So I thought that over the winter I'll get a couple of very minor door dings removed from my 914. I've never removed a door panel myself but I'm questioning whether the bigger risk is having a very careful novice like me remove them or leave it to the guy doing the pdr work? Really don't want to find the door cards or clips messed up because of someone not being terribly careful. Who's more likely to ef it up....me or them?

Also looking for recommendations for great per guy in Atlanta.

Thanks

Sometimes the clips break because as they get old, they get brittle. They are easily replaced. But let the pdr guy do it and watch him. If he's good, he's probably done quite a few similar. But if he breaks a few, don't panic. If you want old ones, just call guys like Garold or bdstone, they have probable held aside a few dozen from cars they've parted.

We had a pdr guy come and do a couple cars in the shop. He really did work magic. He had a good eye.

There are a couple sources for the plastic clips, so don't worry about sacrificing a few.
My panels were a bit warped, so I epoxy,fiberglassed some new inner skins for them, so won't need to use plastic film as a moisture barrier.

914rubber has the door panel clips. I just got new panels from them and got the set with the kit I am linking to here.

http://shop.914rubber.com/Porsche-914-Door...m?categoryId=-1

I concur with mepstein, the PDR guys are magicians.

If your going to try and pull the door card yourself :
Now that I'm a professiona1 take apart guy. My only words of wisdom is get close to the clips before you unsnap them. Like mepstein said, some will break, SOP. What you don't to do is tear up the hole in the door card.
The yellow arrow shows the part that screws into the door card. The fiberboard in the door cards sometimes get soft (breakdown) from moisture over the years.
Click to view attachment
Photo stolen from 914Rubber

I've removed several door panels from various cars over the years but even with very careful use of semi-rigid plastic tools, a few at the front lower corners pulled through both panels. The culprit was large holes cut for speakers with no backing plate or vapor barrier behind them. In the past I was able to successfully repair the fiberboard holes to hold new clips with epoxy or polyester resin although several hardening glues would do the job, probably with less effort and mess.

Thanks. Appreciate the opinions, guys. I suspected the view might be to let the PDR guy do it. I'll likely do that although I may take an hour some Saturday and check out the door card to see if I have the nerve to give it a shot. The panel has been off before as the original owner replaced a window regulator himself. I'll let you know how it goes.

Steve

Steve,

I've got a spare set of new door panel clips from 914Rubber and nylon tools that I used to pull mine. Since we're around the corner from each other let me know if you decide to do this some Saturday. Happy to lend a hand and say hi in person vs. a wave from a bike!

Also, let me know if you find a good PDR guy in town. I've been trying to too. Last guy recommended to me was a no-show and it turned out he was in jail... so yeah, looking for someone else...!

Oh, and I have my car on the road! So watch out for another red 'teener in Buckhead.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. I appreciate the offer. I likely won't get to this for another month or two but I'll keep you in mind. I did find a place up in alpharetta that seems to have good reviews. Link below. I may check them out.

Glad you got the car on the road. We'll have to organize a get together sometime in the spring.

Steve

http://www.dentsdings.com/testimonials/

Hi guys,

I need some new door panel clips, and can see the link here to 914rubber to get some.

Question: Do these clips fasten straight into the holes in the door itself, or do I also need plastic receivers in the door too?

Thanks!

This is what you need James.

https://shop.914rubber.com/Door-Panel-Cup-S...-914DPCUP18.htm