Matt Harwood Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I'm working on a bunch of little projects on the Limited this winter and one of the things I'm doing is both replacing all the weather-stripping and adding some sound-deadening to the body. I always liked how the doors on my 1941 Cadillac 60S sedans close: kerCHUNK. Solid. The Limited makes a hollow whapping sound that seems inappropriate for the car. So I need to get in there and add some deadener to the doors. I'll probably also do some on the floor under the carpet and maybe in the trunk, but we'll see if that's just diminishing returns. At any rate, does anyone know how the door panels are affixed in these cars? Nailed? Screwed? Clips? There are obviously no visible fasteners, but before I start prying things apart, I'd like to know what I'm getting into (I'm sure it's the same as all the other Series). Does anyone know or have photos? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Hi Matt My '37 Model 48 had two screws on the lower corners of the door panel. After removing the handles and the window garnish, I used a thin plastic upholstery tool to pop out the hidden clips around the perimeter of the panel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 They are clips. They rust out and you might need new ones. Bob's Automobilia sells all the clips and the tools to clip them, and tools to get the window knobs off and the clips for those knobs too. And the knobs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) My 41 Roadmaster has clips on the edges of the door panels. A couple of screws on the bottom corners, not sure if those are factory correct or if they were added to keep the panels in place. My door panels were off of the car when I got it, and the shop that did the door panels installed replacement clips. Keith Edited January 31, 2018 by Buicknutty (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaflash8 Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) The '39 Special uses nails. Years ago I had door panels off of my 41 Limiteds, but I cannot remember. If you call Doug, won't he or one of his sons tell you for sure? Another guy who would know would be Dave Tachney in Minnesota. Both have Limiteds. I also have used an upholstery shop in Sarasota, FL who equals any of the best and he would know as well. Edited January 29, 2018 by Dynaflash8 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 Thank you, guys. I'll start looking carefully at it before I start prying it apart, but I'm glad it's clips and not nails like my upholsterer thought. I'll keep you posted on how it develops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Just to add to this, nails are often replaced with other fasteners/clips when reattaching the panels. Neither of my 1939's still had nails in all of the door panels. Actually only 2 out of 8 doors still had them. Makes working on them so much easier. They pop right on securely now without much fuss at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaflash8 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 36 minutes ago, 39BuickEight said: Just to add to this, nails are often replaced with other fasteners/clips when reattaching the panels. Neither of my 1939's still had nails in all of the door panels. Actually only 2 out of 8 doors still had them. Makes working on them so much easier. They pop right on securely now without much fuss at all. There is an excellent auto trim company in Sarasota, FL that does almost strictly antique car work....usually high end cars. He built the entire interior in my National Prize winning 1939 Buick Special convertible coupe and he used those clips. I think they are plastic clips. The held perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I am interested in this question, too, since I have to do some work on the doors of my car. When I did some initial poking around, it looked like the panels are held on by serrated nails -- which concerns me since that doesn't seem like the greatest way to do it. The nails are attached to a metal piece, as in this illustration from Bob's catalog: I can't be sure whether these "nails" are the only thing holding the panels on since I haven't completely removed and panels. On my '48 Chrysler, the door panels were held on by spring clips like the kind shown below. Is this what people mean when they are using the term "clips?" I'm a little confused by the terminology being used here since I'm wondering whether some people are using the term "clip" to refer to the nail attached to the metal piece, as shown in the photo from Bob's. Thanks in advance for your help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 The nails are about as good as it gets for a panel designed to never be taken off. They can be hard to deal with. After getting them out, drill the nail holes out and use clips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 41 minutes ago, 39BuickEight said: The nails are about as good as it gets for a panel designed to never be taken off. That's exactly what I was thinking. I may follow your suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 I have replaced the serrated nail clips on two Buicks, one 1948 and one 1953. Bob's sells replacements as described above. If the hole or slot in the inner door skin is too large and the nail does not hold, just place a length of thin heat shrink tubing over the nail, heat it up, let it cool and then push it in to the slot or hole. Generally holds well in my experience. Joe, BCA 33493 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaflash8 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 I may have to deal with this too. My interior is perfect and original. However, I can't get the screws out in order to remove the outside door handles and replace them. I've tried WD-40 and hitting the screwdriver with a hammer. I can''t even get a crack of a turn. My body man told me only a Snap-on screwdriver would work because the shaft is tempered. I don't have one. I've quit because I'm afraid of ruining the slotted screw head. If it comes to drilling, I'm afraid they will ruin the door lock, and if that happens then the door panel has to come off. Does anybody have a better idea of how to get those screws out. In all these years I've never run across any that were so tight. They all would come out of my other cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) I was just at the paint shop this morning and the inner door was getting self-etch prime applied. I took a photo of the nail slots and the holes for the clips: the nails go in the elongated slots and really hold firm. My car had clips inserted into the round holes you see about an inch in from the edge. You may have to lift the nails if your car is original. Bottom of the door. the head sticking up is the plastic interior clip that was used to hold the door panel on. You can see the nail head in the elongated hole. still holding firm. You can see the elongated holes run up the forward edge quite far. Edited January 31, 2018 by Gary W (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 (edited) The Limited may be different, but I got the door panel off the passenger side rear door on my car, and it was secured exclusively by the serrated nails. stuck into slots on the door. See photos, below. Edited February 6, 2018 by neil morse (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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