Door Card Replacement

How to remove and replace old door cards:

I was unsatisfied with my door cards. They are in decent shape, however I feel like they are heavy, and since I’m stripping the rest of my interior for weight savings, I figured the door cards were the next thing to go. Removal is very straightforward. There are 7 bolts in total that hold the cards on to the door frame.

Bolt # Location
1 Door handle
2 & 3 Arm rest cup
4,5,6   Bottom of door ( hidden in fuzzy area)
7 Near door hinges (covered with plastic cap)

 

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The first step is to remove the window turn handle. To do this, insert a thin rag (I used a t-shirt edge) around the handle and move it back and forth, this will cause the lock-pin to pop out. Then the handle can be pulled off.

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Now, remove the 7 bolts and pull the door card from the door frame. There are a few push-pin connectors, so the card should pop out. This will expose the door frame, a plastic weather-seal will be the first thing you see. I pulled this off as I will be replacing it with a new seal (as you can see, mine was damaged anyway).

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Next, I made a template for the new door cards which will be made from thin polycarbonate sheet. To make a template I used cheap foam board. Double sided tape was used to hold the board in place on the door while I cut around the edges. A hole for the door handle as well as the window handle were cut out. In addition, I cut out a 6.5 inch hole for new speakers which I will be installing. As you can see, some of the metal door frame will need to be cut out for the speaker to fit. At the top, I will be using soft foam (cut-up pool noodle) between the door card and the window pane. This area is where I like to rest my arm when the window is down, so soft padding is a must. For the actual door card, the foam will be bolted down using angle brackets, but for now it is just held in-place by tape.

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