[Caddylack]

I dunno about you guys, but I'm not a fan of outdated plastic clips. I would love to get rid of them and replace them with something more solid. I've been looking at snap-on style fasteners, but so far have not found anything that looks like it would hold up to the bumps and vibration of driving.

Thoughts?

 

[jayoldschool]

The clips aren't really outdated, they still use them on just about every car built today. They are a wear item, designed to be replaced when the panel is removed and reinstalled.

 

[1slow96]

My C/K truck panels use a two piece clip that works more like a ratchet , or zip-tie.
Not sure how easily they might be adapted to this application. But ,they are kinda slick...

 

[Z09B4U]

I would love to get rid of them and replace them with something more solid

The door panels would probably start cracking if they were more solid than factory mounting. The stress points that crack on vehicles are usually the screw points. When a door closes it may twist and definitely absorbs the shock of a heavy weight stopping dead. The plastic fasteners are what keep the door card in one piece. Anyone who has been in the way of a closing door should understand how much force a door has. When the door stops that force goes into noise and vibration. The door is designed to flex and the door cover is isolated by the plastic mounts. The extreme heat range inside a car is another factor that requires a loose connection between the plastic and metal as they will change size at different rates.

Squeaks and rattles can be fixed with cloth and low friction tape.

 

[Jim Paley]

I don’t remember if it was this forum or another one where I saw a guy was planning to use neodymium magnets to secure the door panel. Seems to me that he had a reason to take the panel off quite frequently, but I could be remembering wrong. He took a lot of flack for the idea. Might take some trial and error to get the magnet size right. Strong enough to secure the panel while still weak enough to be able to separate it.

 

[Caddylack]

The door panels would probably start cracking if they were more solid than factory mounting. The stress points that crack on vehicles are usually the screw points. When a door closes it may twist and definitely absorbs the shock of a heavy weight stopping dead. The plastic fasteners are what keep the door card in one piece. Anyone who has been in the way of a closing door should understand how much force a door has. When the door stops that force goes into noise and vibration. The door is designed to flex and the door cover is isolated by the plastic mounts. The extreme heat range inside a car is another factor that requires a loose connection between the plastic and metal as they will change size at different rates.

Squeaks and rattles can be fixed with cloth and low friction tape.

I'm talking about the chrome panels on the outside of the car. My bad for being so vague.

My C/K truck panels use a two piece clip that works more like a ratchet , or zip-tie.
Not sure how easily they might be adapted to this application. But ,they are kinda slick...

Interesting.

 

[Caddylack]

I don’t remember if it was this forum or another one where I saw a guy was planning to use neodymium magnets to secure the door panel. Seems to me that he had a reason to take the panel off quite frequently, but I could be remembering wrong. He took a lot of flack for the idea. Might take some trial and error to get the magnet size right. Strong enough to secure the panel while still weak enough to be able to separate it.

This may be worth exploring. The panels have screws in them, too, so the magnets wouldn't be holding the full weight or anything. More just minimizing rattles.

 

[Z09B4U]

I'm talking about the chrome panels on the outside of the car. My bad for being so vague.

I am thinking my caffeine dose had not hit me yet. Pictures would help me as I can not think of anything on my Caprice that is not held on by 3m or panel push fasteners. Are these lower panel trim parts that Cadillac, Roadmaster, or CC had?

 

[96 Black]

I'm talking about the chrome panels on the outside of the car. My bad for being so vague.

Z0-, I've had plenty of coffee. So, Caddy-, wondering as well what you're referring to.

 

[Caddylack]

I am thinking my caffeine dose had not hit me yet. Pictures would help me as I can not think of anything on my Caprice that is not held on by 3m or panel push fasteners. Are these lower panel trim parts that Cadillac, Roadmaster, or CC had?

I believe these fasteners are Fleetwood-specific.

 

[Caddylack]

"a valid message"

 

[96 Black]

OK, the skirt brackets. The ones with 'spring ears' (ex: #8) seem to be the biggest gripe. I just make sure to grab all those and any decent skirts when at the JY. Plus another friend has a collection of both if we need to share. The E-Bay prices are always good for a chuckle. As mentioned, several have screws as part of the original attachment, though alot of guys add screws to keep them from (too easily) walking away.

 

[96SSbbb]

Haven't looked in a long while but, this place use to carry them.

Homepage

Homepage

www.auveco.com

 

[Z09B4U]

To reduce rust plastic pop rivets can be used to replace screws. They are just like the steel and aluminum pop rivets.

 

[Caddylack]

To reduce rust plastic pop rivets can be used to replace screws. They are just like the steel and aluminum pop rivets.

I'm assuming you're referring to the screws that attach the bottom of the clips to the bottom of the rear quarters, yes? It seems like the rest of the screws could not be replaced with rivets.

 

[jayoldschool]

Ah, the outside stainless panels, this makes sense. Here's what I would do if I had clips, but the clips had broken ears. Install the broken clip on the car (but make sure it is very clean). Take stick on all weather velcro, and put it on the outside of the clip, and stick the other side to the clean back of the stainless panel. Press in place. Should work fine, the velcro will hold, my front license plate has been on that way for 15 years.

 

[Caddylack]

Ah, the outside stainless panels, this makes sense. Here's what I would do if I had clips, but the clips had broken ears. Install the broken clip on the car (but make sure it is very clean). Take stick on all weather velcro, and put it on the outside of the clip, and stick the other side to the clean back of the stainless panel. Press in place. Should work fine, the velcro will hold, my front license plate has been on that way for 15 years.

I did put some thought into velcro.

For the panels on each of the 4 doors, there are screws on each end of the panel. I want to get some of these circular magnets and play around with them as far as placement, etc. Also thinking about some sort of adhesive-backed foam to minimize rattles and create a more snug fit.

Not sure about screw placement for the rear quarters.

 

[Fix Until Broke]

Do these guys have anything that would be helpful?

Magdaddy | Making Magnets WORK for You

magdaddyusa.com

 

[Caddylack]

Do these guys have anything that would be helpful?

Magdaddy | Making Magnets WORK for You

magdaddyusa.com

Dude... whoa!

They have a bunch of sweet stuff... and they're local. Good call.

 

[Fix Until Broke]

These two are similar, but might have something?

GENERAL MOTORS

GENERAL MOTORS

www.auveco.com

Body Hardware - Automotive | LawsonProducts.com

-

www.lawsonproducts.com

Cruise around on their websites a bit and they have a lot of other things - links above are my best guess to what you might be looking for...