Formica strips / wiring into doors

P

PeterZRH

Well-Known Member
Any tips to remove "reluctant" strips in the door capping to avoid damage? These are pretty fragile and I can see previous efforts have cracked one of mine already. I would like to keep them so the car can be returned to original spec.

Also as I'm fitting central locking and some lighting into the door any tips as to how to feed the cable from the pillars to the door without drilling any larger or more hols than necessary and to avoid damaging the cable as the door opens and closes?
 
A block of hardwood with a sharp corner and gentle use of a mallet to get it started has worked for me, then pulling it out from there. Much easier the door is off the car of course. Unless somebody glued it in at some point, they really shouldn't be very stuck.

As for wires, you can buy aftermarket rubber conduits that you can install as wire runs. Fairly big hole required though, an inch or so as I recall.

Yours
Vern
 
I found some door wiring conduits from an older Toyota at a scrappy and used them in one project. It does require a largish hole but the result is very neat. You can just see one here:
 
That's exactly the neat finish I'm after Kiwirover. Great job. A scrappy it is then
Click to expand...

Just make sure you get round ones, way too difficult trying to cut an oval hole in the door! I think those came from a mid-90s Toyota Camry. I salvaged another set from a Toyota Chaser which I will be using on the ToyRover project.
 
Good point. I've heard oval and square drill bits are on the expensive side!

I'm a bit obsessive about any mods being at least as good as factory (and, as I see from your door rubbers and speaker grilles, so are you), usually with the discrete use of modern parts you can do better, often much better. I was actually rather gobsmacked at how good the generic remote central locking kit was for a measly £12 but I still loom taped the wiring. Even in a quality car like my old Audi 100, I had an electric window failure due to the cable breaking internally as it flexes in the door shut so it is worth paying attention here.

I've seen a set from a 1980s Alfa Romeo that look like they'll do the job. These are usefully smaller in diameter too. I guess there were less electrics in a 1980s door.
 
Well, I had a look in the breakers and was rather intimidated by the size of the holes I'd need to drill. So my solution that looks OEM and doesn't involve massacring you door pillar:

12mm grommets and a length of inner tube from an 18mm racing bike tyre....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top