jusjofok Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Ok guys, before you guys start using that "search" word hear me out. I bought my 72 240 a while back and it is missing the right side door panel completely so I was searching around trying to find one and getting really discouraged when I couldn't find any new replacements (when I say new I mean manufactured in the past few years not NOS) that didn't cost as much as the car. So I got to thinking (I am an engineer after all) of ways to make new ones. I thought of fiberglass, fiberboard and various other materials. Making them in this manner would be fairly economical for making one but that doesn't help out the Z crowd... My thought is to have some thermoformed (plastic) to match the shape of the old ones. I know its not original but I think it would work. I found a place here in town that has the capability and am waiting on correspondence with them to determine cost. So my questions for you guys are: 1. Is there any reason the top metal part of the panel couldn't be molded to the rest of the panel as one piece? 2. If I were to get this rolling is there enough call for them to justify mass production? I am going to post this on another Z forum and am just trying to get a feel for the market. I am not wanting to become a millionaire from this, just want to better the Zed community. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shika805 Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 interested^ let me know what your find out. my door pannels are both missing in my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k14 Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Make sure you mold in a method to attach the inner door "fuzzy". I think that is the metal strip you are asking about. The fuzzy helps hold pressure against the glass when you roll the window up. I have one window on my 260 that will work without the fuzzy, the other window needs that slight pressure from the fuzzy in order to roll up correctly. You might consider molding out of ABS. The stuff is tough, you can get a pebble texture, it forms well, and is available in colors. You could also produce just white and let the customer paint the panels since ABS paints easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown77Z Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I'm interested too ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusjofok Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 k14, I never even thought about having the panels textured, I was thinking of covering them in the same way the originals were. What a great idea! I was considering ABS and one of my dilemma's is finding a glue that will adhere to the ABS as well as the vinyl backing. Now on the metal part I think we are thinking about different things. I am talking about the "L" shaped piece (one long leg about 4" or so and a short piece that tries to make a "u" out of the "L" that is about 9/16") that holds the fuzzy strip and clips over the door material. It also contains the hole for the door lock. I will see if I can get some pictures to help describe things. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 If you do happen to do this please make replacement door panel's for a 2+2 nobody else makes them so if you did you would be ahead of the competition. Another Idea could be is to make a part in the panel for a speaker so you bolt the speaker into the panel and attach the panel to the door and then no more cutting up the door to put speakers in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k14 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Now on the metal part I think we are thinking about different things. I am talking about the "L" shaped piece (one long leg about 4" or so and a short piece that tries to make a "u" out of the "L" that is about 9/16") that holds the fuzzy strip and clips over the door material. It also contains the hole for the door lock. Okay, I remember that piece now. I think Datsun had made it out of steel only because they couldn't form that cheesy masonite panel that they used. As long as you formed the shape, I believe you could make it out of plastic rather than steel. I was considering ABS and one of my dilemma's is finding a glue that will adhere to the ABS as well as the vinyl backing. Is your vinyl backing made out of vinyl, cloth, or a polyester scrim? Exactly what do you need to stick to? Find a good 3M rep and pick his brain. Go to their website and look around. I spent a couple of minutes on their website and found 3M Scotchweld 1099 L that might work. There may be other more affordable contact adhesives also. Do some more research. Best of luck with this project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusjofok Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 19752802+2, I will keep that in mind. I have a 280ZX 2+2 and hate trying to find interior pieces so I feel your pain. On your speaker idea, personally I would feel a lot better about cutting a hole in a panel that wasn't original, especially if you wanted to keep it original looking. If this works out I may look into incorporating a boss to mount speakers in the panels. k14, I am not sure i will be able to mold the shape of the metal piece into the panel due to how I plan to manufacture it. Thermoform can't mold around a corner and back on itself so I will probably end up making the panel so it attaches like the old masonite thing did. I have a few types of vinyl and they are all different but most of it has the polyester backing. I am familiar with the 3M adhesives and will have to determine what material will take the form easiest before I pick an adhesive. There are so many different plastic compounds its hard to pick an adhesive sense they are so specialized. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 jusjofok, funny a 2+2 is rare. couple weeks ago i went to a local pick n pull and pulled the door panels off a z and got all happy because it was still in fair usable condition and not even pay attention. started looking around and rearlize it was a 2+2 like 5 mins later. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konish Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Here in Japan there is a guy making the whole inner door panel out of glass...including the top part of the door panel. His auction shows right and left panels, but it tough to tell if it's for one panel or both (I haven't asked my wife to call yet). My guess is both because here you could get both NOS door panels for $650 and his auction is for $450. I recently approached Pete Robinson to make me 3 sets (min order) of his glass door panels (do a search here, and you'll find them). My plan was (is) to just buy all three sets and re-sell the other 2 sets. I've just been so busy with work I had to put this on hold for a little while. The only thing that keeps me from just pulling the trigger on this deal is that fact that they would need to be finished or covered. Covering them is a small project, but something that *has* to be done prior to being able to finish them, and being without panels for as long as it takes to get them finished and re-hung. Pete's panels are great looking and cheap but there will be an added cost to get them finished. The Japanese FRP panels could at least be finished as desired and hung on the car after they are done (replacing the original panels), or run as-is for a while as they look pretty "finished. A molded ABS panel that has the outline and texture treatment like the original vinyl would for sure get my money. The beauty would be that just a little paint and some chrome pin-striping; you'd be in business right away without requiring a re-cover or destruction of the original panels. If this doesn't pan out, I think I have a plan. I'm moving to Okinawa this summer and Taiwan is *really* close. I was thinking about buying a NOS set of panels and having some vacuum form molds made and having them popped out of ABS. 'Course as always it depends on the cost per unit, initial investment and re-sale potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zip Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I purchased a door panel recovering kit from eBay a few years back. It's was a perfect pattern match and had that foil covered plastic strip. The fuzzy and other parts were still available. I then found a pair of used door panels where the cardboard was decent and had an upholstry shop do the job. Looks new. I wish I had purchased a bunch of them from him. (Gira on eBay). It was around $100 for the pair. He even included the dog legs pieces for the interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusjofok Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Konish, those are some nice panels. I am hoping to find out that I can get a textured look so one doesn't have to cover the panels but we will see. I also think I won't be able to incorporate the top part (metal) of the originals into the new panel. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konish Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Justin, The panels shown don't have the metal panel either, but the auction does state that all original hardware can be used to finish the door. If it's just the lower part of the door itself, you might want to ask Pete how well his sales were before proceeding. He mentioned in one thread that there was very little interest in his panels after all was said and done. Lots of interest, few takers. I'm still probably going to move ahead with the deal with Pete just to see how it plays out but still planning on my trip to Taiwan this Fall. R/ Dustin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckieZ Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Can I clarify you are all talking about interior door trim panels for the (S30) Z? If so, these are still available, new, in Canada and sell for approximately $200 per side (Canadian $). I am a Nissan dealer here in Canada and can confirm there are at least ten of each side currently in national stock. I understand the texture is slightly different from the original but do an excellent job of replacing the old pieces. Part numbers are H0900-E4100 (right) and H0901-N3300 (left). Sorry only available in black! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJY Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Can I clarify you are all talking about interior door trim panels for the (S30) Z? If so, these are still available, new, in Canada and sell for approximately $200 per side (Canadian $). I am a Nissan dealer here in Canada and can confirm there are at least ten of each side currently in national stock. I understand the texture is slightly different from the original but do an excellent job of replacing the old pieces. Part numbers are H0900-E4100 (right) and H0901-N3300 (left). Sorry only available in black! How much to ship to Tennessee including duties and taxes? Would you be able to handle shipping and customs paperwork? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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