FW: [DML] fir trees/post trim

["Chris Parnham" <chrisparnham@xxxx>]

An interesting post.

CP

-----Original Message-----
From: Walter Coe [mailto:Whalt@xxxx]
Sent: 19 April 2002 17:34
To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [DML] fir trees/post trim


> My "A" post trim fell off the interior of my door the other day...and
> for good reason...all the fir trees are completely worn out! I have
> new fir trees on hand. Anyone had success replacing these on the A
> Post Trim, and if so...how?!

I have had a similar problem with my A-post trim. I made the mistake of
replacing two of the fir trees that were broke off because I thought they
broke accidentally. Then when I tried to re-install the trim I noticed that
the holes in the stainless were never drilled! What got me started on this
project is that besides the loose trim, the upholstery came unglued on one
side and was hanging down. So I reglued it, and now it is hanging down
again!

I recently repaired a similar problem with my passenger door arm rest and am
going to use the same technique on my A-post trim. The cause is that the
upholstery was cut too narrow to provide enough surface to wrap around and
adequately hold the glue. My fix for this (to preserve the original
upholstery) is to sew an extension on the edge. Since this is only on the
edge of the fabric, it isn't visible from the outside.

As for the two fur trees that didn't have mating holes in the stainless, I
drilled holes there. I wanted to be sure that it didn't come loose again.
Apparently the reason why the holes were never drilled is because spot welds
are very close to where the holes need to be. I figure that they didn't
want to risk drilling out the spot welds and weakening the door frame. In
order to get new fir trees in there you either need to peel the upholstery
back to stick it in from the back side or cut a slot on the inside. The
slot method has the advantage of being able to slightly reposition the fir
tree to make it in the hole.

If you go drilling new holes in your door frame, be careful not to push
through and cause dents in the exterior stainless. I put a short piece of
low pressure fuel hose over the drill bit to stop it from penetrating very
deep. When doing any work on the front of your door, put a large pad over
your windshield to be sure that you don't accidentally drop anything that
could break it. I learned my lesson when I was working on the side mirror
and dropped a mirror glass that did a kamikaze act on my windshield.
Luckily it didn't hurt the windshield.

Walt Tampa, FL



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