ScoobyNet.com - Subaru Enthusiast Forum

Second in my occasional series on 'stuff wot ive done to my car' providing feedback to those who helped me etc. Jon.
Nick, again contact me if you want any of this in Word for the fAQ.

Foaming the Doors:
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(My own experiences interspersed with info from other posts)

You will Need:
· The FAQ
· 1" thick foam approx. 70 x 30 inches
· Double sided tape
· Breadknife

Warning: If you break or ruin anything doing this you’re on your own, this worked for me and I supply this information in good faith, errors and omissions excepted.

Notes:
· This guide is to be read in conjunction with the FAQ.

Remove the doorcard trim as per the FAQ.
Lay the door card on something that wont ruin the trim (ie not the gritty driveway). Slide the foam to fit under the top edge of the trim and then use the bread knife to slice the foam into a rough door shape upto about 3-4inches from the sides / bottom. Now cut the holes out for the woofer, door handle screws, window switch connector cable and door opener / tweeter areas.
Near the door opener cut back enough so the rods don’t get squashed by the foam (there is a vertical bar on the door trim, go just past that)
An extra foam layer can be put in the bottom edge of the door pocket if you wish - try not to end up with anything that too tight or you’ll need to cut back.

Thin the foam at its highest points, ie near crossover fitting and anywhere else it looks / feels high and might have trouble squashing down - there will be lots of this and many many refits and attempted fitting later you will get a perfectly fitting door panel - patience is a virtue with this one… Try lifting the trim up to eye height and look across the foam layer whilst pushing it down and you’ll see which bits are too high with practice.
Thining or cutting back is best achieved with the knife cutting almost straight down and pulling the foam gently with the other hand, double sided taping the foam to the door car helps keep it all located.

When refitting the clips shouldn’t need to be forced and if they pop out once they are all back in then you need to do more trimming. Get a helper to hold the door when putting the screws back in as the doorcard may need some pressure to get the screws to locate.

Once you’ve done one side use it to give you an approximation for the other side. The second side will take a quarter of the time of the first, trust me on this, its because you know what you’re doing!