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Thread: Modifying a JDM LH front door panel for LHD switches

  1. #1
    "FNG"
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    Modifying a JDM LH front door panel for LHD switches

    I've been putting a JDM interior in my 2000 Legacy GT and I thought I'd just do a little writeup on how I modified the LH (now drivers) door panel to accept the full switch assembly. I basically tried to mimic what the RH door panel looks like - which is instead of having a seamless moulded plastic door panel, it's obvious there is a small plastic shroud secured to the panel to cover the lower part of the switch assembly.

    The first thing I did was to drill out all of the melted plastic rivets on the back of the JDM panel to release the arm rest.



    After removing the armrest, I'm left with a door panel which looks like this:



    I then completely dissassembled and cut up a spare US drivers side door panel - Specifically, I wanted the US arm rest and a section of the attached plastic which covers the bottom of the switch assembly.

    Here is a rough test fit:



    I then spent some time with a belt sander and some fine sand paper feathering all the edges and getting a nice flush fit - the final look is here:



    I painted the gray plastic with SEM color coat Landau Black. That color is a very good match for the black of the JDM interior plastics:



    Here is the final product, all screwed back together.





    Anyway, I hope this gives some people some different ideas on how to use the RHD parts in a US car.

  2. #2
    SLi nOOb yaya's Avatar
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    Nice!

    Anyone got a spare donor part from a USDM car? I didn't keep mine because they were in crap shape.

  3. #3
    Super Moderator Dead91silvia's Avatar
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    Nice work! I guess I'll start saving these parts before tossing them from now on.

  4. #4
    SLi nOOb ecoflame's Avatar
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    Very nice! In the pic you can't even tell you did the work yourself. This may be something I tackle down the road.
    1992 Honda Accord EX - <'93 JDM Prelude Si F22B DOHC>
    2003 Subaru Legacy LSE (Silver Stone Metallic)
    2005 Subaru Outback XT Limited

    Remember; No clutch, No love.

  5. #5
    HKC-speed.com's Avatar
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    That's always the difficulty with JDM parts, but job well done !

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