94 eclipse, door panels

I've only been a member for 3 days now, and i've been reading every post i can on the first 7 pages of this section, and i'm not finding what i need. What I have is a 94 Eclipse, the door panels are plastic, and i'm wanting to build the 6.5 speaker out further, replace the handle with illuminated fiber rod, build in tweeter mounts above the 6.5 and smooth out the armrest. I do want to FG all of it. What my question is, is there a forum on building door panels. I'm not finding anything that explains about the edges of the panels, or how to attach the FG to the existing panel if it's possible. Of course, if I do the door panels, I will be doing most of the dash, ecspecially the HVAC and stereo portion in the middle, It's kinda ugly and inconvenient if you've ever seen it. Please help.

Thanx in advance!

the panels on my car don't have any carpet on them, they do have a small section of vinyl though...i'm removing that part. i'm also going to try and flush in new latches, and improve the style and look by removing other sections towards the front of the door, and adding a little illumination, and i'm also trying to make both doors look the same. as you can see...they aren't the same now.

on the passenger door, the handle is similar to how i want the fiber rod, the brackets are nearly the same on the metal underneath so mounting shouldn't be a problem. but why doesn't the driver door have this handle? are your doors like this?

my overall question is how do you attach the FG to the panel at the edges, and how would i go about doing the top...with the weatherstriping.

cam didn't want to focus on the door...just on the ground

these are later projects i'm planning also

total redesign...stereo higher for easier access, vents seperated into two individual vents sitting straight instead of angle, HVAC at the bottom where stereo is now...then i will continue down to the middle console lowering it by about 1/2 inch for the short shifter, and continuing back for placement of distribution block and cap under plexi or lexan, and a design, not thought up of how to do yet, of a possible arm rest and a tv with game console in the back of arm rest for my kids.

the rear panels...so much potential if you ask me. currently has one 6.5...will end up with either 10" or 8" sub with amps flushed into the front of panel with more fiber rod illumination.

and then the hatch...haven't come up with great ideas yet...still pondering on leaving it alone for grocery shopping and the usual going to kids sports events, but hey...if i do the front, i should do the back right?... or at least something.

any other ideas, let me know... and don't forget... door weather stripping and panel edges...what's the trick?

I would start small.  I'm guessing this is your first time working with fiberglass?

An important thing for you to know is that fiberglass does not bond well with plastic.  It may bond at first, but it will eventually begin to lift.

IMO, you should start by building a sub box  out of fiberglass or something like that first.  Get a feel for it before hacking apart your interior.  IT will help you determine whether you really think it's worth it to go big like this.

Rebuilding the entire door panel is a really big job.  I know you don't like the asthetics of the panels, but you might just have to live with them.

In terms of making speaker pods, I think that's the better way to go than redoing the entire door panel.  Attaching them shouldn't be too difficult.  You could use screws, or you could even use epoxy to glue them on permanently.  It really depends on how your door is set up.  TAke your door panel off and give it some thought.

maybe you could make a mold of the top portion of the door panels as well as the edges.  The you could use it to make a replica of certain parts of the panel that you don't necessarily want to modify.  After you make the molds, you could even cut off the top edge of the door panel and epoxy it to the top of your replica.  That would take careful trimming of both the panel and the replica, but maybe you could pull it off.  That way you could just use the factory edge and not have to worry about that portion.  To me, that sounds really tough to execute.

Or, you could simply remove the panel and hack away at it.  Cut everything off except the edges and/or key structural mounting points.  Then you could use a combination of wood and fiberglass to create the shape of the new door panel that will almost be an insert within the outline of the old panel.  You could epoxy those together...  Bottom line, it's gonna take a bit of creativity and extreme patience to really pull it off.  Otherwise you're gonna end up with something much uglier than the original panel!

Keep us updated.

thanks for the ideas...i'm working on a design for the surface of the panel, i'll probably build out from the panel to keep from cutting too much of it. i'll post a rough draft of the design when i come up with one

Ok... here is the original and the basic design of what I want to create

RED - Can't modify

GRAY - No modify

DARK GRAY - Panel to be glued back on

PURPLE - Fiberglass

GREEN - Pod for mid (6.5). Tweeter going to stock dash location

WHITE - Fiber rod for handle

YELLOW - To be removed, will be installing electric windows with switches in middle console

The rest of the panel will be smoothed to paint with the FG. The FG will lay level with the front of the panel where the large red area is, where the panel meets the dash when the door is closed. I'm just wondering how i'm going to get the FG to meet up with the panel in the middle. Hopefully this will give a better example of what i'm trying to do. This is why I asked if I should FG the entire door, or just the lower section.