any tricks to reinstalling door panels?

finally getting to finishing the interior in our 65 Barracuda. I've never found a good way to reinstall the door panels, I seem to at least bend some of the clips or tear the cardboard backing on the panel. is there a way to reinforce the backing board around the holes where the clips go? and any other method than eyeballing the clips and the holes in the doors and crossing my fingers and smacking the panel at each clip? thanks for any help...

On my last car I left the clips out and used velcro strips instead. Works just fine, doesn't leave lumps in the panels, and is way easier to remove.

that is a great idea! my wife uses the stuff all the time and it never crossed my mind. do you use the stuff that's got adhesive on the back or did you use mechanical fasteners for the part attached to the steel on the door?

Some of the new adhesive backed velcro strips are pretty darn strong... I'd try that route before committing to a custom fastener...