I am putting new door panels on the 72 Cutlass and my upper door pull straps are kind of beat up. I dont think that they are reproduced so I may just leave them off.
I also dont want to paint or dye them because it will wear off .There are no holes through the new woodgrain so it will look clean. What do you guys think.
It wont be correct but it will look good.
Do these straps support the door panels from warping or anything ?
I close the doors with the armrest pulls anyway.
Also all the tabs are broke off of my backing plates for the armrests so I am wondering if thet even serve a purpose? The 3 armrest screws hold the plate in place anyway.
I thought though that they may serve as a stop so the screws dont pull the armrest to far towards the door frame , Any thoughts ?
Thanks for all opions good or bad, You wont hurt my feelings.

 

The armrest backing plates are needed to keep the armrest bases from contacting the inside door handle.
If yours are beat up, sand them with 400 grit and paint them with a rattle can. New chrome ones are reproduced, although a bit costly. If you have none and want to go the cheap route, use 3/8" masonite or plywood and cut some plates out with a jigsaw and paint them.

If you are talking about the 16" long Supreme door pull strap, they are not reproduced but they ARE completely restorable if you have the time, patience, and $30.
When I get time, I will post my "how to" thread, the first that I have ever seen for these.
I will spill the beans now if it can help you - those straps are covered with the same material as the seats.

You can leave them off, but you will need to devise up a way to use the existing screws to hold the door panel. A small block of aluminum with some rocket decals might work.

Being blocked from this site at home severly limits my contribution abilities.

 

In 70 the 442 convertibles do not have pull straps so I would think it would work just fine

 

Thanks Guys. I think I will leave the straps off for now. After test fitting the door panels I have found that when I close the door they hit on part of the kick panel molding and also hit on the upper part of the door jamb windlace. ARRRGGGGGG
The door closes fine but it wont take long for the white vinyl to wear off at the contact locations. I will have to try and adjust some parts with my BMFH !!!

 

What brand door panels did you use? Did you get them assembled or unassembled?
I found that the perforations for clips, holes, switches are often in the wrong places. Sometimes a little off, sometimes be several inches.
You have to compare with the old panels to verify positions before cutting & installing.

"NOW he tells me!!!" you are probably thinking...

 

Rob , I actually just laid them in the trunk and moved on to something else because I could not find the holes in the panels for the clips. I am not sure what to do about it , there is only one hole on each panel for clips.
They are preassembled PUI panels.
I am not really satisfied with them for how much they cost. Even the bottom chrome strip is completley different than stock. If I would have known that I had to redo them I would have just boughten unassembled panels.
I have about 6 originals here that I am using for parts .
So do you think that I should create some mounting holes for the clips ? If I screw the panels up I am flying to China and open a can of whoop *** !!!!!
Seems like everything I start doing has a problem .

 

There should be 6 clips on the supreme and some screws along the bottom. You will need to use an old factory door panel to mark where the new clips go. I would put it on your door to verify hole and clip positions, then mark them on the new panels.

I am working on my door panel resto post - that might help you out.

 

I got the PUI thru Brothers (avoid) about 2 yrs ago. The chrome trim that goes around the wood grain, they put a seam in the chrome trim by the window crank. I am sure it will come lose after a couple turns of the crank.
At least now I will be mentally ready.

 

I bought pre-assembled panels a few years ago, don't remember if they were PUI but I do remember that some of the chrome trim was still different so I transferred many of the pieces from my old panels to the new ones

 

Here is everything one would ever want to know about restoring door panels and pull straps.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post162232

Car tested, owner approved....

 

if your not going to use hem do you want to sell them