Anyone know a source for the cardboard backer for the door panels? I have the upholstery, but no backer board.

 

http://www.perfectfit.com/154533/pro...anelboard.html
Looks like they are out of stock. I was going to use what they call Luan. It's pretty thin and is actually wood.

 

Thanks for the quick response. -I suppose I should've mentioned that I was looking for them precut with the perforations for the cut outs on our cars. From what I can tell that's not offered anywhere.

 

Check with Hawks, I got a set of bare panels through them when I made new door panels and they worked great.

 

Yeah pretty sure nobody makes them precut. They look to be pretty easy to make if you have an old one for a pattern. I was going to make my own as mine were shot. I found a set from a member on here for a good price so I went with those instead.
.

 

The boards I got from Hawks were pre-cut with all the holes and openings needed for the particular car you have. They came from the company that makes the reproduction door panels Hawks sells.
I just called them and asked if I could get a set without upholstery since I was making a custom design and they handled the rest. Had them in about 2-3 weeks since they were drop shipped from the
company.

 

https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/cam...w-replacement/

 

No kidding, that's good to know! ...I may give them a call. ...not sure I wanna wait 3 weeks, but I certainly would like 'em precut.

 

Masonite is cheap. I've got some heavy dense cardboard around here somewhere from an upholstery shop. I myself would be tempted to consider something synthetic and waterproof, like Coroplast or ABS. Can't see much reason to use a cardboard like the factory, that will just have the potential of warping when it absorbs moisture (also like OE). Cutting the shape and openings is easy enough - Forstner bits, hole saws, scroll saws, jig saws. I'd have to work a lot harder and buy a lot more lucky scratch off's to pay Hawk's prices than it'd take me to fabricate something from nothing.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-ABS-P...53.m2749.l2649

Something like this might work good for them. I ordered some of this to repair my console. Havn't got it yet though.

 

The cardboard does work well though and it's easy to work with. ....sure moisture can eventually warp them, but at least in my case, that's not too big of an issue. No DD anymore for me!

 

WOW! $229 and $39 to ship those backs! A $12 piece of Luan is a good deal!

 

Yeah....I called Hawk's and didn't even bother after I heard the price.

 

So I got a piece of this today so I can repair the top of my console. This stuff would work great for door panels. it's light and flexible and just thick enough. They do make it in different thicknesses if you want it a little heavier..And for a 24" x 48" piece it's only $29

 

I'm shocked. Nay, I'm outraged. This is preposterous and unheard of! Everyone knows Hawk's is the first stop for unbeatable deals!

 

I used the stuff that looks like corrugated plastic that they use for signs. It's inexpensive, fairly strong and any industrial sewing machine can sew through it. You can also cut it with a razor blade. It's waterproof so you don't have to reuse that clear tarp on the inside and this won't warp. Only downside I found was that glue doesn't hold to it as well as cardboard version.

 

Usually Coroplast is coated in something akin to a mold release that will inhibit things like glue, paint, etc from sticking. Carefully, no really, carefully wave a propane torch over the surface briefly and you can see the top layer of **** flash off. Usually after that it'll take glue/paint better. Optionally hit it with a cleaner, then rough it up a little with fine sandpaper to give it some tooth, and it should bite a little better.

 

Interesting, thank you

 

If you have a good auto upholstery supply in town, check with them. They may have the cardboard in generic sheets,
that you will have to cut to fit your specific application. But be aware, that's pretty tough material, that will take some
effort to make cuts in.

There's a good link in another thread below.

Good luck.

 

2nd the local upholstery supply or shop... I brought custom materials to the local shop and they ordered the cardboard backing, had varying thicknesses too....

 

https://www.automotiveinteriors.com/...-p/cowl-dp.htm

Looks like 30 bucks.

 

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this yet, but some of the original door panel backers aren't actually cardboard (like the GTA). They're made from high density compressed wood fibre. Not cheap, but they do a much better job of deadening road noise vs ABS, cardboard or other plastic extrusions like coroplast.

Unfortunately, the German company that used to make them for GM was purchased back in the late 90's and shut down a few years later. The hawks panels, while less affordable than most expect and instead made of high density card, are the closest reproductions on the market for the moment. Anything lighter will work, but it won't be nearly as quiet.

 

I purchased DP's from hawk's YEARS ago, and that's the material they used as a backer. Aparently the same stuff they still use....or rather, the company who MAKES them for Hawk's still uses. ...and that happens to be the same material I have recently cut to make my new door cards. -and I agree it's not really cardboard. Definitely some sort of press boards. Wood, paper, ehhhhh I dunno. The old ones held up pretty well.

 

The 91 Firebird door panel sitting here next to me is most definitely a heavy paper board. When you get an edge that's been wet, it delaminates in layers of paper. Just put the door panels back on the 87 Iroc the other day, they're the same kind of paper board as the Firebird. While I've seen some wood based paper sorta crap in a thirdgen interior, it's mostly been limited to the speaker covers on earlier thirdgens. All the door panels I ever recall laying hands and eyes upon were a heavy cardboard, dense not corrugated nor fibrous.

As far as noise abatement, I think a person would be further ahead to use a good moisture barrier on the inside of the door before installing the panel. Beyond that it makes a world of difference to solidify the doors themselves. The factory applied adhesive between the upper door structure that provides support for the mirrors and door handle, and between the impact bar and the door skins. I've lost count of how many thirdgen doors I've been into recently only to find most of that adhesive has gotten brittle and cracked up, falling to the bottom of the door. Simply going into the door and reapplying a modern adhesive tightens up the door immensely and gets rid of the rattly drumming effect.

 

What kind of adhesive would you recommend ? I need to do this on my doors at some point.

 

I used 3M NVH 04274. It comes in one of their Duramix style 2-part epoxy tubes that requires an applicator, and has a consistency like windshield urethane. It doesn't expand much, and once the two parts mix in the applicator, it doesn't run much at all. Hardest part is getting the end of the applicator tip inside the door and where you want it without running into the window regulator and door latch/lock rods. I just took a roughly 6" long hard plastic tube, and shoved it on the end of the applicator, then taped it on with electrical tape to keep it from falling off. Worked decent, considering I was working in a driveway with just daylight, and the door 98% assembled. On the passenger's door I didn't even remove the moisture barrier, just peeled the top and folded it down to about the mid point so I could get in the door. Working time is about an hour, and it cured to the touch in a few hours, requires overnight to cure completely.

I'm sure there are other products that would work just as well. 3M has at least two foams that expand a bit, a softer and a harder foam. Most of the usual suspects (Lord Fusor, SEM, etc) probably all offer something that would do the job. I went with the 3m NVH for the working time (slow) and the low expansion, because I knew it'd take me awhile to do both doors, and I didn't want anything that would make too much of a mess or potentially bulge the door skin out.

Check out the "door rattles" thread if you're going to be in the doors. Also take a look at the thread I posted a while back on window bumpers and random rattle fixes. I still need to go back and make some updates now that I've (hopefully) finished rebuilding one pair of doors. Some things I tried worked better than others.

- https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...servation.html
- https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...p-bumpers.html

 

Great info, thanks.