[ray_mcavoy]

I ran into a few broken studs on those door panel trim ring pieces on Dad's 77 too.

We didn't want any exposed screws showing so I came up with a plan to use 3M double-sided trim/emblem mounting tape.

The original setup used the trim ring to hold the woodgrain (77) or brushed aluminum (78-80) trim plate in place. So simply using the 3M tape alone would have just stuck the trim ring to the flange on the woodgrain trim plate but not to the door panel itself. So I drilled a few 1/8" holes through the flange of the trim plate and door panel in the area that's covered by the trim ring. Then I used some pop rivets in those holes to secure the woodgrain trim plate to the door panel. And finally, used the 3M tape (along with the remaining studs that didn't break) to re-attach the trim ring, covering the rivet heads so it all looks original.