted to buy new panels and start afresh but Appbiz appears not to sell them anymore... Just a template.. I don't care about pockets, I wouldn't mind even a pull strap RS style, if I can make this work with this system... I can always resell the 67 door armrest/handles on ebay (I'll keep the 69s as spares for my 72 911 assuming they are the same, I'm careful now)...

Pictures to explain the mess better





Here I flipped the unlock mechanism but now it won't clear






I guess the best solution at this stage would be to buy 2x 69 doors and get them repainted to match, but that is the most expensive solution of all... I just finished restoring my 72 911 so funds are tight...

[304065]

SWB parts on a LWB will stick out like a sore thumb

I would go with the 69 doors before they get MORE expensive, and you don't have to modify your 69 door panels for SWB, destroying them in the process.

Good, dry 67 doors without rot in the bottom seam are worth having, I would offer them for sale or trade for a pair of 69s.

[mike curnow]

Greg
All the long hood doors are the same size. They are hand fitted at the factory, and you might have had the misfortune to get doors at the short end of the tolerance. The interior panels can be made to fit by drilling extra holes. I know this is so because I have done it. Also doors are usually not very expensive. I see them at around $150.00 each. I you want send me your phone number and we can kick it around.

Mike

[Greg D.]

Well, it's complicated... My 69 door panels aren't original either, but they were made from a template I guess and used to fit a 69 door well. Sadly I already got those reupholstered at no small cost, but I did not check fitment on the new doors before sending them in, so they are not good for the 67 unless I peel off some areas and redrill holes in the panel for plastic clips. That's not the awful part, although it better be precise... The kicker is inside, I'm just not sure which way to go on the interior hardware... I need those doors to open ;-) I can put an RSR (?) long leather strap but it seems those go through an opening in the door which will have to be drilled and cut out too, my 67 door has an embossed area that looks like it'd be the target, but I'm not sure... and it might look funny to have a strap with an accompanying inside door handle (as normally those are what you use to open the door). Yes I've cut those openings for the pivot already... Ugh... Sounds like a pull strap or a whole set of 69+ doors + repaint and refit. .. I admit I never liked how those fit the car anyway, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise, and I need to look for LWB doors. Are those all the same, at least ? Or is there another cutoff where holes/mounting points move around again ? If anyone can vouch for a set, I'd be more comfortable than doing Ebay, you never know what you are gonna get... Like you guys said I can sell perfect 67 doors now, in slate grey no less, to recoup the cost.