how's it going everyone jay here with lmr.com in today's video we'll be covering the removal and
installation of the door panel backing boards for all 1981 to 1993 mustangs
the door panel backing board is a vital part of your mustang's interior if these are old and worn out you can have loose
panels and they can cause excess sagging across the entire door area we will cover some of the
critical points in this video for the earlier 81 to 86 models since these differ from the 87
to 93 year range but the general process will be the same today in the shop we have our 90 gt that
we'll be working with anything you see in this video today including any parts or procedures
can be found in the video description below some of the tools that you will need for this
one will include the following an assorted pick set screwdrivers socket set assorted trim removal
tools a staple gun and plenty of staples spray adhesive and some general cleaning supplies first
let's remove the door panel from the car check out the link in the description below for the
step-by-step instructions i do want to note that this lower section will vary from year to year
not all of the 81 to 89 year models came equipped with the map pockets
moving to a clean work surface flip the door panel over with the vinyl side facing down if equipped
make sure to remove your sound deadening material from the back side of the door
you can remove the speed clip here if this is still in place on the door pull section
fold up the retaining tabs located on the map pocket area at this time
if the map pocket has retainers you can use some side cutters and a flat
head screwdriver to remove these. now you can fully remove the map pocket
using a pick or a flat bladed screwdriver remove all the staples from the door panel's outer edge
also make sure to pull the staples out from the door pull area. once removed you can carefully peel
back the vinyl from the door panel's outer edge. next you will need to remove the speaker grille
if equipped if you do happen to break any tabs here don't worry we have you covered with brand
new replacements if you need them slowly peel the vinyl and the padding away from the existing door
panel board take your time here try to avoid any excessive tearing of the material or the
foam
you will separate this going up to the metal portion only do not go any further you will
find the tabs for the door panel's upper carpet area on the upper portion of the door
we found that just releasing the lower tabs will help you out in a later step for alignment go
ahead and release just the lower tabs at this time now we can separate the backing
board from the metal frame as you can see here the board was placed wrong and it was on the
top side of the metal work your way from end to end and separate the board from the metal
don't worry if the existing board breaks just make sure that everything is entirely removed from the
metal frame make sure to clean all of the metal tabs and any leftover material from the board
for the 81 to 86 door panels you will need to go over the
following steps for removal of the lower carpet section
using a razor blade make a straight cut across the top side of the carpet
where the vinyl meets the door panel
now we can get our new backing boards ready for installation take this time and go over
the boards and knock out any of the perforated cutouts this can include the push pin holes map
pockets carpeted area speaker grille and inner door switches if equipped take this time to clean
your work surface of any residual material left over now we can place the new board on
the metal plate again make sure that this one is placed between the metal and the vinyl material
take your time here and check over all of the alignment to the vinyl and backing board
roll back all of the outer edges of the vinyl to allow the backing board to sit flush
moving to the top side of the board place one staple on each side a few holes from the
end to help hold this in place now you can fold down the tabs of the carpeted area on the board
lift and separate the board from the vinyl at this time so that we can start the gluing process
spray both the foam and the board surfaces with a few light coats of spray adhesive
make sure you read over the instructions of the adhesive you are using for the tack time
this is usually around 5 minutes once you have let this dry you can go ahead and start placing
the material back in place ensure that all of the vinyl's outer edges are clear so that you do not
get any excess glue on these press down firmly and double check alignment on all of your holes
once the glue is set take a few minutes to go ahead and clean the vinyl material if there is
any adhesive left on there now we can set the map pockets in place fold all of your tabs straight
and align the holes on the backing board press all these tabs through
and then you can fold them on the back side to seat the mat pocket
for the 81 to 86 models start with the top edge
make sure the carpet is straight and aligned to the vinyl material
once aligned with the flaps folded over you can clamp each side down
using your staple gun you will want to pull back the vinyl edges between the carpet
by doing this you will be able to hide the staples from being seen
space these staples out evenly across the entire panel a few inches apart from each other
now you can spray a few light coats of adhesive on this section
as we showed in the previous steps ensure proper attack time before seating this
in place and work out any wrinkles and fold over the edges on the back side of the panel
make sure that all of the outer edges of the vinyl are pulled tight across all sides
now you can spray the edges on the backside of the panel once this is tacky
you can seat the vinyl edges on the backing board
this is a perfect time to go over any areas of the panel and re-glue any loose areas
support the lower side of the board with the palm of your hand
and slowly roll your thumb over to seat these together again
make sure to take your time here and work out any excess wrinkles that are
present we would like to note that before you do all of your final stapling do a few test staples
to ensure that you are not going to use too long of a staple you do not want this to pass through
the vinyl on the other side now you can fully staple all of the outer edges of the vinyl to the
board space these staples out evenly across the entire panel a few inches apart from each other
for the 81 to 86 carpeted area once this is complete you can staple the end flaps to the
back of the board once you have the outer edges completed you can move to the section where the
board and the metal meet we chose to put a couple staples in each one of these holes
just make sure that everything is tight and secure you can also staple down the carpet
for the inner door pull area at this time we also took this time to staple down all of the
tabs for the map pockets this can help prevent any lifting of the map pockets down the road
we opted to use new door panel hardware check out lmr.com for your year model specific kit
upon installing the speaker grille we noticed that we did have to make
one modification to this board there were four locating holes for the speaker grille
one of these holes happened to be missing we used a quarter inch drill bit
and drilled this hole out from both sides to ensure the tab would pass through the board
now you can seat the speaker grille in place and use the towel nuts on these tabs
we found that using a 5/16th nut driver made life easier when installing these
now that the board is completed we chose to install a new set of our 5.0 resto sound
deadeners to the panel center these in place and apply a few light coats of the spray adhesive
following the same process as before make sure you allow for proper tack time
make sure to reinstall all the hardware this will include the door panel push pins
and any speed nuts for the panel repeat these steps for the other side now you can admire
your restored door panels and your refreshed interior reassemble your door panels back on
the vehicle we hope this video has helped you have a better understanding of how to install
these door panel boards overall this one should roughly take you a few hours per side if you
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as always you all know what to do keep it here with the real mustang enthusiasts at lmr.com