I’m replacing the door locks and some wiring on my 1962 Cadillac and was wondering what (if any) additional items behind the door panels I should inspect/replace/clean/lubricate since I will already be inside the door. I do have the factory power windows and plan to clean and dielectric grease the switch contacts. I also plan to replace the vapor barrier, but don’t know what material to use (painters plastic drop cloth? 8mil bags? Shower curtain? and what adhesive would be best (butyl tape, strip caulk?). Thoughts?
Hello, In our 1958 Chevy Impala, we made sure that those items behind the panel were well lubed and not bent. The door panels came off once on each side for a thorough inspection. They just popped on with a open fist. So, one thing I noticed are the weep holes that were somewhat plugged with leaves and debris. In all of our cars, from the outside, we took a small bent pick to shove up the opening under the flat bottom portion of the door. There are several openings for water and other debris to come out. Sometimes, the debris plugs up the hole and then if left unattended, causes door panel rust. The puddling water creates moisture on those parts that you are servicing. As a matter of fact, go over the whole car for other weep holes and clean them out. This was a weekly event during my teenage Impala upkeep chores. There was, absolutely, no rust repair for the 8 years we owned the car from new. Jnaki Since then, every car we have owned, the search was on for those mysterious weep holes. Sometimes they had little plastic snap-in covers on them. Other times, they were just oval holes. Every car is different, but something allows the water to drain out...Those are the holes to keep clean and open. Where does the "stuff" come from when the car is always garaged? When the wind blows, small stuff floats in until it lands on your car. Then the path of least resistance allows then to slide down to the bottom of the door, inside. Sometimes it is opening the window down, other times it is the rainy weather that helps do this path. So, mother nature causes the whole process.
When I restored my car I poured in some rustoleum, after a good cleaning of the door, to help fill in the gaps where the inside and outside panels come together. This area is actually lower than the drain holes and the thought is to keep out any dirt and moisture.
Thanks, this helps. I am very familiar with with farm and body drains on my daily, there was an issue with leaf debris blocking the cowl drains causing some fun wet carpet issues. I plan to shop vac out the door cavity and check for any cancer or rust issues. What lube did you use for the inner door items? Did you use a vapor barrier or any type after your repair?
You taking about the seam where the inner door and outer door skins meet? And just standard rustoluem or the rust prevention (conversion?) stuff? Thanks
My pal Dave uses black contractor trash bags cut to fit the door opening and uses duct tape to seal it, makes a excellent vapor barrier and keeps the door panel from absorbing moisture and warping the door panel itself, it's inexpensive and effective.. HRP
Heavy garbage bags work fine. Last one I did we used heavy construction material. Used the sealer tape that goes between the windows and the wood when building. It's black and it sticks great. Also taped over all the holes in the inside vertical metal. As said before Luke the regulator real good and the glass slide.
Hello, It was not a repair. Also, there was no such thing as door insulation or vapor barriers back then. If the inside was cleaned out and the lube kept the moving mechanism working well, then, all was good inside of the door chambers. It was maintenance, so, we used something like that white lithium grease, but it wasn't called lithium. It was in a can and it was whitish in color. The stuff looked like Crisco, but it was a little thicker and was made for moving steel parts and gears. I am sure the modern day Lithium grease by the Permatex Company would do just fine. The local garage door repair guy said the same holds true for the moving metal on metal joints on the lifting metal bars of the garage. They need some sort of grease for daily use. Jnaki The thick white lube stuff is better in the long run than the silicone spray. Although the spray is a lot easier to apply and clean up.
Look along the top rail of the inner panel. . It sometimes starts to get hairline cracks from pulling on the arm rest of the car. Just drill a hole where the crack stops. Or if it`s real bad, fix it. I have seen this often.
Is there any play in the vent window crank ? If so, the gear drive is held together by a small soft plug staked into the pot metal crank housing. Work some lubricant into the gears & re-stake.
Between '64-'74 ,I took off a lot of inner door panels ,ALL had a heavy Kraft paper with a shiny black coating. On the door side . It was to prevent water vapor from entering the passenger compartment , it was held in place by a sticky caulk like material ( probably butyl) , it was also used on the upper firewall and between the trunk and the passenger compartment...The white grease was indeed lithium ...
Damn , I didn’t know you knew me that well ! I do the very same thing . I attach my bags with a 3M product that is similar to a black string caulking .
Yes, the joint of the inner and outer door skins. I used black paint. Figured that the Rustoluem would be a good brand, and if the gap was filled then no dirt or water would accumulate.
Trouble with most coatings is theynn eventually dry out and crack . The only thing I ever found that permanently stopped rust (well , for 40years) is probably unobtainable now , red lead bridge primer , 40 lbs. per gallon Thinned with a little Kerosene . Fixed all the rust on my wife's OT car in '79 , saturated everywhere internal with it , no rust, period !
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