Door interchangeability

[Ed Lord]

I am building a 1985 X, the doors are marginal. I have a pair of ‘78 doors that are in great shape, will they just bolt up? I will lose the power windows and go to roll up windows which I would think would reduce some weight (although not as much as if I ate better). The door panels on the 78 are perfect, would make life easier. What should I be looking for?

 

[Dan Sarandrea (Phila)]

'84-ish and up doors are all Bosch power windows, no manual mechanism was offered.

The door opening in the body, the hinges, and the door latches never changed AFAIK, so it should bolt in like a champ. I think you "should" be able to transfer the later model small door glass and frame to the earlier door to retain a uniform outside mirror appearance and the blacked out window track frame, but don't quote me on that Or you can keep the brightwork and door mounted mirror(s) inherent to the '78 parts.

 

[Chris in Canada]

I am building a 1985 X, the doors are marginal. I have a pair of ‘78 doors that are in great shape, will they just bolt up? I will lose the power windows and go to roll up windows which I would think would reduce some weight (although not as much as if I ate better). The door panels on the 78 are perfect, would make life easier. What should I be looking for?

I had a set of ‘81 doors off my donor car bolted on my ‘78 to see if they fit, no problem! I think the only difference is the inner handle to open the door. I also have a set of newer door cards on it now and i’m trying to figure out the best way to hide the handle openings! I have the trim surround, maybe fit a fiat logo???

 

[MikeHynes]

If my memory serves me the inside panel of the two doors is different. The early doors will bolt on to the car, no problem, but you'll want to make sure you use the early door cards on the early doors. The inside door latch changed significantly between the two years. And I don't think you can use the later inner handle on the early door without a lot of work. I think you may also find that the window winder is in a different location. Also, fitting the late power window mechanizim to the early door would be a problem. I suppose you could cut the complete inner panel off of each cars and swap them, but that would be a lot of work.
It's very easy to see the differences between the early and later doors if you just pull the door cards off. I believe there may have been some year doors that had provisions to use either style inner door handles, and window winders, but I think by '87 that was gone.
I think there was a thread on here not long ago that covered these differences.
BTW - Plan on replacing most of the little plastic clips that hold the door card on the door. They are very easy to break when you try to pry the door card off.

 

[Rodger]

Yes, like others have said, the doors will bolt up just fine. If you have the complete doors from the '78, then you have all of the internals you need. The door opening mechanism on the inside is different, as is the door card, so if you just have the shells, you will need to go shopping. If you want to transfer the trim and vent window mounted mirrors, that should work fine as well.

 

[Chris in Canada]

Yes, like others have said, the doors will bolt up just fine. If you have the complete doors from the '78, then you have all of the internals you need. The door opening mechanism on the inside is different, as is the door card, so if you just have the shells, you will need to go shopping. If you want to transfer the trim and vent window mounted mirrors, that should work fine as well.

Here are newer door cards on ‘78 doors. Just had to poke a hole for the crank handle and like I said, trying to come up with a solution for the handle opening!!