$50 Door Strap Fix

[tucsonjwt]

I bought JC Whitney aftermarket door straps and OEM style strap end covers for $50 to replace missing door straps and hardware. JC Whitney only has two sizes of straps - too small and too big, so I had to use too big. Straps were $22/pair and endcaps were $26 for 4 at local Checker/O'Reilly. I could not see spending $100 + for OEM straps and still have to paint the straps to match. These straps are spring steel reinforced so they seem a lot stronger than the stock straps, and I attached them with 10/24 hex head machine screws with toothed washers, so I hope they stay on. I used WD40 and steel wool to clean up the stainless door trim, used Testor's argent silver model paint to touch up the worn off silver paint from the edges - looks OK for a driver.

[datguysaL]

looks nice, but a bit bulky...

on my previous chevy i used an old belt of mines, lol.. just cut it to size and bolted it up with a washers.

wish i had took pics before i sold it...

[tucsonjwt]

I probably could shave off the ends and trim back the vinyl, since I think the metal reinforcement goes all the way through the strap, but this works OK for now. It's about 2" too long, but doesn't interfere with driving/operating door controls. Don't have to reach very far to grab the door to close it. Would be great as is for the vertically challenged driver.