Interior Rear Quarter Trim Panel removal

[bfloyd]

So I've got the car in the garage for the winter and getting ready to upgrade the stereo system and speakers. I've got the new DMC DIN face plate and all of the new components in-house.

Presently I've got the seats removed, the center console removed, and the original Craig radio out and the old original face plate out. The car is kinda scary looking right now.

I'm going to be replacing the original rear speakers with new 4x10's, but having a time trying to determine how to remove the rear quarter trim panels to access the speakers.

I've got the workshop manual here with me and it says in section P:03:03 in step no. 2 to use a heat gun to carefully unstick the quarter panel trim from around the door filler panel flange.

In the nicest way possible, WTF does that mean?
When I pulled off the door gasket, it looks as if the quarter panel trim piece rolls over the door opening and is molded to the black panels of the door openings.

I really don't want to mess this up. Anybody else done this before and have some suggestions?

[burch]

I've done it, and it is a bit of a pain. I followed John Spangler's steps from this page: http://johnspangler.com/DMC/rearspeakers.html

[flux3d]

I did this a couple of years ago. Not too hard, but you need to go slow and careful. What the instruction refers to is using a heat gun to warm up the glue on the vinyl that's wrapped around the door edge, under the black rubber door seal. If you pull this seal off you'll see the vinyl is stuck to the edge of the door frame. I've seen instructions where they suggest using a very sharp knife and cut down the centre of this vinyl, to allow for easier removal. Once your done the quarter sections can be re-glued along this edge using impact adhesive, and the rubber trim covers the cut easily. Personally i removed the vinyl in one piece, but it did take ages with a sharp knife lifting the vinyl a bit at a time, being careful not to rip it. Time and heat have probably made it very brittle, so go slow. Worth it though for better sound in the car. :)

[David T]

I did this a couple of years ago. Not too hard, but you need to go slow and careful. What the instruction refers to is using a heat gun to warm up the glue on the vinyl that's wrapped around the door edge, under the black rubber door seal. If you pull this seal off you'll see the vinyl is stuck to the edge of the door frame. I've seen instructions where they suggest using a very sharp knife and cut down the centre of this vinyl, to allow for easier removal. Once your done the quarter sections can be re-glued along this edge using impact adhesive, and the rubber trim covers the cut easily. Personally i removed the vinyl in one piece, but it did take ages with a sharp knife lifting the vinyl a bit at a time, being careful not to rip it. Time and heat have probably made it very brittle, so go slow. Worth it though for better sound in the car. :)

Remove the inner door seal. Remove any small metal clips you may find under the door seal holding the vinyl trim. Using a hair dryer and a small puttyknife, carefully soften the glue holding the vinyl trim to the fiberglass underbody. The vinyl is brittle and stiff and will tear easily so go slow. Once you have undone the vinyl you must remove the seat belt anchor, some screws, and the rear of the parcel shelf. The whole piece will come forward and out. You will see the speaker underneath. You may also consider replacing the wiring to the speakers. You do not have to glue the vinyl back, the door seal will hold it in place just fine.

[mluder]

+1 on the brittle and stiff... When I replaced the panel and attached the weather strip I didn't get a nice smooth lay and had a little bubble I didn't notice. Over time, opening and closing the door caused a crack and eventually hole in the vinyl.

Cheers
Steven

[bfloyd]

Did the hair dryer and putty knife thing and got them both off. Went very slowly and managed not to tear the vinyl.

Original rear speakers were more than shot. Can't wait to hear what the new ones sound like.

Installing the new power antenna today. This should be fun.