Restoration

[AJ]

I am going to replace my interior door panels on my 75 and have some questions for Corvette restorers. What interior door panels have you installed on your 68-79 Corvette? How did they fit? Are the colors accurate? Are they of good quality? Where did you purchase them from. Thanks for your help, your inputs will give me some direction for my purchase.

AJ

[Jack H.]

Re: Restoration

Door panels on my '71 are from Al Knoch. They fit 'reasonably' and take concours deductions for obvious difference in stitch pattern as well as color of stitch vs. underlying vinyl color. As far as texture and vinyl material go, they're on the money.

Door panels come in several variations. Basic panels lack the hardware trim and ads say -- "just move your existing hardware over". Hah! You'll be at this trick for a solid day or more since backing material isn't pre-drilled for the trim and nothing really fits/matches. I'd step up to the bar and pay extra for panels with full trim ready to mount....

Also consider getting original panels used or NOS via Driveline or other sources....

[Patrick H.]

Door Panel Restoration

AJ,

To the best of my knowledge, Al Knoch and Corvette America are the only manufacturers, and everyone else sells one of their products.

I think that the Al Knoch items are more accurate in color, grain, and appearance, and I have inspected them both side-by-side. The Corvette America panels do not, in my opinion, have the same "depth" of grain in the vinyl and look more obvious as replacements. I also believe they fit better. Of course, I say this even as I have Corvette America panels presently being delivered to my house. Why? Their deal to install the pain-in-the-backside seat covers on my 71 seats for free was too good to pass up, and I bought their panels (as part of a package) when I swore I never would. If I ever get more serious about this car, I would swap them for Al Knoch.

And yes, I put up the extra $110 for the pair to have them install the trim on the new panels so that I wouldn't have to.

If you want Al Knoch, try The Last Detail at 1-770-414-0077. They seem to have the best prices on Al Knoch items. For Corvette America, call either The Last Detail, or Howard at Corvette California USA at 1-800-932-8388. And no, I have no connection with either, but having just gone thru interior pricing, these were the best I found.

Patrick Hulst