convertible / coupe door swap?

lparsons · Jun 25, 2008

I need to replace my door after a low-speed hit that damaged the door skin beyond what I could ever hope to repair myself.

I found a yard with a 95 convertible, the driver's door is in excellent shape and the price is right. Can I swap this door directly onto my GT coupe? Are there any differences between coupe and convertible doors?

The glass, electronics, locks, etc, from my door are all intact. So if the window is shaped different, or if the controls on the door are different, I should be able to swap mine into the new door. I'm just concerned about whether the doors are the same dimensions so that I can hang this convertible door on my coupe. Once its up I should be able to make up any other differences with the good parts from my own door, right?

FWIW, I'm looking for a driver's door for a dark green 95. Preferably with power windows, power locks, and power mirrors. Everything on mine works fine there just happens to be an unfortunate dent near the bottom.

desertcox05 · Jun 25, 2008

i think they are the same. can you take some measurements to make sure before you pick it up

lparsons · Jun 25, 2008

desertcox05 said:
i think they are the same. can you take some measurements to make sure before you pick it up

I'd like to be able to, but I live in upstate New York, and the yard with the correct color door is in CT. The yard does not ship, and I only want to drive out there once (if at all).
On top of that, the people who answer email for the junkyard write like elementary school kids. So I'm not confident that they would be able to accurately convey measurements to me anyways.
I'll be happy if they at least remember to roll the window down for me, since I'll be carrying it back in my 95 GT.

Chythar · Jun 25, 2008

The structural parts of the door are identical. The wiring will be different. Convertibles had toggle buttons for the rear quarter windows and a window lock switch. Your wiring won't match, so it's best to switch the wiring over. There's a bit of play in the bolt holes on the hinge for alignment, so you'll have to mess around with them in order to get the door to fit right. You'll also likely have to mess with the door striker on the body to make sure the door closes properly. It's up to you if you want to swap the window motor, door latch and any other door internals.

lparsons · Jun 25, 2008

Chythar said:
The structural parts of the door are identical.

That was what I figured, and hoped to hear

The wiring will be different. Convertibles had toggle buttons for the rear quarter windows and a window lock switch. Your wiring won't match, so it's best to switch the wiring over.

This sounds pretty straightforward. I presume once I have the panels off from both doors it shouldn't be too hard to move the wiring, correct?

There's a bit of play in the bolt holes on the hinge for alignment, so you'll have to mess around with them in order to get the door to fit right. You'll also likely have to mess with the door striker on the body to make sure the door closes properly.

Hell, my current door has never really closed properly since I bought the car (used in 2004). I was probably overdue to tinker with the hinges and striker anyways. Now I guess I'll be doing it on a different door, instead...

It's up to you if you want to swap the window motor, door latch and any other door internals.

The motor should be the same, shouldn't it? I suppose I could probably put them both on a DMM and try to figure out which one is likely to last longer...

The only thing that I'm guessing I will really need to transfer from the old door would be the lock cylinder, but I suspect that procedure may be outlined in the Haynes manual.

I suspect I'll be selling off some door internals after I'm done with this one...

thanks!

Chythar · Jun 25, 2008

The wiring isn't too hard to remove, just take your time. The window motor, latch and other shared components can be swapped or you can keep the ones in the 'vert door. Depends on what condition they're in and if the door was stored outside for any length of time. It's pretty rare for a window motor to go bad, but the bushings inside the motor can wear out. Might be worth taking the motor out and checking it, up to you.

lparsons · Jun 25, 2008

Stored outside? I'd say the answer is yes. Particularly for the junkyard car.

Do you know which side of the glass the wiring is on? In other words, will I have to remove the glass in order to pull the wiring out? I'm sure this will be obvious enough when I get to tearing into it, but if you happen to know, it could be helpful to me ahead of time.

thanks!

Chythar · Jun 25, 2008

The wiring should all be accessible without removing the glass. You can always disconnect the window motor and raise the glass manually. Check out this thread for instructions on removing the motor if you need it. Since the images are dead in that thread, here's a photo of the bolt locations for the motor:

SVT32VDOHC · Jun 26, 2008

Coupe and conv doors are the same. Just look to see if both cars have MACH460 or not. If one does and one doesn't change the door harness over.

FYI: 96-98 Doors can be used, even though the junkyard interchange system says no. The difference is in the lock cylinder. If you put a 94-95 door into a 96-98 Mustang, get the 96-98 lock cylinder with the door. The opening is smaller in the 94-95 opening and won't except the 96-98 cylinder. I found this out the hard way in 2001, and I had to file my opening bigger.

Just some food for thought. I know a lot of weird things.

lparsons · Jun 27, 2008

Since you've had the door off before, you may know the answer to this - can the door fit inside the car? I have to go pick up my replacement door, and the largest vehicle available to me is my 95GT. I figure the door should fit inside, one way or another, with the window down.

Do you know if it will or not? I'm guessing most reasonable people would use a larger vehicle for hauling a door around, but I don't have that luxury available.

thanks

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