Technical Panda Door replacement

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Technical Panda Door replacement

nikcoleman

Man with too many Pandas.
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
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Location
Norfolk
Has anyone ever replaced the front and rear doors on a Panda? I have purchased my third Black Mk3 (and I still have the other two!) it has both drivers doors whacked in. I've got a decent idea how to change the doors but has anyone actually done this?

I've bought it for pennies from CoPart and it's the special edition. Had an MOT until a week ago lol.
Any tips?
38723074_Image_9.jpg
 
Solution
So far so good. Still a LONG way to go, this is a test fit, the middle pillar IS very very slightly distorted so thats being pulled out by a friend who happens to have a multi-post rig lol, then it's a project. Only like 1cm but enough to throw the rear door fit way out. Otherwise.... great!
I've done a few. Pretty easy, but make sure you get the hinges (door and pillar parts) as they will be bent.
Check for A and B pillars being bent too - small adjustments are possible, but the doors will not hang right if the pillars are deformed.
Front door wiring loom disconnects behind plastic cover on inside.
From breakers, they are normally stripped down, so glass, locks, winder mechanism etc. will need swapping.
 
I've done a few. Pretty easy, but make sure you get the hinges (door and pillar parts) as they will be bent.
Check for A and B pillars being bent too - small adjustments are possible, but the doors will not hang right if the pillars are deformed.
Front door wiring loom disconnects behind plastic cover on inside.
From breakers, they are normally stripped down, so glass, locks, winder mechanism etc. will need swapping.
Thank you SO much that’s great. I’m going to swap out from one of the other intact cars then replace those at leisure.
 
Before buying any bits or taking anything off

Post some pictures of the. Sills, the pillars where the hinges fit.

the gaps don't look right

Has the rear door been pushed into the rear quarter panel

Is the roof okay photo is quite low res so hard evaluate

38723074_Image_9 (1) (1).jpg
 
As @koalar says, it looks a bit wrong in the photo, although to me it looks like a "heavy scrape" type incident rather than an impact type, and Pandas do seem to shrug off these type of impacts pretty well with just outer panel damage.

Not sure about the ding on the roof - is that part of the incident or part of the recovery?
Sill looks straight in the photo, but a few high-res shots from different angles would show up any damage. Same goes for rear panel.
Is the front wing bent? It'll be hard to get things lined up properly if it is deformed, although a simple dent or two won't matter.
They are bolt-on, so swapping is straightforward, but it's easy to bend them when removing as they have seam sealer in places.

As you already own the car and the bits to go on it, the simplest method is probably to test fit the two doors and see what doesn't line up.
(The alternative is a lot of dismantling, measuring and comparing, followed by test fitting of doors anyway.)
Then, if it looks wrong, it probably is wrong and needs deeper investigation.
But if it all fits nicely, gaps are good and everything lines up then it's probably fine.

If in any doubt, get a good mechanic (or bodywork person) to check it over anyway once the doors are swapped. Second pair of eyes is often helpful.
 
Thanks everyone for all your help - brilliant. It’s not much of a gamble lol I paid £150 on the hammer, the front wing is shot as well I’m sure. It’s Copart. Worst case I’ll swap the interior!
 
Before buying any bits or taking anything off

Post some pictures of the. Sills, the pillars where the hinges fit.

the gaps don't look right

Has the rear door been pushed into the rear quarter panel

Is the roof okay photo is quite low res so hard evaluate

View attachment 441327
Great comments thanks, from the photos I have - I pick it up Tuesday, the rear door is twisted in producing the top gap and likewise the front door is way way deeply pushed in. I’ll keep you posted and thanks so much!
 
Great comments thanks, from the photos I have - I pick it up Tuesday, the rear door is twisted in producing the top gap and likewise the front door is way way deeply pushed in. I’ll keep you posted and thanks so much!
I'd be surprised if the B pillar isn't pushed back slightly

Fingers crossed I am wrong

If you need to pull it back you will need the door still on to attach block and tackle to, if you pull in opposite direction to the impact it normal goes back near enough by eye, but if you pay someone to jig it they like to see the direction of the hit first

the sill looks bulged in line from where the roof imperfection is but the photo is very poor quality, if I zoom in all diagonals are just zig zag lines

Screenshot_20240401-104853.png


You can't do much untill you see the car and assess it properly

It stops before the rear so the axle should be okay

The front wheel probably took a hit so a measurement from the wheel centres would be worth checking
 
Has anyone ever replaced the front and rear doors on a Panda? I have purchased my third Black Mk3 (and I still have the other two!) it has both drivers doors whacked in. I've got a decent idea how to change the doors but has anyone actually done this?

I've bought it for pennies from CoPart and it's the special edition. Had an MOT until a week ago lol.
Any tips?View attachment 441320
GET THE HELL IN FOLKS lol.... Picked it up, drove it home. it's mint otherwise, nothing unexpected bent and drives like a dream!
 
So far so good. Still a LONG way to go, this is a test fit, the middle pillar IS very very slightly distorted so thats being pulled out by a friend who happens to have a multi-post rig lol, then it's a project. Only like 1cm but enough to throw the rear door fit way out. Otherwise.... great!
 

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Solution
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Showing an old accident around 2012 ish

Looking like you are making good progress

Did you find the doors in black or have you resprayed them ?

Pretty much as expected from the original poor quality photos, sill, front door, rear door, pillars, wing and roof
 
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