Carlton Front Doors.....did you know.....

[Catho]

Did anyone know that there's a very slight difference to the inside of the front doors of the Carlton between facelift and pre-facelift?

When I started restoring the Gsi (nearly 10 years ago now!!) I had to replace MANY parts.

One of the first things to do panel wise was replace the doors/skins. Last night I started to build up the drivers' front door, when I came to fit the original speaker pod from my pre face door I found that the locating screws weren't in the same place and the aperture where it sits was larger.......

Baffled for about 2 minutes I then then realised that the drivers' door I now have was in fact taken from a 'J' plate CDX which has the revised door pocket and larger 'wrap around' speaker grille!!

I checked my passenger door (which I only re-skinned is still the original 'door') and the pod fits as it should.

Amazing really, that Vauxhall decided to change the pressings of all facelift doors simply to accommodate a revised speaker!!! The rest of the layout is identical over both doors!!

[kevinfourlegs]

Well bend me over and tickle me arse, I would have thought that they were the same.

[Catho]

I did too!! Everyday is a school day when you tackle a Vauxhall!! 

[melinx]

I've said it before and you are just proving it "Vauxhall/Opel never made one thing the same and that takes some doing if you think about it".

When the Omega B development overran a couple of years and they had to keep the "A" going for a couple of years longer than planned, I suspect that they gave the assembly workers the pile of odd bits they had scraped together and gave them licence to use their artistic imagination

[Catho]

Strange though I think, that they changed part of the door pressing (as well as manufacturing a whole new run of speaker pods) just to make fit the new door pockets.

I understand updating the look of the pockets/speaker grilles for the facelift models (and I prefer them to the old ones), but I'd have thought as they're covered anyway, this process wouldn't really be necessary and the existing pods would suffice  (GM's budget strategy being questioned here).

Dear Vauxhall.....

....Yours Sincerely,

Confused Carlton owner 

[melinx]

Little point in addressing yourself to Vauxhall: That's the German way of doing things

[Catho]

Fair genug, Punkt getroffen.

[man of kent]

When I was working on designs the stylists were GOD and what they wanted they got - unless it could not be manufactured. If a stylist went to a car show and the trend was to do something, they would go that way, probably after talking to lots of other stylists. At a model change, or facelift, year the stylist would have an opportunity to change something, and did.

What I could never understand was that they built weird & wonderful looking concepts for the shows that were never manufactured or even got close, but the stylists were the bees knees!

[Land-Barge]

That explains why the diamond door cards wouldnt fit over my prefacelift speakers when i changed the interior on the barge, the facelift speakers wouldnt mount up either so i fitted new speakers with an adaptor plate made out of mdf

[Winky]

Hmm! Bu££er. I've recently bought a drivers door off Chris for my Senator 'mini-resto' which was a pre-facelift one. I've also found out that the electrical connector in the door is different between pre & post models (although this bit can be changed apparently).

[Catho]

Well, apart from the speaker aperture (and Winky's electrical connectors) I think that everything else is the same 

With just a little modification, (in my case drilling extra holes to mount the speaker pod) I'm guessing you can inter-change facelift/pre-lift parts (door cards, handles, speakers etc..) with no major problems.

[Murph]

NO major probs as you say.
The door loom is easy enough to change even with the door on the car.
The window mech, door handles and locking mechanisms are all interchangeable.
The only modifications neccessary when mixing pre and post facelift are for the speaker mounting and the outer trim.

[Catho]

Just to prove visually, the difference between facelift and pre-facelift front doors.

This is my prefacelift door, note different shape/size speaker aperture and the swage around it (highlighted in Red)



This is the facelift door (from a 'J' plate CDX). Notice shape/size of aperture and swage around has been modified.



Hope this helps

[kevinfourlegs]

Quite a difference between the two.

[Murph]

Also notice the extra hole below the aperture on the facelift door.
That's for the speaker pod locating pin.

[Catho]

...and the extra holes I've had to drill for speaker pod. (at approx. 5 o'clock and 8 o'clock)

[Einarrson]

Yes I noticed this when re assembling the car after its respray, with the new doors. At the time it was just an annoying hold up in the job.

[carlton_mad]

it is possible that senny and pre face carlton doors are the same but i cant remember for sure!