Tonesc5

Mine does not stay attached on the top it pulls away , this fix is not the fix to my problem or is it ? this seems like a side to side movement fix>?

jjamis

My door panel pulled away at the top rear and this fixed it. It is a 1994 coupe.

thomaskh

Is there any supplier out there? Corvette Central, Mid America, Ecklers etc that would put this in a kit form for C 4 owners.

Sounds like it would be a good product for "Made in America, fixed in America."

Railroadman

I had this old thread bookmarked for the day I got around to doing mine. Since this is a common problem it won't hurt to bring it back to life.

Looking in from the end with a penlight I see a couple ribs which are cracked and can be repaired by this method. However there are a couple others which are broken at the very bottom of the rib where it joins the plane of the door panel proper.

Any suggested magic for that issue, or time to buy replacement panels?

scranage

If anyone is ambitious enough to do the CAD work for those brackets I can cut the parts out on my plasma table.

Railroadman

And I'd be interested in a set! Unfortunately I'm not CAD literate!







There are people who drive a Corvette, and there are Corvette People. There is a difference.

corvette95

how are these repairs holding up for those that have tried this?

Vette Jockey

I do not know how to do the CAD work either, but I did make templates of my '95 Roadster and transfered them on to paper. Will that help?

mrmtrtrnd

lcvette

I had new weather stripping installed on my 94 auto, and sure enough when i got the car back both doors weren't connected at the top. i figured they just missed how to reinstall it but now i am guessing the ribs are borken from when they removed the panels. looks like i will be giving this repair a shot as well!

Thanks for the pictures and all the responses!

Chris

F22

If the ribs are truly broken, then the aluminum bonding repair is going to help. If they aren't broken, you might try this fix first, as it is my observation that the weatherstripping itself is the cause of the 'loose door panel' problem on late C4's. The weatherstripping terminates on top of the door on both the forward section and rear section of the door. Take a look for yourself, there are two huge chunks of rubber sitting on top of the door and you can cut most of it away, so that the door panel can come down.

Also, the late C4's didn't have screws on the bottom of the door panel, but plastic xmas tree (push-in) style fasteners. They bend upward, from the force of the rubber chunks on top of the door pushing the panel up, allowing the door panel to pop up. Also the late C4's didn't have the screw on the backside or sill part of the door, like the early C4's did. I cut the rubber chunks down to a minimal size without removing the door, then put a screw on the back side, where the tab is and I've had no problems since.

Check out this thread

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...nel-fix-2.html

jjamis

I did the rib repair and it is holding up fine.

Timmah!

This is working like a charm. I've been annoyed by the doors on my 94 for a long time now. one down, one to go. Thanks for posting this!

BucfanTitan

I know this is an older post, and I hope the creators of this wonderful fix are still around. When I go to home depot to look for the aluminum is there a certain thickness I should be looking for? What do I use as a cutting tool? Also would a thin sheet of plywood work or thin starboard. Both cut really easy/shape well or not strong enough?

Thanks!!

Klyde

On an additional note the earlier C4's had a screw half way up the end of the door that stopped the panel from traveling upward. This helped to keep it hooked on the upper edge. On my 96' the fiberglass extension is still there but they no longer install the screw. After installing the "L" bracket fix I also installed a black push in panel plug into the area that originally had a screw. My panel now stays in place and so far no problems. Here is a pic of the additional panel plug.

Vette Jockey

I talked to an engineer that dealt in epoxy and fasteners. He told me to get JB Weld that had the longest curing time. This would make it stronger when it had cured. I took the JB and put it in the rib plastic where it had cracked. I then took some duct tape (putting something underneath the tape to protect the finish) to compress the crack.

I had previously cut out aluminum strips to match the ribs. I put the JB weld on the sides of the ribs and slapped the aluminum on the side of the ribs and let it cure. To be sure, I let it cure for two days. This was overkill, it worked. The aluminum does not have to be real thick if it is supported by epoxy. I used strips I cut with shears. Somewhere I have pictures. If I find them I will post. I hope this helps.

nwalker

I realize this is an old thread, but I have a question.

I have 2 '96 C4's. One has NO issues with the door panels, but on one of them, the driver panel pops off every time I close the door, whether from the inside OR the outside.

I have been able to determine that there are NO broken ribs. If repairing broken ribs is the solution, what do I do if no ribs are broken? This is the ONLY thing wrong with this otherwise wonderful car, and it's driving me CRAZY!

antfarmer2

On my 94 I drilled two holes jus under the door sweep at a slight angle and put in two 2" screws to hook the door frame one front and back of the pad can not see them and works great been six years.