[nwruby]

We have a 66 gt conv w/pony interior. Holes were cut in the doors for speakers, unfortunately not even the correct location. We would like to have the holes repaired as our mustang originally came stocked with an am radio and thus would not have had speakers in the doors. We don't want to cut the dash to fit an am-8track.

Is there a way of repairing the door and reproducing the texture? We have been told by a couple people that it can't be done and look good and that our only option is to replace the doors.

This seems pretty exteme but we are determined to get the car back to as original as possible. If we do replace the doors can a good body person make them look as if they were original to the car?

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Lemondrop]

You will need some donor doors to get the plugs out of . You may still be able to see it once repaired . There is paint out there that wrinkles but I doubt it will be the same grain as you have . The only other thing you could do is plug the holes with donor door plugs and then grind the welds down smooth and to level and then take something like a engraving pencil to try to match the "grain" .
Like I said you likely will be able to see the repairs . Your other option is to find rust free doors and replace your doors with a donor car's door .
If you decide to not repair your doors and they are fairly rust free , drop me a email I might want to buy them

 

[cpegram]

I've never heard of a way to repair the interior of a door because of the grain...if you weld in a patch you will never get the grain to match right IMHO.
Much easier and probably cheaper in the long run to just buy a pair of rust free replacement doors.

 

[whizco]

If your persistant on keeping your doors, about the only way I see you repairing the lower panels is to find donor doors, and cut the entire lower section out. This would be just above the lower lip where the door panels sit, from the front of the door to the where the door panel starts to go up in the back. At that point I would cut a straight line down and around the bottom of the door about 1" under, and then back to the front. The upper seem would be hidden by the door panel once installed, the front is hardly noticable at all since there is maybe only an inch before it tucks out of sight, the bottom seem will be just that, on the bottom of the door, so unless your looking up at it, you won't see it.

This way you would only have one seam that could be seen under normal circumstances, which would be the one at the back going straight down. And if I recall your pony door lights will probably break up that seem because of where they set. A little more work but, the one visable seem would be easier to disguise than the round patch.

 

[Lemondrop]

Whizco ,
If he found doors good enough for that size of a patch panel Id think he be better off using the donors
That does sound like it would work though , if you found doors that were crushed or something .

 

[whizco]

Exactly, if the rest of the door was in very bad shape, not worth saving, then that is what I would do. As a matter of fact, I may have a drivers door that I would donate to him just for shipping cost. I will have to take a look and make sure it's usable, but if so it's his just for the asking! Don't have the passenger door though ::

 

[yelostang]

Doug's idea is the best. The door lites would hide quite a bit. If it wasn't that original a car with Pony, etc., would have used lower door grilles out of a 67/8.

 

[nwruby]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Looks like my next quest is going to be to find two decent quality doors to replace the currents ones. It doesn't sound like I would be happy with a repair. I am new here and appreciate your help. Thanks again.

 

[b09676]

I had the same problem on both my 66 doors. What I had done was weld a patch over the hole and grind down the weld bead smooth. Then, we decided that it would be impossible to restore the grain (which was worn down almost smooth) so we filled it with a material that I can't remember (bondo?) and then painted it. It looks terrific but of course is not original because it totally lacks the grain. We then had to do the same thing in the rear quarter panel by the window cranks.

 

[b09676]

Talked to my restorer and he told me that he filled the grainy texture with a primer filler and then painted it to match the exterior color (candyapple red).

On the hole in the doors, he fabricated a sheet metal contoured "patch" and then welded it in place, finished off the weld bead, and painted.