Repair or Replace - Driver Door Damage

[CF2002]

Hi All - After investigating some paint bubbles I have unearthed the equivalent of a Bondo iceberg on my driver side door - see below. I am torn on how to proceed. I most certainly don't want to slather on that much filler again but am torn about the right (most cost effective) approach here. I am not looking for the car to be a show stopper but I want it to be reasonably straight. It seems like the door hinge may have been hyper extended at some point and crunched against the fender. I haven't had a ton of luck finding a replacement door or better means of repairing - any tips or leads on parts would be be very much appreciated. Located in Seattle area.

 

[Simeon]

Wow! That’s really deep. Wonder what did that?

 

options:

 

1) New door from BMW - are they still available? Would need fettling, window and lock components transferred and paint. 

 

2) Replacement door - potentially complete to just bolt on. You need to find one first and most likely will need paint or have its own issues with rust. 

 

3) New door skin (whole) - are these still available? See No1 above re fettling and paint. Contact Walloth and Nesch. 

 

4) Handmade patch - probably the worst option unless you have mad skillz or are paying a top notch body person to do the work. 

[joysterm]

pm'd

[MrAdams]

You need to take off all that frosting to see what the door really consists of. Once you remove the Bondo you can make that call. 

Maybe post another photo once removed and I can show my body guys. But its hard to say with that photo. 

[SydneyTii]

One of the doors is/was available, I think it may be right hand, if it still is and last time I checked W&N wanted $2.5k AUD!!

i got mine about 4 years ago for $800 AUD from BMW in Sydney.

inflation driven by supply and demand!

its amazing what a “proper” body shop can make/create, but it won’t be cheap.

[Mike Self]

A good body worker (one that knows how to work metal, not just slather on bondo) can pull that damage out, dolly the dents and then give it a skim coat of filler (what the stuff is really for) for a whole lot less $$ than a new door.  Some fairly significant rear end damage on my '73 was metal finished out so that you can't see it--even from inside the trunk!  So it can be done.  And this was by a "production" shop, not a restoration specialist.

 

But before you have the door repaired, check along the bottom edge very carefully for rust forming in the folded over lower edge of the door skin.  If that's all rusted and perforated, the door may not be worth repairing.  That's when you start looking for a good used door.  

 

mike

[TobyB]

Mike, does your plate really say E10?

 

You know ethanol is hard on our cars, right???

 

hee

 

t

 

[Mike Self]

13 minutes ago, TobyB said:

Mike, does your plate really say E10?

No, it says "E-114"--the correct designation for the original 1600/2002 2 door sedan body.

 

mike

[Vicleonardo1]

Excessive Bondo...not good. Usually rusting out underneath. 

If you are looking for doors, you may want to think about tripping south, 

 

Check with RoadHog, he was parting out a shell a little while ago. 

Plus, a couple of finds on the Portland Craigslist. One guy is selling a couple of doors that are way overpriced for their condition. Another rough looking shell on the parts page as well. 

 

 

[TobyB]

24 minutes ago, mike said:

No, it says "E-114"--the correct designation for the original 1600/2002 2 door sedan body.

 

mike

phew... you had me worried, there... for a sec!

 

t

[wegweiser]

I can pretty much guarantee that the door damage was caused by a faulty / failed door brake (check strap) - from the door colliding with the fender edge. Super common damage, and since the reinforcements inside the door greatly inhibit use of tools to pop the dent back out, the "cave it and pave it" method of body repair is often done. A talented body-person or one of those dent-wizard / paintless dent removal folks could probably get it better, but unless you cut the door apart substantially, there's not a ton you can do to straighten it in that location, often. 

[Russell74Fjord]

what ever you choose to do, seam seal the inside, lower seam edges  so years from now you do not have rust bubbles at that lower seam. Like other areas where the sheet metal is just bent over and creased, without any sort of rust prevention, any water that seeps in between that fold is eventually rusts through.

 

These shots are that inside lower door edge. I'm in Seattle too, and have the applicator for the twin tube seam sealer 3M makes. If you are up for some work on your own, let me know. This stuff mixes as you apply it, hardens up quickly. It is supposed to seep into those areas, then seal shut.

[walkinfool]

There’s a driver side door on craigslist in Tacoma for $120. No glass but looks pretty good otherwise.

[jp5Touring]

22 minutes ago, walkinfool said:

There’s a driver side door on craigslist in Tacoma for $120. No glass but looks pretty good otherwise.

 

Agreed,would start here

https://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/pts/d/tacoma-76-bmw-2002-driver-door/6771248167.html

[CF2002]

54 minutes ago, walkinfool said:

There’s a driver side door on craigslist in Tacoma for $120. No glass but looks pretty good otherwise.

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback - I ended up picking up this door from Tacoma this morning. Had a small dent around the door handle but in considerably better shape than mine. Just discovered a few tag along spiders that came with the cargo ?.