auto_editor

I have a three-inch-thick record of repairs and maintenance done to my '89 Custom Cruiser during her life, but there's a glaring omission: Nowhere does it say that the fuel door was replaced, nor does it say why they went with one so CLEARLY not meant for this particular car.

I know that American cars of this era were built with "tolerances" as to how things fit together, but apart from the Medium Gray paint there's NOTHING about it that matches:



The gaps around it are even (though it's a little tight at the bottom edge), but no manner of adjusting will make it even all around.

Also, you can see that no amount of fiddling will make that chrome strip line up, and no amount of anything can hide the fact that the wood trim isn't even close to matching.

Can this be explained by using a different model year's fuel door? Did they mount the trim higher or lower year-to-year? Did they change the "style" of the wood like that too? Like I mentioned the PAINT is a perfect match, so was the lighter shade of wood used prior to the darker tone on mine?

[It can't have been later as 1989 was the last full year of production.]

I don't know how the trim strip is mounted, but seeing as how these doors are impossible to find (especially in the right colors), will I be able to move the strip "up" to align it (once I find some matching wood trim) or do I have to find ANOTHER door with correctly-aligned trim that I'd have to repaint and re-wood?

Thanks in advance,

Drew

[Oh, and is there anything I can use to clean those streaks from the wood applique? I don't think that's staining from fuel, necessarily, but it would be nice for it to disappear regardless...]

rocketraider

My guess is that the door came from a Buick, Pontiac or Chevy wagon, all of which used lighter woodgrain than Olds and would probably have had the trim in a different place. All these car bodies were identical from the firewall back except for trim placement.

don71

I'm thinking that fuel door could of been "out sourced" meaning: they were made by a supplier with what ever materials they had in order to just meet basic requirements for their contract...and get there on time.

I've come to realize that all things sag a little with age. Your fuel door is no exception.

You could try some Super Clean, Simple Green or even Goof Off to remove those streaks. I have no idea if they will work.

Is it possible to remove that trim pc. and re-apply with some 3M double sided tape? Good Luck.