Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks I'm having my car painted. I got a quote today which included cutting out the rust spots and patching the old skin, but I'm told the only way to guarantee the rust doesn't return is to replace the entire skin. A few more quick questions: 1. This approach IS better than trying to cut out and patch the rust in the old skins, right? 2. I assume the skins are welded on, so the body shop would have to cut the old skins off and weld the new one's on, right? 3. Should this be a relatively simple job for the body shop? Thanks again.
The 328 skins have the rust proofing on them. I would go with the 328 skins and patch the door handle hole. should not be that difficult for a competent body shop. reassembling the window cables and pulleys are another story, but this is also a good time to clean all the gunk off the pulleys.
I used the area of my door where the 328 had the hole for the handle and used my door as a donor. get the 328 skins that have the larger rectangular hole rather than the indent for the lever itself, its easier to patch. The skin is tacked in places, mainly around the duct scallop of the door, the rest is pinched around the shell. The door locks are also recessed rather than flush mounted like the carbed 308's. The QV has the recessed lock barrel hole like the 328. I left the recess there rather than bugger with the skin to create that small detail that is easily overlooked. I blasted and painted the shells before installing the skins. I also painted the inside lips of the new skins before folding them over the shell. The door skin will also have to be reworked to fit the door opening around the lower rear curve since the quarter is leaded to keep the door gap uniform. This is not an easy job unless you are painting the entire side of the car. My car had a major mismatch in this area, I reworked the lead in the quarters to deal with the door gaps, just be prepared for some grief but in the end the repair is the best it can be and better than new.
Usually all the rust is in the bottom half of the door skin, or if there's any on the top, it's small enough so that it can be blasted out, phosphate treated, & repainted so it won't return. If your rust is in the bottom half of the door, , re-skinning from the trim recess down is another alternative. The bottom half of the door is just a flat sheet that's bowed into place by the door frame when it's installed. Use a flat sheet of either galvanized body repair metal (available from any auto body supply shop), or else (my preference) go to an air conditioning duct company & get a sheet of 18 gauge galvanized duct metal. The duct metal has a heavier galvanizing than body repair metal, & is usually heavier gauge like the OEM door metal. Make a template of the bottom door panel & cut the repair panel oversize enough to crimp around the frame, & allow for a 90 degree bend on the top. The 2 panels are joined together at the bottom of the trim recess. A 3rd option would be to reskin the bottom half with stainless steel! In either case, the material cost is a lot less than a new door skin.
