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Hutmo, I asked a FB group (https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1GxnCVHJr4/) that I'm part of about your door and here are their replies. Overwhelmingly the consensus is to repair the door. If there is anyone from the group in the Pittsburgh area I'll let you know.

These guys walked me through repairing the rear fenders on my '53 Cavalier. Your trim is very repairable as well, just takes a bit of time.

Sorry for a bit of an off-topic - did you sand and polish your repaired fender bottom? There is "orange" peel, which can easily be fixed with a bit of extra work

I just used a rattle can to give it a couple of coats temporarily, hence the poor finish. The rear fender repairs will get sanded down and proper paint, along with rockers and front fender repairs, when they are all done. Rockers are next on the list, and front fenders are probably a project for this fall/winter.

I have had discussions with multiple high knowledge repairmen regarding the door. Some have said if you can find a nice door, go for
it while others were confident with doing the repair. One of the guys, who is highly regarded by others and is a 35 year body shop vet
and he said fix it. Yes, the fitment is great so why open another can of worms with a new door with fitment issues and the transfer of all of the parts to a replacement door.

This is sort of like bakers making cakes...different recipes and methods but the end product is yummy despite the different ingredients and processes.
I want a yummy end product. I do not get caught up on using a door because it is the original door. If I can find a nice clean replacement door, I will
then have to make a decision.


I have found one door for 150.00 that will need some work but have a few others in the pipeline but I have yet to see them.

My car is nice, no its not a show level car, but it's nice. Most of all, I just want this to be right. I appreciate the discussion and the input. It has given me some good perspective as to what I will do to fix the problem This is a nice online community.

More to come on this discussion. :)


Best regards
Chris

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Such a great looking car! I like the earlier models without the skirts.

If you can get a door that a patch can be cut out of and welded into your existing door, that might be a good option as well. Depends on what ingredients your baker like to use.

Have you also compared the pricing for both options? I cannot imagine that fitting/prepping/painting a random new door will be cheaper then doing a little patch.
Regardless of the car's overall originality, the original door will likely allow for a better quality repair in general.