fixing door cards

[spydervx]

My spyder series 1 / 2 brown tan door cards have always been distorted and the top "hooks" lift away from the slots on the inner top face of the door when the pull handle fixings are tightened up.

Has anyone else experience and / or solutions to this problem.

I would prefer not to have to mechanically fix the panel to the door with screws that are visible from the interior.

Any thoughts are appreciated

thanks

Spydervx

[HFStuart]

I had this  - the only way to fix it for good is to remake the door panel. If you're careful you can prise out the staples and peel back the covering + foam to leave just the board. The board can then be used as a template for a new one - I used ply and varnished it so it's waterproof. Before you put the cover back on you can repair any tears in the dark brown with brown insulating tape on the inside - it's almost a perfect colour match !

When putting it back 6mm capive (AKA cage) nuts work well to hold the door handle in place and Delta trim clips hold the panel much more firmly than the old ones. You might just try this with your original panel before resorting to re making it but I suspect it will still pull away.

BTW There is one fixing screw that's visible on all the betas I've seen - right in the corner near the mirror.

Regards,

[MattNoVAT]

I too had them remade, as the hardboard backing "blows" once it gets wet.  The importance of ensuring the plastic covers that sandwich between the card and the panel are the key to stopping this from happening in the future.  Also keeping your drain holes in the door clear too.

I had mine remade by a car trimmer for £100 but that was back in 1998/99 (ish) - well worth it though.

[spydervx]

thanks guys, very useful feedback.

I have a spare set of cards but not a lot of cash at the moment so will start with these and see if I can fabricate as HFStuart.  If not will approach the trimmers.

Thanks

Spydervx

[TonyLanciaBeta]

a couple of years ago my door cards became very loose, all the clips lost their grip

I found replacing the old Beta ones with Delta clips held much better, you need to remove the small plastic sockets on the doors as the new clips are a larger diameter

the Fiat part number was 14191280 cost me 10p per clip
I'm sure they should still be available from Fiat ?

[spud]

Really old thread I know but always relevant I feel. I can confirm the Fiat part number 14191280 (thanks TonyLanciaBeta!) does still exist because I've just bought some for my VX door cards which I'm remaking in 4mm plywood before retrimming them. There are 7 on each door card so I ordered 30 to allow a few extra for the rear 'cards' (which are rigid plastic incidentally) and to have some spare for the ones I lose/break. I can confirm they are indeed a perfect fit directly into the door holes and, although I haven't actually fitted them yet, I can tell they will have a very firm grip so even if you're not remaking your cards and just want to refix your loose cards to your doors they will pull them back into shape nicely.

Andrew.