Stumbled on a trick for getting old door panels off without breaking the clips

I was fighting with a 78 Cutlass door card that had those brittle plastic clips. Tried using a heat gun on low for about 30 seconds before prying and three of them popped right out in one piece... where the other seven all snapped like twigs. Has anyone else tried pre-warming the clips or is there a better way?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lucas17d agoMost Upvoted

Heat gun on my 66 Mustang did the same thing, then the window regulator almost fell out.

sethtorres17d ago

Oh man, that's rough... but you mean a 65 or 67 Mustang, right @the_lucas? The 66 used a different regulator setup with those little plastic bushings that always crack when you hit 'em with heat. I've had that exact thing happen where the whole assembly just sagged down inside the door after the glue softened up on the felt channels... gotta be careful with those old cars, the heat can mess with stuff you don't even think about.