Topic: Installed Year One Custom ABS Door Panels

[Wild Bill]

Taken from an iPhone. Let me just say up front, 4 days to get these things on, and 2 days was from the mess up from year one with the dimensions on the driver door. When i called to ask them about it, i found out it was the problem with their mold and all the panels have this problem. Also, this picture is without the speaker installed I decided to leave them black since I bought inserts that matched my seats, and my carpet is black too, so I'm gonna find a nice way to two tone my interior out, I'm thinking about painting the kick panels black and the headliner is not in the car right now but the black cardboard is so I think I'll put a black headliner

[Wild Bill]

I have gotten use to them already and they are really super nice, I will take pics with my regular camera tomorrow in the morning before the sun shines too bright

[eroc022]

ok what is the problem that is on the dr side door ? im wanting these too so i can prepare for it

[Wild Bill]

First off, they do not come with any kind of instructions.... At All.
Year One only has 1 Tech guy out of all the employees at their business and he can only be reached by email, which takes him days to read because "obviously he gets alot of mail"  I swear I am not making this up. 3 days later, I finally get an email back from him about my problem with the driver side door...

---- Email ------

I have attached installation instructions which were written by the employee that does most of the installations of these door panels here. There are notes about trimming and adjustments. You might check these to see if anything helps.

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

Marty

Year One, Inc

 

 

From: Bill Knobbe [mailto:billknobbe@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 5:51 PM
To: Marty Thomas
Subject: Re: 79 Trans Am Custom ABS door panels

 

Marty,
I already have the passenger side door panel on, and I am not looking to return these panels, I like 'em too much.
How did you guys get the door panel to fit on the driver side on the Bandit car?

 

From: Marty Thomas <martyt@yearone.com>
To: Bill Knobbe <billknobbe@yahoo.com>
Sent: Mon, April 5, 2010 2:59:58 PM
Subject: RE: 79 Trans Am Custom ABS door panels


Hello Sir

 

Thank you for purchasing from Year One; we regret this is not fitting.

I took a look at some of these panels installed on one of our Bandit cars here. It looked like the door panels did not fit the contour of the door exactly at the top front and left a gap.

Please call 800-950-9503 Returns-Customer Service to see how to proceed with this.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

 

Regards,

Marty

Year One, Inc

 

 

From: Bill Knobbe [mailto:billknobbe@yahoo.com]
Posted At: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:57 PM
Posted To: Email-Tech Support
Conversation: 79 Trans Am Custom ABS door panels
Subject: 79 Trans Am Custom ABS door panels
 

I bought these in November and got them in Feb. I just now started to put them on. I did the passenger side first, I had to do alot of extra cutting and the back part of the panels that the clips are suppose to go, did not align right with any of the holes so I drilled new holes in the door to make the alignment and still nothing, so I decided to just screw it to the door, okay. But I go to do the driver side and after cutting everything and gluing everything, I go to put the panel on and it doesn't fit!!! as you can see in the pics, the panel is all the way against the door itself but on the top right hand side near the windshield the panel does not meet the door, and because of this I can't even get my window crank or door handle cup on. It's like the curve on the very top of the panel is too wide, there is no around this. I tried adjusting the window stops where the panel sits on and nothing, still doesn't meet the door.



----------- Email -------------

just had to let you know what kind of person you were dealing with on that end, Marty doesn't seem to be the only "tech" guy YO has. Shame.

List of problems....

Alot of trimming involved. And I mean alot. The passenger side door I did first. None of the panel spots on the back where you put the door attachment plugs to lined up to the actual door. I spent 2 days trying to redrill new spots in the actual door to put new holes to line up with the plastic door panel and in the end, 1, they didn't put enough on the door panel itself to hold to the actual door, and 2, they put them in the wrong spot, it is really hard to explain but if you buy them, you will know what I'm talking about and realize that you can't use it. The passenger side panel actually fit the contour of the door, the driver side, where the panel actually curves down from the top, it is about a 2 inch wider turn then the door itself, so you can't align up the door handle, or align up the window crank if you have manual windows like I did. I had to cut the top of the panel off, the part that sits on the door and the weather molding attachs to, cut that completely off so I could get the panel to some what be flat against the door, and then using adhesive and duct tape, reattach the window molding just to the top of the panel, which was a pain, and is holding up pretty good actually. I'd love to send these panels back in and start with a fresh pair cause I'm sure I could do it better the 2nd time around. If it wouldn't take 3 months to get the panels, I would, but that's how long it took them to send me the panels in the first place....

Oh, and on the end, to attach the panels to the door, I had to screw it in, as you can see the silver screws in the pic. There is no way you are going to use the conventional way to attach the panel to the door.

 

[eroc022]

WOW didnt realize that they were made so cheaply, i also have just read up on their wheels being pretty cheaply made too cant believe most of it, figured they woulda known better.... so now i might just end up making my own door panels, but i think i will use their package tray piece....

[rhino33]

one would assume that if they are installing them on their customers cars that they would have worked out the problems before they sold them to the public.

[Wild Bill]

Yeah, really, for 400, I figured they would have been a little bit better

[ta78w72]

You guys like those more than the originals?

[Wild Bill]

Honestly, after having them on for a few weeks, yeah I do.
I like the modern look of the plastic door panel for one, I won't ever have to buy another door handle puller that costs 200+ because someone gets in my car and pulls it the wrong way and rips it at the neck, I don't have to worry about the fading/cracking of the fake chrome that goes around the panel and in ten years I won't have to worry about replacing the bottom map pocket portion from dry rot. If you add up how much it costs to replace everything on the deluxe panel, plus all the replacements on the passenger side door puller, you are looking at almost a thousand dollars, or a couple hundy shy of a grand, and these panels are only 400.

My car is really nice, taken care of, and I spend alot of money keeping it looking like that because it is a daily driver. This was the first car I ever drove and I hate driving other cars, I do not see the point in having this car bundled up through the cold months and during the week in the summer just so it stays in it's current state. I love my car more then I love my gf (and she's fine with it) but I love driving my car, not just drooling over it LOL  I don't know, maybe in twenty years when I have to put it up to only drive on every once in a while, I will, but currently, I'm gonna get all the miles I can, and I don't want to spend 200 bucks twice a year on door handle pullers. My side never seems to break, it was always the passenger side door I'd love to make a rule that I can't have passengers in my car but that my gf won't understand. HAHA

[BACnBLK]

ouch pita..Thx's for the post.

[Wild Bill]

If I did go back to regular original door panels, I'd go with the standard panels, not the deluxe.
The standard ones just have more of a muscle car feel and the deluxe looks too cheap.

[4SPEED]

If I did go back to regular original door panels, I'd go with the standard panels, not the deluxe.
The standard ones just have more of a muscle car feel and the deluxe looks too cheap.

so true.  I dont like the deluxe either.  and sorry but,  I dont like the YO's either

[Wild Bill]

To each their own LOL

[BACnBLK]

Amen brother.  I agree the standard look's more like the OLD School T/A's.. But I do lke the padding on the deluxe as well.

[y88rick]

call me a schmuck but i like the deluxe door panels on my 77 as thats what they came with...i do the the y/o panels may consider them on the 71 if i ever get to it.