So, when I bought my '68 Dart GT, it never had the driver's door trim on it and it was nowhere to be found. I later found out that the door was from a '69 or newer car because the lock was farther forward than the '68 door on the other side. Well, over the years I've acquired the '68 Dart GT driver door trim and now that the car is home, running, and driving... it's really starting to bug me that it's not installed.

Looking at my piece of trim and the passenger door, it seems like the only thing that holds this piece of trim onto the door is 2 nuts. I don't see any provisions for clips in the center. Is it really this easy?

I also have to drill holes into the new door. I really don't want to take it off for fear it won't fit when I put it back on (just my luck). Any tips for drilling holes into the door? Should I drill from the outside going in or vice versa? Should I lie down a layer of painter's tape down before drilling?

Any and all help is appreciated.

those bolts you see are the end fasteners---missing are 3-4 nylon tabs that fit into holes in between---look at your other door to see how many nylons ones are there---consider having a body shop do it if you have a really nice car....

Yes plastic clips retain the center of the door trim. Clips may be mounted on pins, or have a hole in the center of the clip with a plastic dowel to press in the center hole and expand tabs to hold it in the hole in the door.

Leave the door on the car. Use a center punch so the drill doesn't walk across the panel. Hit the punch softly so as not to dent the door. Forget the tape. Drill from outside in with a sharp small drill bit, then go up to,final,size. Do not push overly hard on the drill, let the bit do its cutting. Paint the bare metal and let it dry before installing the trim and clips.

you'll need a few of these or similar

And where do you obtain these clips?

you'll have to get a sample from the other side and/or measure the moulding & find something that works

eBay or your favorite body-shop supply store

the 1968 Parts Catalog does not appear to be of any help

i would use an "automatic" center punch. those are the ones that you simply touch the spot you want to center punch, and push. the internal spring loaded tip will easily punch the spot you need without using a hammer and guessing how much force to apply. they don't require much force at all to leave a punch mark. the tape [i guess] is a personal choice. me, i would definitely use it to guarantee against paint chipping. your choice.

Anytime I am messing with panels/painted surfaces I will use tape to protect me from myself and I center punch most any hole to be drilled. Good advice to use caution in the amount impact use to center punch especially in the middle of the door and if possible I would have someone hold a piece of wood with a similar contour on the inside of the door when strike the punch on the outside.

6bblgt...The top photo you posted is nearly the same clip I need for 65 Belvedere rocker panel moldings.
Where is a source for these as I have looked what I thought was everywhere?
Below is a pic of what I'm looking for...
Thx...

MuuMuu...Harbor freight has the spring loaded punch I would use for this. I'd also use the blue tape as a reference for clip location and installation... Make sure the holes you drill are dead center of the marks you make and do not vary up and down...

Just bought a HF spring loaded centerpunch and it lasted exactly two punches before it did not spring back. Went to Home Depot and have used it for the last week and a couple dozen punches and it has been fine. MuuMuu, did you ever get the correct 68 door? If you are mad about not seeing your trim on there how can you be fine with the wrong position of the lock button? BTW, 67 doors have the same position of the lock button but the wing window is slightly different.

It is still the same door. The lock position doesn't bug me. Someone keyed an "LA" (Dodgers) to the inner door sometime in its life, but I'm not really a baseball fan. I think it's funny. Ironically, all of those things don't bug me. It's just the lack of trim that bugs me the most as the look I've wanted is almost perfect.

Another ironic thing is that the original door on the passenger doesn't lock with the key. It only locks when you engage it while the door is closed. The driver door ('69 or newer) locks whenever with the key.

But I think I may end up taking it to the body shop my dad uses to see if they can do it. I have this anxiety thing about drilling holes. No matter how many times I measure, I feel like I always get the hole in the wrong position and holes are (semi) permanent. 2 holes doesn't bug me too much. 6 holes, that's a different story in my mind.

Lots of ways to accomplish it, 1 advantage is the clips slip front to rear on the rim so if off that way no issue, center line is what matters. Take a piece of 2 inch tape and run it from the bottom of the trim on the fender to the trim on the quarter, do everything you can to ensure it is perfectly straight, a great way is to set your front point good and then without touching the door with the tape unroll the full length of the door amount of tape from the roll, then carefully bring the tape to the spot on the quarter that you want it and allow the tape to lay where it will on the door. I would also then take my trim and lay it on the tape to make sure there are no funny curves or dips I haven't accounted for. Once that is done to my satisfaction my base is set. I can then measure the width of my trim and determine the centerline and where the pin/stud for the clip will fall, get a measurement in for that distance in inches or whatever you prefer. Now you know how high the hole should be, use the other door as a reference for how far from the edge you end holes should be. Drill the end holes starting with a punch as mentioned, then a small guide hole, double check your measurements again and then proceed to stepping up the hole sixe to get the desired size. I would then mount my trim with only the end clips and stand back and make sure it is correct. If you like what you got, then pull a straight line between the center of the 2 holes and then measure equidistance for the other 4 holes and punch and drill as before. IF you don't like what you have with just the end clips installed then adjust the holes as necessary with a reamer, if you take your time and pay attention there is little chance you will be off any significant amount and a minimum amount of adjustment will be covered by the nut. If you do have to adjust a hole then be very careful to pull the line in the corrected center of the hole, if I had to adjust I also would probably only drill one of my interior holes and re-test fit.


Others may add better tips but this is what have and would do.

Do what Kevin suggested above...drill the end two and position the trim today...come back tomorrow double check everything and drill the other 4 holes...easy peasy...

Your jumped through all the hoops and got an engineering degree. Now you are scared to drill holes in a door? This really makes me think about this situation.

This is a simply new thing for you to learn. As above do the 2 end holes first. Having the holes too low is the only problem. Having them off sideways makes no difference. Having the end holes slightly too high doesn't matter, file them lower to have the trim fit at the correct height. Then do the center ones after the end 2.

I had forgotten that, kinda funny when you think about.

Sorry Muumuu, all in fun.

Yes all in fun. This is not taught in college and this is something he needs to learn.

Measure plenty and drill once. No different on bare metal or new paint. It is your mind making this harder than it is, either because you always make mistakes, or you are afraid to make your first one because you never tried this task.

Yeah, I know. If it were some clapped out vehicle I haven't invested so much of myself into, it wouldn't be a big deal. But since there is so much sentimental value and work done to it, to me it's a very big deal and makes me anxious. One of the things I hate about myself.

We all have strengths and weaknesses, mot could use more caution.

Well, I got tired with dealing with the headers hitting the power steering box so I decided to try my hand with the door and trim piece. I followed mopar346's instructions to the T, up until I got to the center clips (as I don't know where to get them). That advice was awesome, easy, and fairly straight forward.

In lieu of clips, I decided to stack up layers of double sided tape. I layed a layer of painter's tape across the door and piece of trim and then toward the center of the trim I stacked the double sided tape. That way, when I decided to go to clips, I can just pull the layers of painter's tape and continue drilling holes. But I checked this and there are so many layers of painter's tape that the trim doesn't rattle as the tape absorbs it all.

I have to say, I am so glad that I got this piece of trim on. Not only do I feel complete that I have all of the trim on the car, but I felt somewhat accomplished when I haven't gotten much done with it.

That's awesome, glad it helped. The biggest part is getting over the fear of putting a drill to good paint.

I would start with Tom at RT Specialties for the clips, either order on line from his site or call him, I have had the best luck catching him at 6:30-7:30 pm EST.