Those darn fir trees...

[jmrydholm]

Hi everyone,

Today I had a minor issue with the passenger side window after a trip to the grocery store as the glass had gotten physically stuck somehow in the trim material. So I popped the upper armrest cover off and freed the mechanism up. (This is one of John Hervey's new motors I had installed in 2004, something I need to do to the 30 year old driver's side window.) Much to my extreme frustration, I noticed I had a broken plastic attachment and was missing one of the other fir tree things. I read online that we can get "compatible" ones at local auto stores for Fords or something, but I didn't want to waste a few bucks on parts that won't fit.

Is there any better replacement than those plastic pieces? They wear out a little more each we pop off the trim. :( I spent the better part of 20 minutes in the hot sun trying to get that back in -my DeLorean has no working A/C at the moment. I'm probably going to wait until it gets cooler out then try and temporarily squeeze the passenger side trim back into place. I appreciate any advice! I've never really torn the door apart before myself.

-John
#10715

[John U]

I used Ford fir trees. I paid about $1 each. Here is a discussion about using magnets to hold the door trim on
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?762-A-new-Idea-for-Attaching-Upper-Door-Panels&highlight=rare+magnets

[pezzonovante88]

I also used Ford ones. Any auto-parts store should have them. Look for the ones that look closest to the DMC ones and they should work fine.

[robvanderveer]

Get yourself a fir-tree-tool or equivalent (I use a bent BBQ meat fork).

[thirdmanj]

Hervey sells the original style that the D was manufactured with. Even DMCH doesnt have those.

[jmrydholm]

Sweet, thanks guys! I never thought I would be thankful for Ford parts. (Sorry grandpa...lol he worked for them for nearly 40+ years) Do I need to superglue them back in, or do I just pull up on the vinyl above the hard backing? I'm probably going to try and do this in the late afternoon/evening this Easter weekend.

PS: Would the magnets have any problem with glue as well? Missouri heat can make the inside of that car like a literal oven.