Man, I hate this problem.

The main, upper bolt that secures the passenger's side arm rest to the upper part of the door panel (semi-close to the top of the door) has stripped. Specifically, the insertion point where on the door part itself is refusing to allow the hex bolt to thread.

Is there an easy way to fix this? I still have the bolt that goes at the top of the arm rest and I would like passengers to have something to hold onto tightly when riding with me.

 

Yes, you can repair it pretty easy. Remove the dorr panel and just weld the hole closed, then drill a new starter hole for the same bolt. I had to do this on my old '77 TA.

 

Ugh! Would a larger bolt work?

Long shot, I know...

 

If I remember correctly that piece is held in place by one or two rivets. Go to a junkyard and get another one, drill the rivets from the old one and rivet the new one in. Very quick and very easy to do.

 

It looks like the bolt is actually a part of the interior side of the door. Do I have to remove the cloth liner and all that? I'm sure it's obvious I've never taken the door apart.

 

Get the door panel off and it's painfully obvious how to fix it. It only takes a few minutes to get the door panel off, so stop procrastinating and do it already!